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| Partners |
Each BLMA partner manages their respective lands within
the BLMA using the same techniques and philosophies they implement for their larger land
ownership jurisdictions outside of the BLMA. Thus, the BLMA becomes a "window" to view the partner's full-scale, integrated, natural resource management in progress.
While much of the shoreline of Boulder Lake Reservoir retains its natural wilderness-like
character, backlands remain managed for natural resources. The forest lands within the BLMA have been managed for timber since the beginnings of white settlement into the region. The timbered lands, therefore, have been previously harvested in the past. The Boulder Lake Reservoir was formed in 1919 and flooded Otter Lake, Boulder Lake, and Little Boulder Lake. In 1930, the Emil (pronounced Aymo) Beyer family began to develop the Beyer's Beach Resort on Boulder Lake Reservoir, and began operation in 1931. Emil had a twin brother Ernie who operated the Beyer Brother's Resort on Wild Rice Lake Reservoir, closer to Duluth. Emil's son Ernie (now living in Washington State) says that the brothers were identical twins who were nearly indistinguishable from one another, and he relates the following story as an example: Emil helped Ernie develop and operate the Beyer Brother's Resort on Wild Rice Lake Reservoir. So Ernie helped Emil in developing Emil's resort project at Boulder Lake. If Ernie wasn't able to accommodate his patrons on Wild Rice Lake Reservoir, he would direct them up to Emil's resort on Boulder Lake Reservoir. No phone service was available to the Beyer's Beach Resort at the time. Apparently, many of these unsuspecting people would step out of their Model A's and be astonished to meet who appeared to be the same person from Wild Rice Lake Reservoir, and he somehow beat them to Boulder Lake Reservoir. During the 1950's and 60's, MP leased lakeshore lots for cabins on Boulder Lake Reservoir and other nearby reservoirs. Fourteen leased were established on the shoreline of the reservoir. In addition, Silver Fox Lodge, was established on Boulder LAke Reservoir. We have history of Christian Solem owning the lodge until 1961, but we don't know when the resort was originally constructed. In 1988, while fishing on the Otter Lake end of the reservoir, a conversation between John Paulson (MP employee) and his childhood friend, Mark Berg, spawned the idea for setting the shoreline of Boulder Lake Reservoir aside from development. MP Land and Water Supervisor Tom Houghtaling and John Paulson refined the idea into the concept of establishing an area around the reservoir to demonstrate to the public full-scale natural resource management. In 1991, MP, St. Louis County Land Department and MDNR officials met at Silver Fox Lodge to discuss their mutual interests in the area around Boulder Lake. The area was formally established as the Boulder Lake Conservation Area (BLCA). MP Forester Blake Francis, and Real Estate Specialist John Paulson, (with assistance from MP's Jim Atkinson and Rocky Anderson) drafted the BLCA Management Plan. The St. Louis County Land Department Area Forestry Supervisor John Thompson and Forester Gene Becker, as well as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Joe Gummerson provided their respective editing and drafting of the BLCA Plan. The plan was finalized in 1993 and submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as part of MP's relicensing efforts for the St. Louis River Project. In 1994, the BLCA name was changed to the Boulder Lake Management Area (BLMA) and the Management Plan became known as the Stewardship Plan. Formal environmental education programming, natural resource research and teacher training was begun in 1994 through a cooperative effort among the BLMA partners and the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) and the Department of Education, both of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 1997 MP and the MDNR executed a Memorandum of Understanding for their common interests in providing a cooperative platform for environmental education upon their respective lands within the BLMA. Minnesota Power, Minnesota DNR, St. Louis County Land Department, and Natural Resources Research Institute provide funding for the Environmental Education Program.
The BLMA contains 4,750 acres of forested land surrounding the 3,500 acre Boulder Lake Reservoir. Boulder Lake Reservoir is a water storage reservoir used in association with electric power generating dams on the St. Louis River. The reservoir was developed in 1919 by Minnesota Power's parent company, the Great Northern Power Company. The reservoir dam is located on Otter Creek, and raises the water level to merge the natural lakes of Otter Lake, Boulder Lake and Little Boulder Lake as one reservoir. Boulder Lake Reservoir contains 27 miles of shoreline of which 98% is undeveloped. A timber wolf pack uses the BLMA as part of its home range. A lone wolf, fully black from tip to tail, known as "Blackie" cruises the area, and due to its unusually large size has been mistaken for a moose when viewed at a distance. Lands within the BLMA include a diversity of species composition; pine, aspen, birch, maple, black ash, black spruce, cedar, and tamarack habitats can all be found within the BLMA. With forest management activities in place, these cover types are also spread across a wide range of age classes. Formal environmental education focuses on the middle-school to college, post-graduate level students. This focus fills a necessary role in the upper-midwest region, since area environmental education providers tend to focus on the kindergarten to sixth grade level students. Public recreation
opportunities within the BLMA includes 21 kilometers of hiking/cross-country skiing trails,
primitive campsites camping, fishing for walleye, northern pike, and crappie, canoeing,
hunting and snowmobiling. The BLMA daily staff includes:
Minnesota Power
St. Louis County Land Department
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
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