Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Can the BWCA survive its own popularity?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Can the BWCA survive its own popularity?
The quiet lakes of the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota have been bustling with visitors, even as fires, development and international relations threaten the fragile area. Last summer, nearly 166,000 people paddled and camped across the watery borderland, up 16 percent from previous summers, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The BWCA was designated as a wilderness in 1964. Motorized boats are not allowed, so the only sounds you hear are the dip of a paddle and the occasional call of a loon. It’s a magical place. Walleye, lake trout, northern pike and bass swim in more than a thousand lakes, streams and back bays. Forests of pine, fir, spruce and cedar rise out of granite outcrops.
On Wednesday, guest host Dan Kraker will talk about how we can protect its isolated beauty as it’s used by more and more people.
Guests:
Ann Schaller oversees the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness as program manager for the U.S. Forest Service's Superior National Forest.
David Seaton has run Hungry Jack Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail with his wife Nancy Seaton for nearly 30 years.
Matt Poppleton is executive director of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, which sends groups of young people on canoe trips into the BWCA from a base camp on Burntside Lake near Ely, Minn.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
View all episodes
By Minnesota Public Radio
4.6
121121 ratings
The quiet lakes of the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota have been bustling with visitors, even as fires, development and international relations threaten the fragile area. Last summer, nearly 166,000 people paddled and camped across the watery borderland, up 16 percent from previous summers, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The BWCA was designated as a wilderness in 1964. Motorized boats are not allowed, so the only sounds you hear are the dip of a paddle and the occasional call of a loon. It’s a magical place. Walleye, lake trout, northern pike and bass swim in more than a thousand lakes, streams and back bays. Forests of pine, fir, spruce and cedar rise out of granite outcrops.
On Wednesday, guest host Dan Kraker will talk about how we can protect its isolated beauty as it’s used by more and more people.
Guests:
Ann Schaller oversees the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness as program manager for the U.S. Forest Service's Superior National Forest.
David Seaton has run Hungry Jack Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail with his wife Nancy Seaton for nearly 30 years.
Matt Poppleton is executive director of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, which sends groups of young people on canoe trips into the BWCA from a base camp on Burntside Lake near Ely, Minn.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
More shows like MPR News with Angela Davis
View all
This American Life
91,306 Listeners
Fresh Air
38,419 Listeners
The New Yorker Radio Hour
6,903 Listeners
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
38,969 Listeners
On the Media
9,239 Listeners
On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
4,027 Listeners
Song of the Day
575 Listeners
New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher
182 Listeners
Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
201 Listeners
YourClassical Daily Download
246 Listeners
Prince Remembered
79 Listeners
Minnesota Today
216 Listeners
Climate Cast
87 Listeners
Living While Dying: An ALS Story
26 Listeners
Politics Friday
41 Listeners
1A
4,699 Listeners
The Daily
113,307 Listeners
It's Been a Minute
9,103 Listeners
Consider This from NPR
6,466 Listeners
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
10,999 Listeners
The Interview
1,607 Listeners
Letters from an American
6,286 Listeners
The Best People with Nicolle Wallace
4,433 Listeners