The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board Wednesday discussed an inquiry about Koochiching County peat moss from Annapolis Valley Peat Moss of Nova Scotia, Canada.

“There’s still interest in developing peat,” Koochiching County Commissioner and KEDA board member Mike Hanson told The Journal. “At this point, we’re trying to find an area — private, state, or county — that has the quality of moss they want.”

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation. One of the most common components is sphagnum moss, although many other plants can contribute. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding obstructs flows of oxygen from the atmosphere, reducing rates of decomposition.

KEDA Director Paul Nevanen said the KEDA is working with Kurt Johnson of the Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota-Duluth, as well as Dave Serrano, Arro of the North, and county staff to develop geographic information systems mapping that would outline potential sites.

“As we got into this a little further, it became a little discouraging learning from Kurt (Johnson, NRRI) that it is getting harder and harder to not only mine these (peat) sites, but to access them because of the Scientific and Natural Areas that were created back in 1984 to protect these bogs,” Nevanen explained. 

The SNA program preserves natural features and rare resources of exceptional scientific and educational value. They are open to the public for nature observation and education, but are not meant for intensive recreational activities.

Nevanen said Johnson warned that every year, even opening the door to permitting these sites is getting “more and more difficult.”

“We’re going to continue to try to find a couple of potential alternate sites,” Nevanen said. “It is unfortunate that we’ve got a company that has the history, capacity and capital to come in and invest in our county and a resource we have in abundance and we probably aren’t going to be able to utilize it.”

Hanson, who has been involved with other area peat projects, said he and Rob Ecklund, county commissioner and KEDA board member, will be in Duluth Thursday to visit with Johnson and other NRRI officials. 

“What has also been frustrating. so far, is the amount of SNAs that contain the highest quality of peat that we have here are surrounded by wetland protection areas,” he said. 

Hanson discussed that Annapolis Valley Peat Moss could be looking for anywhere from 1,700 to 2,000 acres of the highest quality of peat.

He added that the company understands the restrictions that come along with searching for something “in the middle of nowhere.”

“They’re trying to do some diligence,” he said. “They’ve been in business for 65 years... If they would take sedge peat over the top grade, that would make it a lot easier.”

 He continued that he is in the process of searching for large landowners in “the middle of nowhere” who might have the high quality peat. “Accessing it on private property would make it easier, too,” he said. 

In other business Wednesday, a progress update on the second cold box being constructed at the Falls’ cold weather testing facility shows the project is right on track, and may even be a few days ahead of schedule, Nevanen reported. 

“We have a drop-dead date of Oct. 31 to have everything concluded,” he said. “All the substance of things are ready to go.”

Nevanen said that Jaguar Land Rover, the United Kingdom-based company that will occupy the facility, plans to have testing groups on site Nov. 26 and the management team has set a tentative date of Dec. 11 to visit the area for a ceremony to recognize the project.