A federal judge has ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in a lawsuit over motorized towboat use in the Boundary Waters, bringing a resolution to the legal challenge filed this past spring. The decision ensures that outfitters can continue operating under the current management system.
Federal court sides with Forest Service
The lawsuit, brought by the conservation group Wilderness Watch, contended that the Forest Service was failing to enforce motor-use quotas established by the 1978 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act. As previously reported, the group presented data showing commercial tows exceeding what they argued were legally established limits.
In a ruling on September 29, however, Judge Nancy Brasel sided with the Forest Service. She stated the agency has “articulated a reasonable methodology for measuring motorboat use” and concluded that this use has not surpassed the legal limits.
For some canoe outfitters and visitors, the ruling is a welcome one. Operators argue that tows are essential for dispersing visitors deeper into the wilderness and providing critical access for older paddlers or those with mobility issues.
Wilderness character and ongoing debate
While this ruling settles the immediate legal question, it does not resolve the broader philosophical debate about motor use and its place in a designated wilderness. The decision arrives amidst budget cuts and as the Forest Service re-evaluates its management plan for the entire wilderness area—a process that has raised questions and tension around providing access and upholding the preservation mandates of the 1964 Wilderness Act and 1978 Boundary Waters Wilderness Act.
Tom Hall, forest supervisor for the Superior National Forest told Paddle and Portage after the ruling, “It is good news that towboats in the BWCA (Wilderness) are able to continue, and the American public is still able to access and recreate on their public lands.”
Yet, in a broader statement made last spring regarding the new management plan, Hall acknowledged the challenges facing the region. He noted that thirty years of monitoring and changes to national wilderness management policy have “highlighted several issues affecting wilderness character in the BWCAW and the wilderness experience for visitors.”
The ruling was delivered as a federal government shutdown was beginning, which has since affected agency operations. As the Forest Service moves forward, it will be tasked with reconciling these two realities: the court-affirmed legality of current towboat levels and the agency’s own acknowledgment that modern use patterns are impacting the very “wilderness character” it is charged with protecting.
More info:
- Paddle and Portage: Towboat Operations will Continue
- Star Tribune: Federal Judge rules in favor of Boundary Waters towboat operators
- Wilderness Watch Sues to Stop Motorboat Abuse in Boundary Waters