Minnesota officials and some Boundary Waters enthusiasts are celebrating the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences, or EXPLORE Act.

The final package of the EXPLORE Act includes more than a dozen policy measures aimed at supporting outdoor recreation on public lands, including Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Among other things, the bill would remove some of the permits required for filmmakers and photographers who take pictures and video on public land, including Superior National Forest, while reducing barriers for those who want to share stories, images, and video from the nation's most visited wilderness area.

In this episode, we hear from Cook County photographer Bryan Hansel about the photography and filming aspects of the EXPLORE Act. We also hear a quick update from the DNR about the upcoming trout fishing season in the BWCA Wilderness (Listen to the separate, full episode for more on the trout opener). 

In this episode we travel with Duluth based writer Ryan Rodgers to Pine Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Rodgers recently wrote an article in the Boundary Waters Journal about the life of Frank Kugler, an Austrian immigrant who was tried in Cook County for murder in 1919. Kugler shot a man named John Doe on Pine Lake that year, though he claimed the act was justified. 

We set out to visit the Kugler homestead to learn more about the tremendous saga of his life and times in and around the Boundary Waters. Ultimately, we learned more about Rodgers and what motivates him to write about the Boundary Waters and stories of violence, history, and redemption, than we did about Kugler himself. 

This episode is sponsored by:

Loons Nest Coffee

Sawtooth Outfitters

In this news track of the podcast, we hear an update on the "pause" of the Remote Area Border Crossing Program. Donny and Lisa Sorlie, owners of Chippewa Inn on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake, stopped by the P&P headquarters in Grand Marais to share an update. Also stopping by to explain how the RABC situation is impacting him is Cook County resident Darin Fagerman. 

Also in the short track, we hear from Grand Marais resident David Welch. An avid Boundary Waters skater, Welch engineered an ice skateboard and a social media post created by M Baxley and Bear Witness Media is generating a lot of buzz online. 

This episode is sponsored by: 

REDBUDSUDS

Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

Though winter is an amazing time to travel across the (frozen) Boundary Waters, a simple fact needs to be considered at all times: No ice is safe ice. At the very least, ice is extremely unpredictable. 

In this episode, we hear from Eric Glasson, LynnAnne Vesper, Pete Brautigam, and John Downing. They all have experience being on Boundary Waters ice. Perhaps more importantly, they share personal stories and facts about why people break through the ice.

This episode is supported by:

Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

Bent Paddle Brewing Company

Save the Boundary Waters Campaign

Canoecopia

Ely Outfitting Company

The Minnesota DNR has been using motors inside the federally protected BWCA Wilderness for many decades. The uses of motors range from the stocking of fish by airplane to the studying of fish populations using boats and nets on the many scattered lakes across the Boundary Waters. The DNR is allowed to use motors in the nation’s most visited wilderness. This permission comes from the U.S. Forest Service.

In this episode, we hear from DNR and Forest Service officials about the use of motorboats in the Boundary Waters, and how the research impacts things like wilderness character and the user experience for those visiting the canoe-country. 

This episode is supported by:

Sawtooth Outfitters

Ely Outfitting Company

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters

After a week of questioning from members of the press, Congressional staff, business owners, and people who are feeling left in the dark, Canadian officials are still being vague when it comes to the future of the Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) Program.

Luke Reimer, a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, told Paddle and Portage Nov. 19 that the Canadian agency “regularly assesses its programs to respond to current service needs and evolving trends.”

Part of assessing the current status of RABC permits includes dynamics focused on “ensuring the safety, security, and prosperity of Canada.”

With nothing in the way of a public announcement, the Canadian government in late September “paused the processing of new and renewal applications” for the RABC program that allows travelers to cross into certain remote parts of the Boundary Waters region. The podcast duo analyze the latest on the situation in this episode of the podcast. 

Also discussed in the episode is Canoecopia 2025. Tickets should be booked now for the largest paddling expo in North America. 

In this update from the road, we hear about a tour Bear Paulsen and Joe Friedrichs took of the Bending Branches facility in Wisconsin, share audio from an event for Last Entry Point at Fitger's where Rick Slatten and members of Mark Ham's family spoke, and M Baxley brings us an update from Emily Ford. 

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

Bent Paddling Brewing Company

Solbakken on Superior 

Not everything about winter camping is pleasant. It can be cold, windy, and basically one giant bundle of brutal. Other parts can be, and often are, magic. Sunsets. Solitude. Adventure.

The Winter Camping Symposium is a gathering to celebrate the arrival of winter and the gear that allows us to embrace the cold months in places like the Boundary Waters. The annual event celebrated its 25th year in 2024. 

Some of the Paddle and Portage team were on site for the event this year. They share stories that show the event is very similar to winter camping: It's beautiful, and it's not immune from the complexities of human interactions and experiences.

This episode of the podcast is supported by:

Voyageur Canoe Outfitters 

Loons Nest Coffee

Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply 

The U.S. Forest Service is facing a budget cut for 2025. 

Looking ahead to the 2025 paddling season, if some of the seasonal backcountry staff are absent from the BWCA Wilderness it could dramatically impact the visitor experience, Forest Supervisor Tom Hall acknowledged during a recent public meeting in Grand Marais. 

“How do we make sure that we’re doing the right thing out on the land, in the Boundary Waters, with digging latrines and cleaning portages and any of those other sorts of services?” Hall said. “And so how do we meet those critical needs, knowing that we don’t want to close the Boundary Waters?”

Hall and the Forest Service on Superior National Forest hosted an open house at the Tofte Ranger Station Oct. 30 to discuss this and other topics relevant to the Boundary Waters and surrounding area. Paddle and Portage attended the event and shares this update on what the budget cuts for the Forest Service could mean for the next paddling season. 

This news update on the podcast is supported by Solbakken on Superior and Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.