User:BlueCanoe/BWCAW

(this is a draft of a revision of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness article. Saved for posterity on --BlueCanoe 01:48, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC))

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA or BWCAW, sometimes casually referred to as the bee-dub) is a 1.09 million-acre (4400 km²) wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota (USA) and is under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. The BWCA is renowned as a destination for both canoeing and fishing, and is the most visited wilderness in the United States.

Geography

The BWCA is located west of Lake Superior, east of Voyageurs National Park, and south of another canoe-traveled wilderness, the Canadian Quetico and La Verendrye Provincial Parks. It also includes the highest peak in Minnesota, Eagle Mountain (2,301 feet/701 m). The watershed divide between the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay separates the east and west sides of the BWCA, and was an important landmark for the fur-trading Voyageurs of the 18th and 19th centuries. The two main communities with visitor services for the BWCA are Ely, Minnesota and Grand Marais, Minnesota. Several historic roads, such as the Gunflint Trail and Echo Trail, allow access to entry points.

History

Human history

Within the BWCA are hundreds of prehistoric pictographs and petroglyphs on rock ledges and cliffs. The BWCA is part of the historic homeland of the Ojibwe people, who traveled the waterways in canoes made of birch bark. During the 1730s, the French explorer and fur-trader La Verendrye became the first European to travel through the Boundary Waters. By the end of the 18th century, the fur trade had been organized into groups of canoe-paddling Voyageurs working for the competing North West and Hudson's Bay Companies. In 1926 the Superior Roadless Area was designated by the U.S. Forest Service, offering protection from mining, logging, and hydroelectric projects. The Wilderness Act of 1964 made the BWCA legal wilderness as a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Sigurd Olson, Minnesota author and conservationist, wrote extensively about and worked to protect the Boundary Waters. Several aspects of the management of the BWCA remain controversial today, including the use of motorboats, snowmobiles, and motorized portages, permit availability, and expansion of the wilderness area.

Natural history

Flora and fauna

The plants and animals of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area are representative of the boreal forest biome, and their ranges continue into southern Canada and the rest of the Great Lakes region. Trees found within the wilderness area include red pine, eastern white pine, jack pine, birch, balsam fir, white spruce, and white cedar. Blueberries are common in many parts of the BWCA.

Animals native to the region include moose, beaver, bears, bald eagles, peregrine falcons and loons. The Boundary Waters is within the range of the largest population of wolves in the continental United States. Woodland caribou once inhabited the region but have since disappeared due to loss of habitat and encroachment by deer. Fish species popular with anglers include walleye, northern pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and lake trout. The secretive eelpout may be found in deep, cold lakes.

On July 4, 1999, a powerful wind storm, or derecho, swept across Minnesota and southern Canada, knocking down millions of trees and affecting about 370 000 acres within the BWCA. Although campsites and portages were quickly cleared after the storm, an increased risk of wildfire remains a concern due to the large number of downed trees.

Geology

The lakes of the BWCA were carved from Precambrian bedrock of the Canadian Shield by advances of ice sheets during a succession of ice ages in the past two million years. Many varieties of this ancient bedrock are exposed, including granite, basalt, greenstone, and gneiss. The size and shape of many lakes in the BWCA are controlled by bedrock type.

Recreation

The BWCA contains over a thousand lakes and attracts visitors with its reputation for canoeing, canoe touring, fishing, backpacking, dog sledding, and remote wilderness character. The BWCA has over 1000 miles (1,600 km) of canoe routes composed of lakes and rivers connected by portage trails. As of 1999, about 75% of the BWCA's water area was reserved for non-motorized boat travel. Permits are required for all overnight visits to the wilderness area.

External links

Category:U.S. Wilderness Areas