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.
September 8, 1996 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Emilie Buchwald, co-founder and publisher of Milkweed Editions, about nature essays. Milkweed Editions hopes the current debate over the use of the Boundary Waters will inspire people to put pen to paper and submit their writing in their essay contest.
October 27, 1996 - Emilie Buchwald, publisher of Milkweed Editions, reads the winning essay from Boundary Waters writing contest. Essay is titled “Going Home” by Larry Risser.
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.
December 6, 1996 - Negotiations in the federal mediation of the Boundary Waters issue are taking some time off after 14 non-consecutive days of negotiations. After months of discussion it seems there are still large disagreements over basic issues. In fact, one of the participants, Bill Hansen, a second generation canoe outfitter, has proposed just sticking with the status quo.
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.
July 31, 1997 - MPR’s Perry Finelli talks with Becky Rom, of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness; and Mike Forsman, St. Louis County Commissioner about BWCA legislation in Congress and the mediation process.
January 14, 1998 - MPR’s Leif Enger reports on cold weather tourism on the Gun Flint Trail, and the debates of what exactly that should be. Report includes various interviews and commentary.
May 19, 1998 - The reaction to news of a compromise on the BWCAW worked out between U.S. Representatives Jim Oberstar and Bruce Vento has been swift... and mixed. Oberstar's proposal to allow trucks on two wilderness portages has been entered into the transportation bill now under consideration by a Congressional Conference Committee. It has Vento's reluctant support after the addition of a provision removing some lakes from motor access.
May 20, 1998 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that leading environmentalists are vowing to fight a proposal that would return trucks to two boat portages in Northern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
May 20, 1998 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports on Obertstar-Vento compromise over motor use in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wildnerness. Northern Minnesotans hope the compromise will settle long standing disputes over the region. Congressman Jim Oberstar's proposal to allow trucks on two wilderness portages has been entered into the transportation bill now under consideration by a Congresional Conference Committee. It has Congressman Bruce Vento's reluctant support after the addition of a provision removing some lakes from motor access.