Imagine nearly 200 volunteers teaming up with the USDA Forest Service to construct new trails and improve existing sections of recreational trails on the Superior National Forest!

That’s exactly what’s happening this June 21 to June 25 in northeast Minnesota.  The Boy Scouts of America’s honor society – called the Order of the Arrow – will be bringing approximately 200 Scouts and Adult Scouters to Grand Marais.   Working in partnership with the Forest Service, eight separate crews will construct new mountain biking trails at Pincushion near Grand Marais and Sugarbush near Tofte, and improve sections of the Superior Hiking Trail.  The Superior Hiking Trail Association, Superior Cycling Association, Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, and International Mountain Biking Association are providing additional support and coordination.
The event is called ArrowPower2011: Service on the Superior.

Scouts and Leaders will be based at the Cook County High School in Grand Marais and will spend 8 hours each day out working on the trails.  Evenings, they will be at the high school participating in educational and recreational events or seeing the sights in Grand Marais and the surrounding area.  Organizing staff will begin arriving Saturday, June 18th.  All will depart for home on Sunday, June 26.

There is a long history of partnership between the USDA Forest Service and Boy Scouts of America.  National forests provide a venue for adventure and learning and Scouts provide valuable volunteer service. The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest and oldest youth organizations in the country.  Its mission is to instill in its members: skills, values and experiences for a lifetime.  For more information about the Boy Scouts, see www.scouting.org.   For more information about the Superior National Forest, see: www.fs.usda.gov/superior.