Fishing

Posted by Lukas Leaf After a few days of rain in Canoe Country, we were blessed with two, back-to-back bluebird days in the BWCA, complete with 65 degree weather and

Once determined to proceed with a thorough environmental review of an unpopular proposed mine, the agency now only seems willing to pass the buck to the state...

Congress has an opportunity to reauthorize a program that has provided billions of dollars to conservation projects for over 50 years, all at no expense to the taxpayer. Set up to improve access to the outdoors, as well as conserve fish and wildlife habitat, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has dedicated almost $4 billion to a mix of state and federal programs.

Nearly 30 years later, on Feb. 15, 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt decided that some of the wild forests, wetlands and waterways in northeastern Minnesota should be added to America’s protected public lands. He signed Presidential Proclamation No. 848 establishing the 3.9 million-acre Superior National Forest. Today the heart of the national forest is the 1.1 million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), one of the world’s 50 greatest destinations according to National Geographic.

In the waning months of the Obama administration, a Chilean conglomerate was losing a fight with the United States government over a copper mine that it wanted to build near a pristine wilderness area in Minnesota. The election of President Trump, with his business-friendly bent, turned out to be a game-changer for the project.

7 years ago I ventured into Boundary Waters Canoe Area for the first time not knowing what to expect. It didn’t take long for me to realize the BWCA would always be part of my life. I have hunted and fished since I was a little kid and I have always had a passion for the outdoors, but trips into the BWCA are different. It allows me to truly unplug from the grind of daily life.

“I want to go to the Boundary Waters with you,” Nicole (my girlfriend of 4 months) asked. It was the best thing she ever requested. Without batting an eye I spouted, “Of course I’ll take ya!” My mind wandered to lakes I’ve visited and ones I’d like to explore. Which would be ideal for a first timer? The trail of thought led me to my first time. It was a family trip with our neighbors. All of us were first timers except for our neighbor – who had been guiding up there since he was a kid.

Piragis and Hal meet in Ely to discuss all matters related to the Boundary Waters, including why anybody would want a Chilean company to build a vast copper-nickel mine on a river at the very edge of the most visited wilderness in the United States, one of the most economically and ecologically important areas on the planet.

Host of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers' Hal Herring talks with Mark Norquist of Modern Carnivore and Chef Lukas Leaf, both are BHA Minnesota Board Members and long time advocates of Boundary Waters protection with Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters.