The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) is a 1,090,000-acre (4,400 km2) wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in a northeastern part of Minnesota. A mixture of forests, glacial lakes, and streams, the BWCAW's preservation as a primitive wilderness began in the 1900s and culminated in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978. While a destination for canoeing, hiking, and fishing, it has also been a focus and debate for its resources in both the forest and mining industries.
Notable Minnesota figures tied to the BWCAW area include conservationist Sigurd Olson, resident Dorothy Molter ("Rootbeer Lady"), and outdoorswoman Justine Kerfoot.
June 23, 2010 - There are six mining companies doing exploration work that could lead to mines near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness…and that's got a lot of people concerned. The companies are drilling deep holes, probing huge deposits of valuable copper, nickel, gold, platinum, and palladium. MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill visits the operation and has this report.
June 23, 2010 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness suing to stop construction of a cell phone tower near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
October 5, 2010 - Essayist Peter Smith reflects on a BWCA memory along the shore of Lake Agnes, and of an old robin he wish he had saved.
December 18, 2010 - Betsy Daub, from environmental group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, criticizes lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce against the Pollution Control Agency. Daub says it's an attempt to weaken environmental protections. The Chamber says a state rule governing sulfate pollution in wild rice waters is out of date and is not based on good science.
December 23, 2010 - MPR’s Kate Smith interviews author Greg Breining and photographer Layne Kennedy about their book “Paddle North,” which explores the Quetico-Boundary Waters. The two discusse the method, madness and philosophy of paddling Minnesota's big lakes and small streams.
September 14, 2011 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on the Pagami Creek Fire in the BWCA and National Superior Forest. Segment includes comments from forestry official and local residents impacted by the the fire.
September 15, 2011 - The Pagami Creek fire is the biggest fire the Boundary Waters have seen in more than a century...but historically, big forest fires used to be commonplace in that area. MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Lee Frelich, forest ecologist at the University of Minnesota, about the positive nature fire can offer, and the impact of climate change in the increase of fires.
September 16, 2011 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on elite fire crews from southwestern U.S. needing a crash course in use of paddle canoes in order to fight Pagami Creek Fire in BWCAW. Segment includes interviews on the different strategy of fighting fires in designated wilderness areas.
June 1, 2012 - Superior National Forest officials have detailed the harrowing story of six wilderness rangers who were nearly burned to death in the Boundary Waters during the battle to contain the Pagami Creek fire last year. The rangers all survived uninjured, but the incident has forced the Forest Service to change its approach to wildfires.
September 13, 2012 - MPR’s Brett Neely reports on U.S. House passage of bill to swap land inside BWCA. The bill allows Minnesota to give 86,000 acres of school trust lands inside the Boundary Waters Wilderness to the federal government. In exchange, the federal government would give Minnesota lands currently controlled by the Forest Service in the surrounding Superior National Forest.