4/7/24 – Recently, the USDA Forest Service has indicated that they are looking into updating the management plan for the BWCA Wilderness. Understanding the world of federal agencies and how it affects the public lands we all love is something people spend their whole careers attempting to navigate. It’s a complex world of bureaucracy and we frequently hear confusion about Parks vs Wilderness, DNR vs USFS, National Forest campgrounds vs State Park campgrounds. However, we know that Sawbill customers have a wealth of experience and knowledge about the history and use of the BWCA. We value your opinions and know that there is immense value in sharing that input with the Forest Service.

The Forest Service is charged with managing the Superior National Forest. To do so, they operate under a Forest Plan. Within the Superior National Forest is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Similarly, within the Forest Plan is a management direction for the BWCA Wilderness. The mechanism for updating this management plan is to implement a Forest Plan Amendment, focusing on the BWCA Wilderness management. The last time this was updated was around 30 years ago.

Here is the letter to the public released by the Forest Service:

Here is the link to more information from the letter above: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/superior/?project=65777

There will be two open houses – an in person event on Thursday April 11th from 4:30 – 7pm at Superior National Forest Headquarters at 8901 Grand Ave Place in Duluth. A virtual open house will be held on April 18th from 4-6 pm. Send us an email at info@sawbill.com if you’re interested in attending virtually and we can send you the meeting link.

We will keep you posted as the process carries on. We look forward to chatting with you about your thoughts and ideas when you visit us this summer!

Clare