Boundary Waters Canoe Area to issue fewer entry permits

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has become so popular that there are too many visitors for the Superior National Forest to keep up with.

The increase in visits means more people are experiencing the outdoors, but it also makes it more challenging to preserve the BWCA.

The Superior National Forest tries multiple ways to maintain the BWCA, such as the Leave no Trace program, visitor information services and hiring wilderness rangers. But even with these, there is still too much damage happening, U.S. Forest Services said.

By limiting the number of entry permits, the Superior National Forest hopes this will help spread out visitors, protect the wilderness and manage campsites. The U.S. Forest Service did not announce how many permits it would issue.

The Superior National Forest says it will look at 24 entry points impacted by social and physical damage.