As many as 76 campsites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness could remain closed at the start of the paddling season due to the effects of last fall’s Pagami Creek Fire.
Minnesota Public Radio has an Associated Press story on the matter HERE.
Superior National Forest officials had hoped to have most of the campsites affected by the nearly 100,000 acre fire back in service this spring, but branches falling from burned trees remains a safety concern. Burned latrines on some of the campsite also pose sanitation issues.
If winds topple some of the snags around campsites and as crews do maintenance work on portages and campsite, the number of off-limits campsites could decrease before the paddling season commences in early May. The campsites in question are only a small fraction of the 2100 campsite scattered across the BWCAW.
The Superior National Forest web-site has comprehensive information on restrictions in the BWCAW due to the Pagami Creek Fire HERE.