Slightly fewer people are visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness these days, and the way they use the wilderness area is changing, too, Superior National Forest officials say.
U.S. Forest Service officials estimate that visitor use has declined about 11 percent from 2009 to 2014, based on the number of permits issued and other data, said Ann Schwaller, wilderness specialist for the Superior National Forest. An estimated 250,000 people visited the wilderness in 2014.
The number of young people visiting the wilderness is declining, Forest Service officials say, and the average age of Boundary Waters visitors is increasing.
None of that surprises Bill Hansen, owner of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters near Tofte. The backpacking and camping movement that swept the country, and especially young people, in the mid-1960s and early 1970s effectively jump-started backcountry use nationally. The Boundary Waters benefited from that, Hansen said. Many of those who began camping then are now older and less physically able to paddle and portage, Hansen said.
“We hooked a lot of people in their teens and early 20s back then,” Hansen said. “There was more free time for youth then. We didn’t have computers yet. People were outside more. … It may never be like it was at the peak.”
While the Forest Service encourages use of the wilderness, the agency must also, by law, protect the wilderness from overuse. Visitor use of the Boundary Waters is controlled through a quota system that allows a limited number of people to enter at each entry point each day from May 1 through Sept. 30.
Beyond the slow decline in visits to the Boundary Waters, use fluctuates year to year, Schwaller said. Several factors influence those annual fluctuations, including spring ice-out dates, the economy, wildfires and the prevalence of insect hatches.
“For example, we saw use drop after the (2011) Pagami Creek fire, then it bumped back up in 2013,” Schwaller said. “It dropped after the (2006) Cavity Lake fire, then bumped up again.”
Fewer young visitors
The percentage of youths 17 or younger visiting the Boundary Waters dropped 14 percent from 2009 to 2014, Schwaller said. The number of senior passes sold (for those 62 or older) increased 30 percent between 2009 and 2014, she said. That figure doesn’t include BWCAW use by seniors who pay regular fees to visit the wilderness instead of purchasing senior passes.
“Not just wilderness use but all outdoor use has been going down the last couple of generations,” said Kris Reichenbach, Superior National Forest spokeswoman. “As an agency, we really are looking at every way we can be more effective in connecting with younger people.”
The average age of Boundary Waters visitors has been increasing for four decades, according to a 2007 Forest Service study. According to the most recent Forest Service information, the average age of visitors was 26 in 1969, 36 in 1991 and 45 in 2007. About two-thirds of overnight visitors in 2007 described themselves as being 40 years of age or older.
Other changes in use
Other trends are emerging as well, Schwaller said. The wilderness is seeing more use in the fall than in past years. And, following national trends in wilderness use, visitors are staying more on the periphery of the BWCAW instead of forging deeper into the canoe country.
The average length of a BWCAW canoe trip remained at about five days from 2009 to 2014, Schwaller said.
The use of technology - cellphones, GPS and emergency locator beacons - by visitors also is increasing, said Sue Duffy, recreation and wilderness program manager for Superior National Forest.
“We don’t have a way to research that, but we sense there’s a tendency among wilderness visitors to rely on technology,” she said. “They’re bringing phones along. They use GPS. We encourage people to make sure they’re able to take care of themselves and not rely on technology.”
In another change in wilderness use, Boundary Waters campers leave less litter behind than they once did, Schwaller said.
“Years ago, our wilderness rangers were hauling bags and bags and bags of trash out,” she said. “They just aren’t doing that anymore. We just don’t see people leave all that trash anymore.”
Some changes, however, are putting more pressure on natural resources in the wilderness.
“If you look at the data, in the ’60s and ’70s and ’80s people shared tents…” Schwaller said. Now they want their own tents. … Our maximum group size is nine. They might show up with seven to nine tents. That has a big impact on our campsites.”
Campsite abuse also continues to be a problem, she said.
“Unfortunately, some groups are cutting green vegetation, which also enlarges the campsite, as well as hacking on trees with woods tools, eventually killing the larger trees that hold the soils together,” Schwaller said.
While canoeing remains the primary use of the Boundary Waters, more visitors are calling to ask about whether they can do trips using stand-up paddleboards, Schwaller said. That use is permitted, but the paddleboard must be counted as one of the four total watercraft permitted in a single party, she said.
