Registration for the lottery drawing for permits to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is underway until January 15, officials at the Superior National Forest have announced. The drawing opens permit registration for the 2010 BWCAW season.
The lottery offers interested parties equal access to the most popular BWCAW access points on the most popular dates.
The lottery is held via the BWCAW registration web site, www.recreation.gov. Results of the lottery will be available online between January 16 and January 20. Only those applicants who are awarded permits will be charged a non-refundable $12 reservation fee, along with any applicable overnight user fees for the permits.
Faxed or mailed lottery requests will not be accepted, Forest officials note.
After January 20, first-come, first-served permit reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov. After February 1, those reservations can also be made over the phone by calling the National Recreation Reservation Service at 877-550-6777.