A decision that must be made when each national
forest revises its Forest Plan is whether to recommend additions
to the National Wilderness Preservation System. When making this
decision it is important to consider a Wilderness in the context
of the larger area around the Forest and the existing opportunities
available to people who live or recreate in the state and adjacent
areas. The Chippewa National Forest has not recommended any areas
as designated Wilderness areas.
The nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness provides over
1 million acres of opportunities along with Canadas Quetico
Provincial Wilderness Park with another 1 million acres. For more
information on the BWCAW link to www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior.
Three areas on Chippewa National Forest have been designated Semi
Primitive Non-motorized Areas which emphasize recreation opportunities
in nearly primitive surroundings where motorized use is not permitted.
The Trout Lake SPNM was established in 1986, the North Winnie SPNM
was designated in 2004, and the Suomi Hills SPNM was recently expanded
to help provide a broad spectrum of recreational opportunities in
Chippewa National Forest. Over 21 thousand acres are available for
semi primitive non-motorized use. For information on these areas
see forest flyers.
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