Mid-1900s

• Early Settlement

The first Europeans to use northeastern Minnesota were fur-traders who greatly depleted the populations of beaver, mink, bear, and many other fur-bearing animals (“BWCAW”).  In 1765 jurisdiction of the area changed from French to British.  The current border line of Minnesota was established in 1842 for American territory.  After the era of fur trading diminished, mining became the predominant industry.  The pre-emption and homestead policies were used in the mid 1800s to attract European settlement.  Timber was seen as an obstacle to settlement and cleared for agriculture but the soil in the northeastern corner was thin and poor and could not sustain farming (Jesness and Nowell 1935). 

 

 

In the 1850s logging began as people like Robert Whiteside came to search for new sources of timber (Forrester 2004). Logging towns were built rapidly as large companies such as Weyerhaeuser and Knox became established.  With expanding technology such as railroads, steam crawlers, and telephone lines logging became faster, safer, and more efficient.  At the same time the average size of white pines in the forest was decreasing and eventually other species such as aspen and red pine became more common.  The logging industry reached its peak by 1900 and subsequently declined.  Despite the decline, the north remained the primary source of lumber in Minnesota (Jesness and Nowell 1935). 

By the mid 1900s there was a complete turnaround from attempting to get settlers to develop private property and large tracts of land were moved into state or federal holdings, including most commercial forests (Dana et al. 1960).   In the early 1900s land was set aside for Chippewa and Superior National forests.  Gifford Pinchot was one of the first to recognize the value of the forests and to seek management of the resource to promote sustainable forestry (Forrester 2004).  Large tracts of forest were set aside to be conserved for lumber through management by the government.  In addition to the economic value of timber it soon became apparent that recreation also provided large economic return.  In 1921 the Superior National Forest Recreation Association produced a resolution that the social, economic, scenic, and aesthetic views must be taken into account and national forests should be used to American citizens (“BWCAW”).  Arthur Carhart suggested early on that it was necessary to set aside some land aside strictly for recreational use without development and with minimal roads or visible management.  Along the same lines, Aldo Leopold championed the need for wilderness, large tracts of land left untouched, for recreation and spiritual renewal (Forrester 2004).  The land, however, had already been altered by logging and in many places the health of the biotic community was suffering and needed active management to restore forest health and quality.  This restoration view was expressed by Bud Heinselman who used science to support his claims that land should be preserved but also actively managed and studied (Forrester 2004). 

 

 

The land that is now the BWCAW became a “Primitive Area” in 1926 through Regulation L-20 so that the region could not be developed (Forrester 2004).  In 1930 the Shipstead-Newton-Nolan Act was set in place to preserve beauty by waterways, restrict logging within 400’ of the water, and prohibit alteration of water level (“BWCAW”).  During the 1940s Congress bought up remaining private property to complete the reserve and in 1949 a law was issued prohibiting flying below 4000’ except in emergencies. In 1958 the name Boundary Waters Canoe Area was given (“BWCAW”).  The 1960s saw an increase in desire for recreational area, preservation, and public access to waterways (Freeman and Selke 1960).  In 1964 the BWCA became a wilderness zone (BWCAW) and in 1978 logging was prohibited completely (Forrester 2004).

 

 

Not only land use changed during the last century, the BWCAW ecosystem has undergone substantial transformation as well.  Wildlife was viewed as economically valuable for its draw of hunters, fishers, and nature lovers though most large carnivores, moose, elk, and caribou were gone by the mid 1950s (Dana et al. 1960).  White-tailed deer populations increased drastically at this point and in turn further damaged the quality of plant communities leaving only unpalatable shrubs and trees and limiting biodiversity and habitat for songbirds (Lindenmayer and Franklin 2003).  Vegetation had already been altered by logging and few mature pines remained though further change was becoming evident from prevention of fire which limited the ability of white and jack pine seedlings to become established in the understory thus crippling regeneration for these species and allowing shade tolerant trees to become common (Forrester 2004).

 

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