2024 Spring Crew Member Training

Almost 60 volunteers looking to assist the BWAC organization with trail clearing, attended the Spring Crew Member Orientation and Safety Training this past Tuesday evening at the REI Bloomington location.

The event covered topics such as who is the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC), and gave an overview of the Powwow, Sioux-Hustler, Eagle Mountain, and Brule Lake trails that the organization maintains in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Members of the organization also coached volunteers who signed up for Spring trips, on what happens after registering– such as meeting up for a crew hike, gear needed, tools, safety and what life on the trail looks like as a volunteer.

Crew Leader picnic and training session

The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee is gearing up for fall clearing trips to the Powwow Trail. After a shortened spring trip season, due to snow cover, crew leaders have planned 13 trips for September and October 2022. To continue our record of safe and productive trips, 23 crew leaders met on Thursday, August 11th at the North Mississippi Regional Park for a picnic lunch and a refresher leadership training session. Presentations were given by the trail committee chairs, and the Forest Service liaison / tool boss. Crew leaders are now prepared to host trips for new and returning volunteers. Become a volunteer crew member by signing up Meetup membership to view available trips. Contact the crew leaders for consideration.

November News and volunteer with BWAC at the Midwest Mountaineering Expo

Dear BWAC Members and Friends,

Thank you for your enthusiastic advocacy for wilderness trails in the Superior National Forest. Whether you joined a work crew, hiked the Powwow Trail, learned about or talked about the BWAC mission with a friend, you made a contribution to keeping BWCAW trails safe and accessible.

What’s up with BWAC?

• Your help is needed November 19-21 to staff the BWAC booth at the Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Adventure Expo. https://www.outdooradventureexpo.com/ No backpack or dehydrated meals required. We love browsing the sale, the exhibitor booths, the presentations and the opportunity to let folks know about our unique BWAC volunteer opportunities. Job description: greet visitors and be an ambassador for our rewarding trips. Two to three volunteers for each shift are needed. Sign up for a shift at https://www.meetup.com/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails/events/.

• More than fifty supporters made the trek to the Powwow Trailhead October 30 to celebrate Ten Years of Powwow Trail Restoration and Forest Recovery. The sun shone; the speakers were top-notch; the cake and cocoa were perfect. Many attendees experienced the first mile of trail on a hike to the Isabella River bridge. The celebration was hosted by BWAC in collaboration with the land manager, the Superior National Forest. KBJR6, Duluth NBC affiliate, story and video here: //kbjr6.com/2021/10/30/ten-years-of-restoration-bwcas-powwwow-trail-ready-for-backpackers/

• 2021 Accomplishments. Shout out to BWAC's impressive crew leaders and crew members. Numbers are still coming in but it looks like 125 generous volunteers pitched in to clear the Powwow trail on twenty-one crews. Crews were able to reach about 75% of the trail this year, despite spring trips limited in size and BWCA Wilderness-wide closures.

• Looking ahead. BWAC will be back. Brush and shrubs keep encroaching and burned trees keep choosing the trail corridor to block. We hope you can plan to return, or to be a first-timer, to trail in 2022.

• Volunteer Recognition and Annual Meeting. Membership party! Plans are percolating for crew reunions, a catered dinner, a special guest speaker, and the BWAC annual meeting during the first half of February. Stay tuned for an announcement.

• Powwow Trail Hiker Guide. The long-awaited PWT Hiker Guide was first released in October 2020. Testimonials from the trail in 2021 confirm that it is being used to plan trips and get out and backpack the trail. Look for the 2nd edition on www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org after December 1. If you would like to be sent a pdf now, please email info@BoundaryWatersTrails.org.

BWAC is grateful for your support, whether you are a past or future wilderness trail advocate. Call or email me at Susan.Pollock@BoundaryWatersTrails.org with any questions, to find out more about how you can help, or to say hello.

Sincerely,

Susan Pollock, President

The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC)

www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org

612 644-4562

US Forest Service and BWA Committee Celebrate 10 Years of BWCAW Powwow Trail Restoration on October 30

For Immediate Release:

US Forest Service and BWA Committee Celebrate 10 Years of BWCAW Powwow Trail Restoration on October 30

Event Date: Saturday, October 30

Time: 1 PM – 2:30 PM

Location: Powwow Trail trailhead at Forest Center, near Isabella, Minnesota

Please RSVP Today at https://www.meetup.com/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails/events/281073808/

October 18, 2021. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWA Committee) in collaboration with the US Forest Service invites all outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate 10 year anniversary of the Pagami Creek Fire and the multi- year effort by volunteers to restore the Powwow Trail.

After the Pagami Creek Fire obliterated more the 95% of the 30-mile-long Powwow Trail, the Forest Service cleared the trail, but ceased the maintenance in 2016 citing prohibitive cost. That’s when the BWA Committee offered to step in and help ever since. Volunteers saw the Powwow Trail as historically unique because it combines old logging roads joined by a connecting link to make it a loop trail. Powwow Trail is a legacy trail because it was built in the aftermath of the BWCA Wilderness Act of 1978.

After the fire, several thousands of dead trees fell across the trail. At the same time, millions of post fire jack pines choked the path rendering the path increasingly impassable. Hikers in 2014 reported either turning back or spending one hour to bypass tangle of treefalls that stretched only 50 yards in the path. Clearing of the trail called for an approval by the US Forest Service and for an unprecedented organizing effort that stretched over several years. BWA Committee contacted the office of the Representative Rick Nolan, and the Forest Service approved clearing a six-mile segment to Pose Lake. After two seasons Forest Service gradually approved further re-clearing of the trail and BWA Committee responded by organizing 150 crews that cut more than 20,000 dead falls and as many new jack pines in past three years.

The miracle on the Powwow Trail is truly remarkable considering that after the fire there were sceptics who doubted that anyone could accomplish the herculean task. This year the US Forest Service renewed efforts to restore several campsites along the trail and recently replaced aging kiosk at the trailhead. Another collaboration project involving the BWA Committee and the Forest Service was replacing the decaying bridge at Diana Lake. The new bridge was built from locally sourced tamarack trees that are naturally rot resistant and is expected to last for several decades before it will need to be replaced again.

Speaking at the event will be John Benson, USFS recreation planner, Martin Kubik, founder of the BWA Committee and of the Kekekabic Trail Club, Susan Pollock, BWAC president, BJ Kohlstedt, Pagami Creek fire coordinator. Shannon Rische, Superior National Forest Deputy Forest Supervisor and other USFS officials will be attending. A cake and hot beverages will be served at the event.

BWA Committee is a volunteer run nonprofit dedicated to preserving the existing, historic, and naturally beautiful trails of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of the Superior National Forest.

For more information, contact Martin Kubik, martin.kubik@boundarywaterstrails or on 651-214-5849 c.

Fall Trips Announced

Our fall trip planning is in full swing. See a summary on our trips page or meetup!

Summer News from the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee

Greetings Friends of Boundary Waters Trails,

Summer is progressing and I hope we are all finding ways to ease back into enjoying social activities. Here is the latest news from the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee.

BWAC Picnic Wednesday, July 28. BWAC is pleased to announce a long-awaited in-person event coming up Wednesday, July 28, at Afton State Park. We’d like to see you!

All are welcome—past and present volunteers, would-be-volunteers, friends, family, find-out-more-about wilderness trails-outdoor enthusiasts—to attend a casual summer meet and greet. This is a bring-your-own picnic dinner. BWAC will provide beverages, charcoal for the grill, and wood for a campfire.

Help BWAC plan for a dozen or one hundred attendees. For event details and to RSVP, visit the BWAC meetup site here: https://www.meetup.com/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails/events/279367581/

Fall 2021 Trips. Your help is needed on the Powwow Trail. Volunteer crew leaders are busy coordinating calendars and routes for fall trips. We love to hike in the fall and you will, too. BWAC will get you up and running (ok...walking with a pack and a hand saw or lopper) whether you haven’t yet been to the Boundary Waters or you are an experienced visitor. Stay tuned to Meetup for trip announcements later this month.

Spring 2021 trips wrap. A huge thank you to the sixty trail volunteers who swarmed the Powwow this past spring. We couldn’t do it without you. The trail is in the most hikable condition since prior to the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire; some long-timers report the tread is even more hikeable thanks to the many dozens of BWAC crew members working hard to keep the Powwow safe and accessible.

Minnesota’s BWCAW wilderness trails belong to all of us. BWAC has been stewarding wilderness trails in the BWCAW with integrity, hard work, and fun for almost twenty years. I am happy to talk trails or trail advocacy with you. Email or call with any concerns or to find out more about how you can help.

I hope to see you at the BWAC picnic on July 28, or on trail this autumn.

Sincerely,

Susan Pollock
President
The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC)

Friends of BWCA Trails: Spring 2021 President's Message

Greetings, Meetup/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails Members,

Spring is in the air across Minnesota, and BWAC’s long awaited clearing season is well underway. As I write this letter, three clearing crews are dispersed on the Powwow Trail and BWAC’s tenth and final spring trip departs this Thursday, May 20.

Spring Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC) highlights—

• Volunteers on trail. BWAC is continuing to clear downed trees and new growth on the historic Powwow Trail in the BWCAW. Ten clearing trips, a total of 57 volunteers, were organized for spring 2021. Two of the most remote, uncleared segments of the trail—from Superstition to Mirror Lakes on the west, and the beautiful South Wilder Lake campsite vicinity on the loop north—have been cleared or are finally being cleared this weekend.

• Hiking is Hip. You’ve heard the news. Many of us were eager to get away to the woods and lakes to help preserve our health and sanity during 2020. Entry permits for the BWCAW were way up in 2020. In-season canoeing permits increased by 25% and in-season hiking permits increased by an astounding 86% from 2019 to 2020. You can find more detailed data here: USDA Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Superior National Forest Permit & Visitor Use Report 2016-2020.

• Latrines on the Loose. Campsites are coming. The U.S. Forest Service and BWAC are working together to return designated camping locations to the Powwow Trail. Eight campsites along the loop were incinerated in the 2011 Pagami Creek fire. Many thousands of volunteer hours have now opened the trail, but hazard trees remain at campsite locations, and latrines need to be installed. BWAC crews have moved toadstool latrines and skids to three locations; the digging and tree felling by the USFS is expected in the coming months.

• BWAC can help you help a trail this fall. Planning has already begun for fall maintenance trips. As a Meetup/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails member, you will receive notification of events and clearing trips as they are announced. I hope you can make time to join a fall crew and experience the hard work and rewards of keeping a wilderness trail accessible and safe.

Trails don’t maintain themselves. I am privileged to work with committed BWAC leadership, to know many of our current trail volunteers, and to extend the BWAC mission to potential volunteers. Thank you for your interest and support of BWAC and of trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Whether you volunteer to maintain a wilderness trail with BWAC or hike your own hike, may you find a way to connect with the woods this summer or fall.

Sincerely,

Susan Pollock

President

The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee

www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org

About the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC). BWAC is an all-volunteer Minnesota nonprofit, established in 2002. The BWAC mission is to preserve existing historic and intrinsically beautiful trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest. BWAC volunteers maintain trails in the BWCAW under a signed agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. Learn more at www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org.

Please visit and support major BWAC sponsors:

• Kawishiwi Lodge and Lake One Outfitters (Ely, MN)

• Keith Myrmel maps

• Kollath Graphic Design (Duluth, MN)

• Lake Superior Trading Post (Grand Marais, MN)

• Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Store (Minneapolis, MN)

• Piragis Northwoods Company (Ely, MN)

• Trailtopia™ Adventure Food

Volunteer Group to clear on the BWCAW Powwow Trail Again This Spring

Volunteer Group to clear on the BWCAW Powwow Trail Again This Spring

Minneapolis, MN. Minneapolis-based nonprofit, the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (“BWAC”), plans to send ten crews to maintain the legacy Powwow Trail in May this year, the ten-year anniversary of the Pagami Creek Fire. This year BWAC recruited more than 55 volunteers for trips in May.

Recruiting during the COVID19 pandemic represented a challenge to BWAC as traditional avenues of recruitment (i.e., presentations at outdoor retailers or colleges) were not possible. The club retooled its recruitment strategy to increase its presence on social media and the change paid off. Although the pandemic shows signs of abatement, BWAC will still limit crews to six people rather than nine as in the past for spring trips.

Susan Pollock, BWAC President, stated: "Joining a trail clearing crew is experiencing the magic of a wilderness trail in a special way, by being part of something bigger than yourself. BWAC is living its mission is to preserve and educate the public about historic trails in Minnesota’s BWCAW. “At the end of the 2020 hiking season, a survey crew counted fewer than 500 treefalls. This is a is markedly lower number as compared to several years ago when thousands of treefalls blocked the trail, making it extremely challenging for even the most expert and fit hikers.

This year, the U.S. Forest Service has tentatively agreed to restore several fire-destroyed campsites so that backpackers have access to water and latrines when they camp. Last year a BWAC volunteer crew, with the help of the U.S. Forest Service, replaced a decaying 22 foot-long log bridge at Lake Diana creek with locally sourced tamarack logs. Because tamarack is naturally rot-resistant, the bridge is expected to last for several decades.

Backpackers should now have a much easier time both navigating and camping along the Powwow Trail. To assist, BWAC has a free on-line guide to the trail on the website www.BoundaryWatersTrails.orgBWAC is a non-professional non-profit founded in 2002. Its mission is to preserve the existing historic and intrinsically beautiful trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest. BWAC has chapters in the Twin Cities and in Duluth, Minnesota. BWAC volunteers work with the U.S. Forest Service under Volunteer Service Agreement.

For more information contact:

Martin Kubik, Founder

December Greetings from the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee

Dear BWAC Volunteers and Friends,

 As 2020 comes to a close, I want to thank each of you for supporting BWAC’s mission of advocating for and preserving BWCAW trails in the Superior National Forest. The dedication and warmth of our members was more apparent than ever during the unpredictable months of 2020. Whether you were able to join one of our work crews, were an administrative helper, walked a Boundary Waters trail in 2020, or spread the word about our nonprofit, thank you for paying forward to Boundary Waters trails.

Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC) 2020 highlights:

• Early in the year, BWAC reorganized our Board of Directors and steering committee relationship to more clearly reflect our obligations as a healthy 501c3 Minnesota nonprofit. June saw another transition with the semi-retirement of BWAC president and founder, Martin Kubik.

• Seventy of you attended the BWAC 2020 Annual Meeting and Dinner held February 6 at the Bloomington REI, featuring our annual report and keynote speaker Cary Griffith.

• BWAC was unable to hold our traditional “y’all come” April orientation and spring training, but organizers scrambled to produce our first-ever virtual crew leader and crew member training modules. We did a darn good job: 2020 was another injury-free trail season with well-prepared backpackers and canoeists.

• Seventy-two individuals—four times more than volunteered in all of 2016—registered for a spring work crew before StayHomeMN shut down the BWCAW and all trips were canceled.

• The long-awaited Powwow Trail Hiker guide was published in print-on-demand format on the BWAC website, www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org.

• Eager to be back in the woods, 88 volunteers—twenty-two work crews—swarmed the Powwow this summer and fall clearing brush and cutting treefall. The trail corridor you have cleared since 2012 is almost completely defined. Thanks in large part to our active website and facebook presence featuring trail conditions and news from the Powwow, nearly every work crew saw other hikers and backpackers using the trail.

• An unseasonably warm November weekend allowed BWAC and the U.S. Forest Service to complete the Diana Lake bridge rebuild project, creating a safe (and dry) crossing for hikers.

• The BWAC volunteer appreciation event was held December 2 and attended by nearly fifty BWAC members, volunteers, sponsors and USFS rangers. You can find a video replay of the event here. Door prizes were donated by Trailtopia™ Foods, Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Store, Keith Myrmel Maps, and BWAC member Rick Kloetzke.

• Congratulations to BWAC shared drive and BWAC website manager, navigation boss, and crew leader Zach Thorson who received the 2020 BWAC volunteer of the year award. Thank you, Zach, for all you do!

BWAC has a modest annual budget but we do depend on trip registrations, donations, and corporate match volunteers for expenses such as tools, maps, printing, website hosting, etc. A shout out to employees of 3M, Medtronic, and EcoLab who chose to match their volunteer hours this year with a cash donation from their employer to BWAC. We are grateful and the dollars will be responsibly spent. Tax-exempt donations from individuals are always welcome and can be made through GiveMN or a check mailed to The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee, 309 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis MN 55454. No gift is too big or too small.

BWAC will be back with spring trips in 2021. I hope you can make time to join a crew. If you are a Meetup/Friends-of-BWCA-Trails member you will receive notifications of our events and volunteer opportunities. We plan to offer survey trips, clearing trips, and are looking forward to collaboration with our trail partner, the U.S. Forest Service, in re-opening campsites along the Powwow Trail.

Not everyone can volunteer every year or even more than once, but each of us can tell a neighbor or colleague about the remarkable trails in the BWCAW, and about the rewards of helping to preserve them. Share what you know about wilderness trails. If you are lucky enough to be part of a crew in 2021, trust that you will have a story to tell next December, “How I helped save a Boundary Waters hiking trail.”

Best wishes for a peaceful and Happy New Year,

Susan Pollock

President

and the BWAC Leadership Team

The Boundary Waters Advisory Committee

www.BoundaryWatersTrails.org

Diana Lake Bridge Restoration Complete!

An unseasonably warm November weekend allowed BWAC and the U.S. Forest Service to complete the Diana Lake bridge rebuild project, creating a safe (and dry) crossing for hikers.