The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is highlighted on a map of possible places for “increasing timber production” that was shared by federal officials in Washington D.C. last week.

The order, signed April 3 by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, declares an emergency on more than 176,000 miles of national forest. The order calls for logging in order to increase timber production and reduce the risks associated with wildfires.

The map accompanying the announcement clearly shows the emergency order applies to land protected as federally-designated wilderness across the nation, including the BWCA here in Minnesota. That said, the Forest Service informed Bloomberg Law that it logging won’t take place inside wilderness areas as part of the order.

In related news, an expected loss of timber products is due to the highly-publicized tariff war between the U.S. and Canada. 

The Paddle and Portage Podcast team speaks on these topics in this news track.

Canadian helicopters and drones are flying over the lakes of the Boundary Waters with greater frequency as the 2025 paddling season nears. 

From Lake Superior to the far western edge of the Boundary Waters near Ely, reports of sightings of drones and helicopters flying just above the tree line continue to reach the Paddle and Portage Podcast team.

Part of the podcast team traveled to Saganaga Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail in late March to check out the situation. We traveled to Quetico Provincial Park via Cache Bay with property owners on the Canadian side of Sag, using our recently renewed RABC permit in the process. 

This episode is supported by: 

Solbakken Resort on Superior

Save the Boundary Waters

Sawtooth Outfitters

Maddy Frawley is a fixture at the end of the Gunflint Trail. For the past decade, she's worked at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters, including the past three as a manager on site. Maddy, along with her partner, Clay, won't be around this paddling season, as they are moving to the Twin Cities in the months ahead.

Maddy stopped by the Paddle and Portage headquarters in Grand Marais to discuss Trail life, living and working at the end of the Gunflint, and why she is moving on to her next chapter.

This episode is supported by:

Bending Branches Canoe and Kayak Paddles

Sawbill Canoe Outfitters

The Paddle and Portage team is constantly taking inspiration and motivation from wilderness. The act of regularly getting out not only inspires the work, but actually is the work itself. It is both the goal and the path to the goal. In this episode, we support this notion through the stories of Oregon Bill Busacker, Cousin Jeff Frawley, Emma Froh, and Natalya Egon. 

This episode sponsored by: 

North Country Canoe Outfitters

Ely Outfitting Company

Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters

Canoecopia 2025 found itself in the middle of a news story. As Canadian paddlers and businesses arrived to Madison, Wisc., for the world's largest paddling expo, talks of tariffs and political tension between the U.S. and Canada dominated news headlines across both nations. This simmering unfolded in multiple ways at Canoecopia, both ahead of and during the event. Rising above any tension was unity. And that unity comes from paddling, as event organizers share in the podcast. 

Also featured in this episode, recorded entirely at Canoecopia 2025, is a highlight on paddler and author Cliff Jacobson. This year's expo was Cliff's final as a presenter, something he has done for decades at the annual event. Cliff spoke with the Paddle and Portage Podcast just before his presentation, titled "My Last Picture Show: Remembering a Lifetime of Canoeing Wild Rivers." 

This episode is sponsored by: 

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness 

Women's Wilderness Discovery

Special thanks to Canoecopia and Rutabaga Paddlesports for making this episode possible. 

Kelcy Huston grew up splashing in the creeks and rivers along Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior. She moved out West as a young adult, working a number of outdoor jobs for state and federal agencies. It was a job based near the Lochsa River in Idaho Huston discovered a passion for whitewater paddling. This passion would lead her to some some of the best paddling destinations across the nation, including multiple trips down the Grand Canyon. 

Kelcy moved back to Minnesota recently to be closer to family. The Paddle and Portage team heard about Kelcy and paddling adventures through her father, Pat. We also heard about another family member that make this story one podcast listeners won't soon forget. 

This episode is sponsored by: 

Borderland Lodge 

Loons Nest Coffee 

There was a report from the Star Tribune this week that the Gunflint Ranger Station in Grand Marais “has no employees.” The Paddle and Portage Podcast team went to the office Feb. 20 and found it was open and there were people at the front desk.

In this news update on the podcast, we talk about Trump administration’s deferred resignation program for federal employees. The offer, commonly referred to as “Fork in the Road,” has now expired. Following its expiration, multiple Forest Service employees who work on Superior National Forest were let go, sources confirmed with Paddle and Portage. The podcast team attended a community rally in Ely Feb. 15 that was, at least in part, to show support for the Forest Service employees.

Also discussed in this episode are tangible impacts happening now in the BWCA as a result of the staff reductions. One noticeable impact is a lack of day-use/non-quota season permits being available at kiosks on the Gunflint Trail. Not having a permit while a person is in the BWCA Wilderness is against the law. Though, who is accountable if there are no permits in the kiosks? All of this and more discussed on this news update on the podcast.

Ella Hall is buried in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A grave on a small island located on a lake bearing her name is not something most BWCA paddlers are aware of, let alone come across. 

In this episode, we share the story of Ella Hall. We do so with the help of the late Mike Hillman, an iconic storyteller who lived for many years in and around Ely. Known locally as “Iron Mike,” he wrote and published many stories about the Boundary Waters region. One of the stories he wrote was titled “Legend of the Lost Girl: A Boundary Waters Story.” In his story, which was never published, Mike Hillman writes about life and death of Ella Hall. Thanks to White Raven Productions and Allison Hillman, Mike's daughter, for making this episode possible. 

This episode is sponsored by Cascade Vacation Rentals.

It's been a cold winter across the Boundary Waters region. Damn cold, in fact. 

Temperatures hit -30 Fahrenheit from the Gunflint Trail to areas near Ely in the middle of February. Double-digit negative temperatures have become something of the norm this winter, dating back to the Jan. 1 trout opener in the BWCA Wilderness. 

In this episode of the podcast, we talk about what ice thickness means for anglers and winter campers for the remainder of the season. One consideration is that auger extensions will become essential in many cases, as Chad Kieper from Gunflint Wilderness Guide Service shares with the podcast team. 

This episode is supported by Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters

Sometimes you end up in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

In this episode of the podcast, the bulk of which was recorded in the Minnesota capital, we hear from Dan Johnson, the founder of BWCA Wild. Dan films the portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. As of February 2025, he's about a third of the way done filming all of the portages. We met up with Dan to talk about his trip reports, videos, and travels in the Boundary Waters. 

Joining the conversation is Scottie Baldwin. Scottie is a sound engineer. He's worked with artists ranging from Prince to the biggest pop starts in China. Through it all, the Boundary Waters has been a place of solace for Scottie. As has our podcast. In the episode, Scottie shares why he didn't book a single permit on "go live" day this year. Hint: It's because of a story he heard on this podcast. 

This episode is sponsored by:

Borderland Lodge

Canoecopia

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness