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Will the BWCA ever reduce thier quotas on permits so it is not so crowded and over used in sections?
fishguts
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Generally speaking, I wouldn't think so. There is too much at stake for the outfitters and others in the region that rely on the tourism. Some groups would really fight lowering the quotas, as many of us would fight raising them. A lot of the regulations, including the quotas, are compromises, so no one is completely satisfied, but at least we are at a truce. Quotas are reduced temporarily for fires and other similar events, but I believe the overall number of permits will remain about the same over time. Of course, we can go to the Quetico for solitude, but we have to pay a bit more to get that solitude.
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Thanks! I guess what you say is true....but I don't like it. I remember the BWCA before the fire grates and potties, and the crowds....now we go to Quetico. In a perfect world the BWCA would be kept wild and saved from over use, but I guess that is not to be. Here is a picture from 1975, Lake Insula I think.
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We just try to avoid the crowded areas by using EP's with fewer quota's and going into the burn areas. Last June we had Gabi to ourselves for 5 days, never saw another canoe. That has never happened to me in over 15 trips to that area. I think you can find that kind of solitude butit is all about when and where you go, mid summer would be tough.
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In a lot of ways, the BWCA is as 'wild' as it's been in the past few hundred years. People actually lived on many of the lakes (including entire Indian tribes) from before the Voyageur days until the late 1980's. This also included large scale logging camps and countless resorts. Airplanes & motors were allowed on a lot more of the routes until the late seventies. I know my Dad still used the number lakes & back to Insula - Alice via motorboat around the time of Fishguts photo. There were picnic tables, portage signs & even portage rests. Live trees were often used for firewood, tent poles, spruce boughs etc. Garbage was just piled up out back of most campsites or sunk in the lake. So, while there may have been less people back then, IMHO I think (as a whole) the BWCA of today is actually a closer representation of wilderness. And, I believe, that currently a significantly higher percentage of people treat it that way. So, my underqualified answer to the question would be no.
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Originally Posted by: TuscaroraBorealis  In a lot of ways, the BWCA is as 'wild' as it's been in the past few hundred years. People actually lived on many of the lakes (including entire Indian tribes) from before the Voyageur days until the late 1980's. This also included large scale logging camps and countless resorts. Airplanes & motors were allowed on a lot more of the routes until the late seventies. I know my Dad still used the number lakes & back to Insula - Alice via motorboat around the time of Fishguts photo. There were picnic tables, portage signs & even portage rests. Live trees were often used for firewood, tent poles, spruce boughs etc. Garbage was just piled up out back of most campsites or sunk in the lake. So, while there may have been less people back then, IMHO I think (as a whole) the BWCA of today is actually a closer representation of wilderness. And, I believe, that currently a significantly higher percentage of people treat it that way. So, my underqualified answer to the question would be no. Great observations, TB. I think we often forget the history of the area. The Boundary Waters has actually always been a very busy area, especially in the days of the voyageurs. It was a fur trade superhighway of sorts.
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I plan my BWCA after Labor Day. The fishing not as good, the weather is unperdictable (snow or 70 degrees) but I've have had many good trips were we don't see another sole. I feel your pain if you can only take a trip in June, July or August, but just think of the fishing!
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When we think of humans in wilderness, we're entertaining an illusion. Humans have never encountered wilderness without changing it. Even a million or more years ago, the advent of humanoids caused significant reductions in populations of large predators because of effective competition for the same food sources. Be thankful for fire grates and latrines. Fire grates prevent forest fires and latrines concentrate human wastes. I'd guess anyone reading this has seen the result of poor toilet practices even where latrines are present.
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When one considers the minuscule amount of area portages, campsites and hiking trails take up, I'm betting 99.9% of BW land is seldom if ever used, let alone abused. Yet I can sympathize with those who decry the number of folks on portages or occupying camp sites during peak seasons. In addition to tripping in the shoulder seasons, aim for dead end lakes off the popular routes, or lakes accessed only by long portages. You may not find complete solitude, but the quality of any folks you might meet will be better.
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