The fierce and continuing political quarrels over the future of the BWCA contrast markedly with the silence and serenity of this land of sky-blue waters and green forests.īeymer R. Unable to reach agreement and arrive at a compromise, the panel disbanded in 1997. Environmentalists, resort owners, local residents, and representatives of other groups met for several months to try to reconcile competing interests in the area.
At the urging of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), a mediation panel was convened in 1996 to consider the future of the BWCA. They have pressed unsuccessfully for federal legislation to that effect. Many area residents and resort owners continue to resent and resist efforts to reduce the areas open to motorized watercraft and snowmobile traffic. A wildland firefighter prepares to load up a canoe to head to battle the Spice Lake Fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness earlier this month. Under pressure from environmental groups -and over objections by developers, logging interests, and many local residents -the Congress finally passed the BWCA Wilderness Act of 1978, which outlawed all logging and limited motorboats to 33% of the water surface area (due to drop to 24% by 1999), and added 45,000 acres (18,450 ha), bringing the total area to 1,075,000 acres (440,750 ha). The 1964 Wilderness Act allowed limited logging in some parts of the BWCA and the use of motorboats on 60% of the water area. Constituting about one-third of the Superior National Forest (established in 1909), the BWCA was set apart as wilderness by an act of Congress in 1958. The second largest expanse in the National Wilderness Preservation system, the BWCA is administered by the United States Forest Service. The BWCA contains more than 1,200 mi (1,932 km) of canoe routes and portages. The BWCAW contains 1175 lakes varying in size from 10 to 10,000 acres, more than 1200 miles of canoe routes, 12 hiking trails and over 2000 designated campsites. Amy lights ice luminarias around their tent in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on New Years Eve. Forest Service said the exact cause remains under scrutiny, but investigators determined Saturday that human actions sparked the fire.
Since 1978 and the passage of the BWCA Wilderness Act, these lands have been designated an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. Berry picking and wildlife viewing are also great fun. Forest officials have determined a wildfire burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was caused by a human. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) covers 1 million acres with over 1,100 lakes, along the Minnesota-Canada border. It is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy life, or get out on the water to canoe and fish. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), a federally designated wilderness area in northern Minnesota, includes approximately one million acres (410,000 ha) stretching some 200 mi (322 km) along the United States-Canadian border. Situated within Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a vast preserve of lakes and woods that stretches for about 100 miles along the U.S. Trail's End Campground is located next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in a remote area of Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.
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