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The pine and mixed hardwood forests of northern Minnesota mingle with hundreds of lakes, ponds and streams that give the area its appeal and famous name. A mecca for canoeing, hiking, wildlife viewing and fishing, the Boundary Waters is now the most visited Wilderness area in the United States. Local towns depend on the recreation dollars that the country's only canoe-based wild forests draw.

The Boundary Waters'’ magnificent wild character was recognized for protection in the original Wilderness Act of 1964, but no less important are the surrounding roadless forests that are just as wild but are currently without protection. These roadless forests protect the Boundary Waters from the impacts of off- road vehicles (ORVs), logging and logging roads, but are also needed to provide backcountry recreation and wilderness opportunities for a growing and increasingly active population.

The US Forest Service has plans to conduct clearcut logging on over 10,000 acres of the Superior National Forest each year. The Forest Service logging program is now targeting an area around the Echo Trail. This single logging project will clearcut twenty-five square miles of forests and scar up to eight separate roadless areas, degrading one-third of Minnesota’s last wild, unprotected woods.

The Sierra Club is working to protect the Boundary Waters — find out how you can help by contacting Josh Davis at 612-659-9124.