April 4, 1997 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that sixteen exhausted negotiators gave up their efforts Thursday to settle the most contentious management issue in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. In twenty-two meetings over eight months, the panel managed to find consensus on minor disputes over the use of the federal wilderness area, but there was no agreement on the one issue that led to their convening.
December 4, 1996 - A mediation committee has failed to reach agreement on a plan to revise management of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. The committee negotiating the best uses for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area struggled to find any consensus after a proposal once considered a possible compromise was rejected by some Ely area residents and those who want to expand the wilderness.