ABSTRACT
The 1.3 million acres of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) is a vast network of ecosystems that emerged after the retreat of the last glaciers 10,000 years ago. Scraping, gouging rock, and ice eventually retreated and melted, leaving behind thousands of lakes, streams, waterfalls, ponds, bogs, and potholes, spectacular rock formations, gentle hills, dense forest, and countless large and small islands. Located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in the northeastern corner of the state, the BWCA extends nearly 150 miles along the international boarder. To the north is Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park, to the west Voyageurs National Park, to the east a variety of state forests that butt against the shores of Lake Superior, and to the south are the Iron Range communities of northern Minnesota. The BWCA contains over 1,200 miles of canoe routes and approximately 2000 designated campsites. Since it was set aside in 1926 for preservation purposes and made part of the 1964 National Wilderness Preservation System, access to BWCA is restricted to controlled permit canoe and portage travel. 1
