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State of the Boundary Waters and Paddling to DC – Wilderness News Fall Winter 2014 Issue

Cover Story: How will proposed mining, climate change, invasive species, nutrient loading, and algal blooms change the border lakes? The Quetico-Superior region of Minnesota and Canada bring to mind lake country—a landscape characterized by glacier carved lakes filled with clear, cold and clean water. Yet the list of possible impacts on northern Minnesota water quality is long: proposed mining, climate change, invasive species, nutrient loading, and algal blooms to name just a few…

Rebecca Falls on the BWCAW-Quetico Park border. Photo by and courtesy of Terry Schocke.

State of the Boundary Waters

The Quetico-Superior region of Minnesota and Canada bring to mind lake country—a landscape characterized by glacier carved lakes filled with clear, cold and clean water. Yet the list of possible impacts on northern Minnesota water quality is long: proposed mining, climate change, invasive species, nutrient loading, and algal blooms to name just a few. In some places, like Lake of the Woods, evidence suggests that changes are already under way.

Reflecting on the Wilderness Act

By Alissa Johnson When I was a kid, paddling the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with my family, I didn’t realize that the final word in its name had only been …

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Working Together to Protect Wilderness

The Summer 2012 Issue of Wilderness News is in the mail and now online.   The theme is Working Together to Protect Wilderness — check out a few highlights below.   What’s …

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Ernest C. Oberholtzer: Lifetime Advocate

“Destroy the beauty of the visible shores and islands of these lakes and rivers and you destroy the whole charm and pleasurable utility of the region for the public,” Ober wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Special Issue: Fire in the BWCAW

In September 2011, a naturally-occurring wildfire burned over 100,000 acres in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this year. We follow its progression through interviews, revealing photos, and maps, how the fire started, grew, and the response and containment efforts.

Lake Vermilion Park Deal Finalized

The dream of a Lake Vermilion State Park is now a reality after the State of Minnesota and U.S. Steel Corporation signed a deal yesterday that put 3,000 acres of company land along the picturesque lake under state ownership.

Painting History

In 2006, Quetico Provincial Park’s French River proved impassable by kayak—so Ken Lister crawled upriver through the slippery, overgrown underbrush. His destination? French River Rapids. Lister suspected that an oil painting by Canadian artist Paul Kane portrayed the rapids. If correct, he would disprove widely held notions about the painting’s origins, and possibly discover a new understanding of the fur trade.