Stimulus to Rehab Voyageurs Campsites

Voyageurs National Park will use $230,000 in federal stimulus funding to rehabilitate campsites over the next two years. The money appropriated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will support work on some 38 campsites in the park.

Friends Spotlight Carbon Impact of PolyMet

The wilderness and environmental advocacy group Friends’ of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is concerned with the climate-change impact that destruction of 1000 acres of peat bog for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Northeastern Minnesota will have.

Mining Projects Back in the News

Copper-nickel mining projects in northern Minnesota continue to move forward as environmentalists question the impact of the proposed mines and proponents hail the economic benefits. Meanwhile, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness notes that the land for the proposed PolyMet mine was once identified for its ecological significance.

Report: State Sweetened Vermilion Park Deal

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the State of Minnesota looked for ways to sweeten the deal for U.S. Steel to sell land to the state for a state park on Lake Vermilion. The paper questions whether laws were skirted to procure land for the park strongly supported by Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Nature Rocks: Getting Kids Outside

A new program co-sponsored by author Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods, reviewed in the Spring 2009 print edition of Wilderness News) and the Children & Nature Network inspires families to get outdoors.

Weather Hampers Voyageurs Burn Efforts

Rainy weather has confounded Voyageurs National Park’s efforts to conduct four prescribed burns this spring to further pine and oak regeneration in the International Falls-area park. While the window for spring burning may have passed, burning during the summer months is still a possibility.

New Book Spotlights BWCA Wildflowers

Betty Vos Hemstad’s new book spotlights Boundary Waters area wildflowers in a new way. “Wildflowers of the Boundary Waters: Hiking Through the Seasons” depicts northern Minnesota’s wildflowers in various stages of development — from bud, to flower, to seed.

Time-Out Called in Roadless Tug-O-War

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a temporary order requiring all new projects in U.S. Forest Service-managed roadless areas be approved by his office. Apart from the permanently protected Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, the Superior National Forest contains roughly 62,000 acres of roadless areas, mostly adjoining the BWCAW.

Minnesota DNR Looking for Loon Counters

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is looking for volunteers to count loons on lakes in Cook and Lake county. The one-day count by volunteers is part of the Minnesota Loon Monitoring Survey, now in its 15th year.

Sentence Upheld in BWCA Incident

A three-year prison sentence for Boundary Waters terrorizer Jay Andrew Olson was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals this week. Olson was one of six men convicted of participating in a drunken shooting spree that frightened campers on Basswood Lake in the BWCA in August of 2007.

Namakan Sturgeon Study Enters Third Year

A study examining the health of the Namakan Reservoir’s sturgeon population has entered its third year. The study, which could have an impact on proposed hydroelectric projects on Ontario’s Namakan River, seeks to establish baseline information on health of the species of “special concern” in both Minnesota and Ontario.

State Wolf Population Declassified

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has assumed management responsibilities for the state’s gray wolf population following the delisting of the wolf as a threatened species.

Still Hope for State Park on Lake Vermilion?

A proposal to develop a new state park on property currently owned by U.S. Steel lost steam recently when the company and the State of Minnesota disagreed on the value of the land in question. Might a closer look at the numbers put the park back on track?

Gunflint Green Up Sprouts New Life In Forest – And Community

Hundreds of people descended upon the Gunflint Trail outside of Grand Marais last weekend to plant thousands of pine seedlings and green up the fire impacted forest. Wilderness News Online caught up with Quetico Superior Foundation board member and Gunflint Trail property owner Dyke Williams, who had the opportunity to join the annual event. Read our Q&A.