Minneapolis, Minnesota – Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC) 15th anniversary celebration kicks off with talk from noted author Stephen Wilbers. The event was well attended including representatives from allied hiking trails and clubs including the Kekekabic Trail Chapter of North County Trail, Border Route Trail Association, 3M Outdoor Club and Wilderness in the City. The event emphasized the value of wilderness spaces and the importance of preserving them.
BWAC has spent the past 15 years protecting wilderness spaces by performing trail stewardship and advocacy. Since it’s inception in 2002, BWAC has organized more than 100 trail clearing trips involving over 500 volunteers to preserve wilderness trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Over it’s lifetime BWAC has maintained almost every major trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
BWAC was founded by Martin Kubik whose interest in wilderness trail stewardship dates back to the 1980’s when a retired outfitter, Bill Rom from Ely, posted an award of $500 to anyone who would clear the interior 20 miles of the 40 mile long abandoned Kekekabic Trail. The award went to the Kekekabic Trail Club, led by Martin Kubik, after he organized more than 100 volunteers to clear over 3000 tree falls and reopen the Kekekabic Trail. At the BWAC 15th anniversary event, Kubik along with other BWAC board members, honored Bill Rom by contributing $2000 to save another trail, the Pow Wow Trail, which burned and became impassible after the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire.
To support the trail and protect wilderness spaces the “Partnership to Reopen the Pow Wow Trail” was announced during the event. This partnership is a consortium of volunteer organizations, outdoor businesses and corporations that support reopening the Pow Wow Trail to make it passable once again.
“Returning the Powwow trail in the Boundary Waters to a safe and navigable path for future generations is an ambitious but doable task. Our all-volunteer nonprofit invites everyone, from college clubs to outfitters to businesses and others, to join our Partnership to Reopen the Powwow Trail. More volunteers, more feet on the tread, and more people learning about this trail's place in history creates a more valuable hiking experience.” - Susan Pollock, Vice President, Boundary Waters Advisory Committee.
About Boundary Waters Advisory Committee
Founded in 2002, The Boundary Water Advisory Committee (BWA Committee) promotes the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the backpacking and hiking trails of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest. BWA Committee helps hikers to explore and develop a deep appreciation of the natural world. More information is available online at http://www.meetup.com/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails/ or by contacting Martin Kubik at wtrails2@yahoo.com
With more than 800 members in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the BWA Committee offers low cost wilderness backpacking trips with emphasis on safety, Leave No Trace philosophy and deep appreciation of nature.