Parks & Regions

Along the Trail: Zenolith on Crooked Lake

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  When the Canoe the Heart Expedition stopped at the Crooked Lake Pictographs this summer, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness summer intern Kate Logan noticed a splotch of dark, black …

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Hopes for Vermilion State Park Dimming

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Time and money seem to be working against efforts to establish a new state park along the shores of Lake Vermilion. The State of Minnesota isn’t expected to renew efforts to buy land for the park from U.S. Steel until the spring of 2010.

Quetico, Atikokan Mull Downtown Park HQ

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Officials from Quetico Provincial Park and the town of Atikokan are considering a plan to move the Ontario park’s headquarters to Atikokan’s Main Street. Currently, the park headquarters are located in the Ontario government offices on the edge of town.

Analyzing the Odds for a Vermilion State Park

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Negotiations between landowner U.S. Steel and the State of Minnesota for the purchase of what would be the first new State Park in 30 years stalled when the parties disagreed on the value of the property. Is there still hope for a new park on the shore of Lake Vermilion?

National Parks and Voyageurs in the Spotlight

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With National Parks getting a lot of attention these days, Minnesota Public Radio took a close look at the past, present, and future of Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota’s only National Park.

Invasive Mussels Found Near Isle Royale

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A colony of non-native mussels has been found in Isle Royale National Park’s Washington Harbor, park officials revealed yesterday. The discovery raises concern over the island park’s large native mussel populations.

City to Build Voyageur’s Park Headquarters

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In a city-park partnership that would have been unthinkable a decade ago, plans are set for the city of International Falls to construct a headquarters building for Voyageurs National Park. The city intends the building to be the starting point for a multifaceted recreational development.

Quetico Visitor Numbers Down Again

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Despite 100th anniversary activities, the number of people visiting Quetico Provincial Park is down some 10% this year. It’s the second straight year that Quetico visitor numbers have declined.

Voyageurs Plans Burn for Thursday

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Voyageurs National Park officials plan to burn an area on Tar Point near Blind Indian Narrows in Namakan Lake Thursday. The burn is intended to help determine what effect fire has on archeological artifacts and help determine the effects of fire on vegetation.

McGuffins Release Quetico: Into the Wild

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The celebration of Quetico Provincial Park’s 100th Anniversary continues … in book form! Renowned nature photographers Gary and Joanie McGuffin have produced Quetico: Into the Wild after nearly three years of photographic and paddle-and-portage effort.

Grand Portage Rendezvous This Weekend

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In a comemoration of the great mid-summer rendezvous of the fur trade era, Grand Portage National Monument will host the 2009 Rendezvous Days and Pow Wow starting this Friday.

Friends of the Quetico Celebrates 25 Years

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It’s the 100th aniversary of Quetico Provincial Park this year, but 2009 is also the 25th birthday for the Friends of Quetico Park, an organization whose objective is “the preservation of Quetico Provincial Park as a unique wilderness area.”

Grand Portage State Park Closed Weekdays

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Grand Portage State Park will only be open on weekends until mid-August, due to site preparation work for a new 5800 square foot visitor center. The park will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but parking will be limited.

Guns in Voyageurs: Not Yet

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A law passed in May that will allow loaded firearms in Voyageurs and other national parks is not in effect yet. That’s the message Voyaguers officials are spreading, noting that the law doesn’t take effect until February 22, 2010.

Paddlers Celebrate 100th for Quetico, Superior

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A paddling expedition that pushed off yesterday is celebrating the 100th birthdays of the Superior National Forest and Quetico Provincial Park. Representatives of the Heart of the Continent Partnership will paddle a 24-foot voyageur canoe across the region.

Island Life Author to Speak at Voyageurs

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Ted Gostomski, the co-author of Island Life: An Isle Royale Nature Guide and a Biologist/Science Writer at the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Program of the National Park Service, will speak on Friday at Voyaguers National Park in International Falls.