A bull moose dines on water lilies in the canoe country north of Ely. (News Tribune file photo)

The lottery for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) permits opened Dec. 1 and will continue through Jan. 15.  The lottery provides the first opportunity for visitors to reserve a BWCAW permit for the coming season.

Applicants must set up an account on www.recreation.gov to enter the lottery.   Application results can be viewed online between Jan. 16 and 20.

Faxed or mailed applications, and payments made by check and money order, are no longer accepted. Only successful applicants will be charged a non-refundable $12 reservation fee and applicable overnight user fees.

Beginning Jan. 20, first-come first-served wilderness permit reservations can be made online at www.recreation.gov.  Reservations may be made by phone beginning Feb. 1 by calling the new National Recreation Reservation Service toll-free at (877) 444-6777,  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central Time.

The hours of operation for the toll free number will be:

The BWCAW lottery was established to fairly distribute available quotas for entry dates and entry points where demand exceeds availability, according to the U.S. Forest Service.  For those who know their desired entry date and location well in advance, the lottery offers an early opportunity to make a reservation.  In the lottery process, permits are awarded through a computer-generated, random selection.

Tags: daily updates, outdoors with sam cook, oblog, outdoors