Iron County Forestry Committee Will Discuss Harvest Camp Tomorrow

A meeting to discuss the future of the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Harvest Camp in the Penokee Range will be held tomorrow.

A member of the Iron County Forestry Committee that voted in favor of the camp in May isn’t sure they will vote for it again.

The LCO Band of Lake Superior Chippewa was granted permission to have the Harvest Camp for a year after the Iron County Forestry Committee voted unanimously in favor of it May 14. It wasn’t clear whether LCO needed approval of the full Iron County Board, so no permit was issued.

Now, the support of the five-person committee may be evaporating. Forestry Board Member Bill Thomas says it’s still up in the air.

“We’re not quite sure of it,” says Thomas. “I guess the state doesn’t want them to camp there.”

Thomas says the meeting could have big consequences for the five-acre camp. “We’re going to go into closed session to confirm with legal counsel regarding long term camping, and I have no idea what’s going to be discussed,” he says.

Iron County Clerk Mike Saari says that it’s just another regular forestry meeting. “Normally the forestry committee is there, maybe a couple of loggers – so usually there are only eight people in the room.”

Even so, the meeting agenda says a number of county board supervisors not on the committee may attend the meeting. The meeting will begin around 9 a.m.