Forest Service won’t issue Boundary Waters canoeing permits at busy Ely and Grand Marais ranger stations
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Paddlers planning to venture into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this summer need to make alternative plans if they had hoped to pick up their permits at the Kawishiwi ranger station in Ely and the Gunflint station in Grand Marais.
The Forest Service notified permit holders via email Thursday that, effective immediately, those locations will not be issuing permits this year.
Canoeists can still pick up their permits at a variety of locations, including other ranger stations in northeastern Minnesota, and several businesses in Duluth, Ely, Grand Marais and up the Gunflint Trail.
But the ranger stations in Ely and Grand Marais are two of the most popular places for paddlers to pick up permits and watch the required video that educates visitors on camping rules and etiquette in the Boundary Waters, a federally protected wilderness area.
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Canoeists with a permit during the quota season, which runs from May 1 to Sept. 30, now need to modify their reservations at recreation.gov and select a new location to pick up their permits.
Forest officials did not give a reason for the change. But Jason Zabokrtsky, owner of Ely Outfitting Company, said that in a conference call Wednesday, cooperating businesses were told it’s because of budget and staffing issues within the Forest Service.
“There are a lot of changes that are happening at the Forest Service right now because of budget and staffing issues and those things are going to impact Boundary Waters user experiences this summer, and this is just one of those ways,” Zabokrtsky said.
For example, he’s worried that basic maintenance could suffer, including the clearing of portage trails that connect lakes and rivers in the wilderness.
A spokesperson for the Superior National Forest declined an interview request. She said the agency would issue a statement via social media on Monday. She said the focus was to first notify permit holders and area businesses.
Zabokrtsky said that during the conference call with cooperating businesses, Forest Service officials said that 3,800 permits were scheduled to be issued at the Kawishiwi station in Ely, and 1,700 permits at the Gunflint station in Grand Marais.
Outfitters will absorb much of the additional work of issuing permits, which Zabokrtsky said will add a significant amount of time to their workdays. Businesses that write permits are allowed to charge $2 for the service, something many choose not to do.
He said his bigger concern is the loss of face time between visitors and Forest staff.
“The one time the Forest Service gets to interact with Boundary Waters users face-to-face and actually educate them on the rules and regulations and best practices and ‘Leave No Trace’ is when they issue a permit,” Zabokrtsky said.