Report by Chris Stromberg
Laura Humphrey, Brandon Allen, Dustin Jeffrey
This August, backcountry ranger crews from Quetico Provincial Park and the Kawishiwi Ranger District of the Superior National Forest joined forces to maintain and improve a number of shared portages along the Canada-U.S. border near Carp and Knife Lakes. The international team met late in the day on August 8 on Carp Lake. After finding campsites for the evening, they paddled through the project area pinpointing problem spots to improve.
The purpose of the project was to restore the tread of high use portages, keep Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park visitors on a sustainable improved tread, and to prevent further erosion. It was also a learning experience for the younger crew members from Quetico Provincial Park who got some hands-on experience, while learning the trail building techniques and skills practiced by the more seasoned American crew. Thompson Blodgett and AJ Neilan from the U.S. Forest Service took the lead on this project and were joined by Michael Davidson, Brandon Allen, Laura Humphrey, and Dustin Jeffrey from Ontario Parks.
Blodgett has been working in the BWCAW for a number of years and his eye for evaluating trails and experience was a huge asset to the project. He provided guidance and techniques to the energetic young ranger crew from north of the border. Picking the right rock, finding ideal soil, and using the best tools at hand were all a part of this collective trail work.
Focus on five portages
The joint team was able to give significant attention to five short portages along the border and in addition, make some quick improvements with corduroy to another 170-rod portage off of Knife Lake. In total, about 300 rods of portages received major improvements. Trail improvements included check-dams, water bars, and reshaped drains.
In addition to making trail improvements, the ranger crews were able to share skills in paddling and low impact camping techniques, trail maintenance and primitive tools, safety practices, and interaction/public contact with visitors. The 85+ degree (Fahrenheit) daytime temperatures also demanded that the crews share swimming skills at the end of each portage.
The international team of rangers expressed their pleasure in working together. It was a successful and rewarding venture, and is a continuation of the strong bond between Quetico Provincial Park and the Superior National Forest/ Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Blodgett, the USFS wilderness ranger, has since returned to the portages and was pleased with the results, “They are all holding up well and I was especially pleased with the work on the Seed Lake side of the portage to Melon Lake. While we installed some very large rocks, they do not look landscaped and are doing a good job of holding the landing in place while retaining the wilderness character of the area.”
Quetico and La Verendrye Provincial Parks; Superior National Forest; Grand Portage National Monument and Voyageurs National Park; and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Northeast Region have all benefitted from cooperation concerning the management of parks and forests and other protected natural and cultural heritage sites for the purpose of conservation, preservation, recreation, and public education. The National Park, National Monument, National Forest, and Provincial Parks are signatories to a Sister Sites Arrangement which helps to make work, such as the project described in this article, possible.
Report courtesy Chris Stromberg, Heart of the Continent Partnership, Quetico Provincial Park. Find out more about cross-border projects at the Heart of the Continent web site.
Editor’s Note: ‘tread’ refers to the surface of a trail, and the National Park Service notes that a ‘sustainable trail tread’ is one that is constructed to prevent erosion. “Corduroy” refers to logs that are laid into a trail.