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| From 1941 through 1971 the site now called Sugarloaf Cove was known as "Sugarloaf Landing" and was home to a pulpwood operation belonging to Consolidated Papers, Inc. Trees were cut in surrounding forest areas during the winter, hauled to Sugarloaf Landing by truck, and stacked in huge piles. In spring and early summer, the logs were dropped down a chute directly into Lake Superior, where a raft was formed in the cove by placing booms around the logs. The raft was then towed by tugboat to Ashland, Wisconsin, for processing. During the peak of operations, Consolidated Papers maintained fourteen structures at Sugarloaf Landing. These included single family homes, garages, office structures, maintenance buildings, and storage facilities. In 1971, log rafting was discontinued in favor of rail hauling, and pulpwood was no longer stored at Sugarloaf Landing. |
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In 1985, Consolidated Papers donated 61 acres of land at Sugarloaf Landing to The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In 1987, TNC sold the 34 acres surrounding the cove to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Most of the Sugarloaf Cove site was significantly altered by the pulpwood landing operation. Vegetation was removed for the construction of buildings and roads. Most of the low, poorly drained tombolo area, known to Consolidated Papers as the "lower landing", was filled and leveled. Sugarloaf Point is the only portion of the site that was not significantly disturbed, but small pockets of the original native plant communities can still be found scattered throughout the site. Because of the sensitivity of the remaining natural plant communities, visitors are asked to stay on marked trails.
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In 1992, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources designated 3.5 acres at Sugarloaf Cove as a state Scientific and Natural Area (SNA). The original SNA included Sugarloaf Point and a portion of the cobble beach. In 1996, an additional 6.7 acres of the tombolo were added to the SNA, for a total of 10.2 acres.
Sugarloaf Cove was designated as a state SNA because it contains "geological features of basalt lava flows of international and statewide significance (thin fluid basalt lavas, including ropy surfaces, pipe amygdules, and thin-bedded pahoehoe), an unusual beach, composed of well-rounded boulders, cobbles, and pebbles of a wide variety of rock types from the Pleistocene ice sheet and rounded during the Nipissing stage of Lake Superior, a tombolo from the Nipissing stage that connects the lava flows to the mainland, and habitat for Hudson Bay eyebright (Euphrasia hudsoniana), a special concern species..." (Commissioner's Scientific and Natural Area Order No. 93, March 19, 1992).
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The Sugarloaf Interpretive Center Association was formed in 1992 for the purpose of preserving and protecting the land surrounding the Sugarloaf Cove SNA, conducting environmental education and interpretive programs related to Sugarloaf Cove, and providing public access to Lake Superior. In February, 1998, a land exchange between DNR and SICA was finalized, giving SICA ownership of the remaining acres of land at Sugarloaf Cove. A detailed Conservation Easement covering the SICA-owned property was an important part of the land transfer agreement. The Nature Conservancy has also continued its involvement with the Sugarloaf Cove site.
After the pulpwood operation ended, Consolidated Papers removed many of the buildings and established several red pine plantations. After acquiring the site, DNR and SICA began removing the remaining buildings. The last building was removed from the site in summer 1999. An interpretive hiking trail was established in 1995, and an Interpretive Center was constructed on SICA property in the summer of 2000.
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| Artifacts from the thirty-plus years that Consolidated Papers used the site as a pulpwood landing can still be found. Moss-covered and decomposing boom logs can be seen in the woods, and metal rings remain firmly cemented in the bedrock of the shoreline. Restoration is a continual process at the site–some driven by natural forces and some initiated by human managers. |
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