For anyone unaware but interested, quietjourney would like to pass along the following (without comment--but we welcome your comments) received from...

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness BWCA Wilderness E-Update #26 June 7, 1999 www.friends-bwca.org

In this edition:
*PUBLIC INPUT NEEDED FOR VOYAGEURS NATIONAL
*PARK PLANNING
*CCVNP FUNDING VETOED
*NEW PERMIT RESERVATION INFORMATION

* PUBLIC INPUT NEEDED FOR VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK PLANNING
Voyageurs National Park (VNP), a 218,000 acre park directly west of the BWCA Wilderness, has scheduled public review meetings concerning their "General Management Plan/Visitor Use and Facilities Plan." This planning process will set the stage for park management decisions for the next 20 years. The GMP/VUFP will consider all aspects of park management, including to what degree lakes will be motorized, if at all; maintenance of existing trails and development of new ones; habitat and species protection; campsite development; potential visitor management tools, such as permit systems, user fees, etc.; and much more! The meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at about 9:30 p.m.. They will be held in an "open house" format, so you can come at anytime and stay as long as you want! Tonight! Monday, June 7, 1999 Holiday Inn 1500 Highway 71 International Falls, Minnesota Tuesday June 8, 1999 American Legion/Community Center Orr, Minnesota Wednesday June 9, 1999 Holiday Inn/Great Lakes Ballroom 200 West 1st Street Duluth, MN Thursday, June 10, 1999 Sheraton Inn Midway/Minnesota II Room 400 North Hamline Avenue St. Paul, MN If you cannot attend, but would like to provide comments or to obtain a copy of the Management Alternatives Response Booklet, please contact Kathleen Przbylski at Voyageurs National Park, International Falls, MN 55649, 218-283-9821. Or, check out the park's web site at: http://www.nps.gov/voya.

*CCVNP FUNDING VETOED
On a related note, Minnesota Governor Ventura has vetoed $70,000 in funding for the "Citizens Council on Voyageurs National Park" (CCVNP). The group, which is a state funded organization designed to advocate and cooperate with VNP, has often been one of the leading anti-park confronting park management and policies. In fact, CCVNP has supported efforts to strip the National Park Service of its ability to regulate the lands and waters within Voyageurs, advocated allowing personal watercraft (jet skis) to operate in the park, and opposed restrictions on snowmobiles that help protect wolves.

*NEW PERMIT RESERVATION INFORMATION As most of you know, travel in the BWCA Wilderness requires a travel permit which is subject to a quota system. This year the USFS has contracted with a new reservation service to manage BWCA Wilderness permit reservations. Of course, that means new phone numbers, web sites, and addresses. You'll find the new contact information below. BWCAW Reservation Center P.O. Box 462 Ballston Spa, NY 12020 (877) 550-6777 Toll Free http://www.bwcaw.org This will be the second summer that the USFS will charge a $10 per person/per trip user fee for overnight visitors to the wilderness. That is in addition to the standard $9 permit reservation fee.

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is an non-profit organization whose sole focus is the protection and preservation of the beautiful wilderness canoe country along the Minnesota-Ontario border: the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding areas in the international Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. We are supported by our members. The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness produces BWCA Wilderness E-Updates free of charge to you, even though it does cost time and money. You can help keep this service free by joining the Friends. Memberships start at $15 and include a subscription to our regular mail newsletter. To unsubscribe from this list, send an email message to majordomo@friends-bwca.org. Do not type in the subject field. In the body of your message, type: unsubscribe friends-bwca your email address. Do you know others who may be interested in this list? Ask them to join the list! To subscribe to the list, send an email message to majordomo@friends-bwca.org. Do not type in the subject field. In the body of your message, type: subscribe friends-bwca your email address. Join the Friends! For more information, contact us at: Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness 1313 5th Street SE, Suite 329 Minneapolis, MN 55414 612-379-3835 phone http://www.friends-bwca.org