Aaron Kania recently retired from his post as the district ranger for the Kawishiwi Ranger District on Superior National Forest. The district is headquartered out of Ely. Kania arrived to Ely to the lead the district in May 2020. He spoke with Joe Friedrichs about why he is retiring now, what he's proud of during his tenure here, and what comes next for him personally and professionally. 

Also discussed in the news track are possible changes to the start date for lake trout fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as an update on RABC permits. 

This news track update is sponsored by Loons Nest Coffee. 

The Greenwood Fire in 2021 led, in part, to the complete closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during the peak of the paddling season. Some of the burn area, about 12,000 acres located outside the BWCA Wilderness, was purchased in 2025 by the Nature Conservancy.

Fire is an essential component of a healthy forest, both inside and outside the BWCA Wilderness. If fire is not allowed to burn, some form of timber management is needed in order to prevent the forest from becoming a tinder box. This has led to complications inside the BWCA, where large stands of blowdown and dead balsam from an infestation of spruce budworm in recent years has large swaths of the forest ready to burn.

The land purchased by the Nature Conservancy will be managed for a healthy forest, which could include prescribed fire and logging, according to two foresters the Paddle and Portage Podcast duo met up with in the winter of 2025-26. Joe Friedrichs from the podcast spoke with Laura Slavsky, a resilience forester for the Nature Conservancy, and Chris Dunham, the resilience forestry director for the same organization. The discussion focused on the land purchase, and how timber management will be a centerpiece to the health of this land. This stands in contrast to the current management plans for the BWCA Wilderness, where logging is strictly prohibited and most wildfires are put out via aggressive suppression tactics.

In addition to this comprehensive audio report, watch this video to learn more: https://youtu.be/8Oe0K3jUAkA

This episode is sponsored by Borderland Lodge, Friends of the Boundary Waters, and Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters.

Tanya Piatz says she comes to the Boundary Waters for birding and to develop a deeper understanding of the connection between wildlife and the land. She also does this to reconnect with nature and get away from the hustle of everyday life.  

For the first time in her birding adventures, Tanya participated in an official bird count this year. The event she chose was in Grand Marais on Dec. 14. The 2025 Grand Marais Audubon Christmas Bird Count was a successful event once again this year, with more than a dozen birders seeing a combined 1,400 individual birds across an area from Lake Superior and up toward the Cascade River and inland toward Devil Track Lake, found near the start of the Gunflint Trail. 

The next morning, the day after the official count, the Paddle and Portage Podcast crew traveled approximately 40 miles up the Gunflint Trail with Tanya for some additional birding. In this episode, we invite you to join us. 

This episode is sponsored by Loons Nest Coffee, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and Borderland Lodge.

Snow. Freezing temps. This was a theme across Minnesota during the final week of November. And with it, came the first ice to the Boundary Waters. 

The first ice of the season can mean a lot of things. In this episode, we learn what it means for the Paddle & Portage Podcast duo as they venture onto the frozen water. Joining them on the first outing of the season was their old pal, "Omaha" Erik Dickes. 

This episode is sponsored by Sawtooth Outfitters and Loons Nest Coffee. 

Minnesota has more wolves than any other state, outside of Alaska.

In fall 2025, researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project released an updated study on wolf activity and the population of wolves in an area located about 10 miles southwest of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is found in the far reaches of northeastern Minnesota. The report tallied about 100 wolves in the study area near the BWCA and Voyageurs National Park. Some media reports highlighted that number as a "crash" of the population. Tom Gable, who leads the project, said the region's deer population ebbs and flows, as does the local wolf population.

The duo from the Paddle & Portage Podcast met with Gable in late fall to learn more about the wolf population near the Boundary Waters. Together, they paddled and portaged on the trail of a wolf, one suspected of killing a deer near a remote lake not long before they arrived to the scene. In this episode, we invite you to tag along.

This video is made possible by our Paddle & Portage member-subscribers, and by our sponsors, including Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, Sven-Saw, and Ely Outfitting Company.

Constance Simes circumnavigated Lake Superior solo in 2022. When the trip was complete, she'd paddled approximately 1,200 miles around Lake Superior in 57 days. She encountered high waves, of course. She also found deafening silence that moved her to tears. 

Simes, who grew up in Iowa and now resides in Wisconsin, spoke with M Baxley about paddling Lake Superior at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisc. 

This episode is supported by Loons Nest Coffee and Solbakken Resort on Superior. 

Erin Soderberg Downing grew up exploring the forests, lakes, and trails near Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Now an accomplished writer, Erin says her best ideas for stories often come to her deep in the woods, where she can find plenty of creative space to explore and imagine. 

Erin is the daughter of Barb Soderberg. Barb Soderberg’s career with the Forest Service started in 1967 on Superior National Forest, and she was intricately involved with crafting the 1978 BWCA Wilderness Act. She retired from the Forest Service in 2007.

Erin and Barb were in Grand Marais for the North Shore Readers and Writers Festival in early November. They met up with Joe Friedrichs from the Paddle & Portage Podcast at Artist's Point to talk BWCA issues, writing, and family life.

This episode is supported by Cascade Vacation Rentals. 

Shannon McGrath got her start paddling when she was 12 years old. By the time she was 16, Shannon had completed the Grand Portage from Lake Superior to the inland border lakes of the Boundary Waters. Then came a multi-month canoe trip to the Arctic Circle via the Coppermine and Hood rivers, including a week on the Arctic Ocean.

Now in her late 30s, Shannon continues to be a prolific paddler. She makes frequent trips to the Boundary Waters, including this fall, on an annual trip she makes with some of her friends to the BWCA. This year's trip will be perhaps most memorable as it featured a bachelorette party for Shannon. 

The Paddle and Portage Podcast met up with Shannon and her crew at Artist's Point in Grand Marais, just before they headed up the Gunflint Trail to start their fall adventure to the Boundary Waters. 

This episode is supported by Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and Northstar Canoes.