Will Oil Spill Impact Loon Numbers?
With the ice now out on most Quetico-Superior area lakes, experts are wondering if the region’s common loon population will have been impacted last year’s Gulf of Mexico Oil spill.
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Interior Secretary Announces Wolf Plan
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar formally announced his department’s plan to remove the eastern gray wolf from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act and return management of the animal to state and tribal governments by the end of this year.
Cell Tower Near Voyageurs Rejected
While a court ruling on an AT&T cellphone tower near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness awaits a judge’s decision, the Koochiching County Board rejected a request by the company to build a 350-foot tower near Voyageurs National Park.
Comments Sought on BWCAW Invasives Project
Managers of the Superior National Forest are seeking comments on a project that seeks to combat the spread of non-native invasive plants in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Chain of Lakes: No Quota Change
In the latest chapter of an on-going saga rankling local residents and outfitters, the U.S. Forest Service will not adjust permit quotas for motorboats on the Moose Lake to Prairie Portage chain of lakes leading into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Ely.
Mining Update
By Charlie Mahler While industry leaders, environmental activists, and northeastern Minnesota stakeholders await publication of the revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for PolyMet Mining’s proposed copper-nickel and precious metals mine, mining …
Building Wooden Canoes for a Rite of Passage
Picture yourself venturing out for the first time into the wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Imagine the combination of serenity and wonderment you experience as you ply these pristine lakes and rivers, knowing that you are carrying all you need to survive in a sleek, seventeen-foot, skin-on-frame canoe. Now imagine that you just built that canoe with your own hands over the course of eight days. For six teenage apprentices with Urban Boatbuilders, this was the culminating event in the summer of 2010.
On the Scent of Adventure
By Rob Kesselring It’s the smell more than anything, whether you are varnishing paddle blades in preparation for the upcoming canoe season, or spring cleaning and deliberating on whether to put …
Devils Cove: The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
By Greg Breining Imagine the Coldwell Peninsula—a dark fist jutting from the Ontario shore of Lake Superior, five miles across, with rocky knuckles. Poised on one knuckle, like the stone of …
Old Photos Provide a Peek into BWCA History
By Alissa Johnson In our last issue, Wilderness News published photos from an album uncovered in an attic trunk. They once belonged to Big Bill Wenstrom, who was the last private …
Wilderness News Print Edition – Spring 2011
The Spring 2011 Issue of Wilderness News Print Edition is now online! Experience Lake Superior from a kayak, travel back in time with an early voice for the Boundary Waters, and follow urban teens-at-risk into the wilderness in canoes they built by hand.
Klobuchar Calls for Wolf Delisting
Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar wants gray wolves removed from the federal Endangered Species List, calling for the state, environmental groups, and others to work together on management of the predator.
Workshop to Explore Commerce, Nature
An international workshop hosted by the Heart of the Continent Partnership will explore the balance between commerce and nature at the organization’s International Communities Conference this fall.
Feds Again Propose Wolf Delisting
Federal officials will once again try to remove the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act, saying populations of the animal have recovered in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Sturgeon Research Headlines VNPA Event
Voyageurs National Park ecologist Steve Windels will offer insights into research on Lake Sturgeon at the Voyageurs National Park Association members and friends event on April 19 in Minneapolis.
Wolf Control Threatened by Funding Cut
Due to a cut in federal funding, a program that controls wolves preying on livestock and pets in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan could be in its final days of operation.
Cell Tower Trial Opens Today
A suit seeking to block construction of a 450-foot cellular phone tower at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Ely opens today in Minneapolis.
Open Houses Set for Prospecting Impact
The U.S. Forest Service will host three open houses next week for review and comment on its draft Environmental Impact Statement for mineral prospecting in the Superior National Forest.
It’s Gunflint Green Up Time Again!
Help restore the Ham Lake Fire Area to a cedar, white, red, and jack pine forest. Join together with Gunflint Trail community members to plant tree seedlings and help rejuvenate this great place.
New Stamp Features Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park will be featured on a new U.S. Postal Service stamp to be issued April 11.