Anyone know how to get a look at the historic use of entry points?

I am thinking something along the lines that would show seasonal use and the days when those entry points were filled. It would also be interesting to see those numbers across years. I know of the limited information that is in Beemer's (sp?) books.

I have wondered the same thing recently and spent the better part of Saturday scouring the web looking for answers. I wonder if the USFS even keeps this data, I guess a phone call is in order.

Try "The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem: Wilderness Ecosystem" By Miron Heinselman. I've checked it out at the library several times. Lots of great information, and as I recall, it has some historical data on visitor usage, though nothing real current. There is a preview available on Google.

if it isnt post `99, it wouldnt be of much use for planning. maybe HPD is just curious, historically.

Yup. Not much help for planning purposes. Good historical stuff though. I just realized that this post is under Trip Planning. Oops!

You may be in luck, sorta!

I have been compiling info on a select group of EP's for the last 5 years. They are a cross section of Eps from West and East. I am putting together a report that consist of historical usage %, High impact time frames, % of campsite availability vs. daily usage.

This is a 8-10 year project but I could give you a little info now depending on where you are going.

Hopefully next year I will get the access that I need to the DNR historical records.

I hope to prove that certain areas are suffering from overuse and their are not enough campsites to support the number of people allowed to use an area in a given timeframe.

Well, you are all correct so far.

It ain't for planning, but it is planning. Yes, I asked this question more out of curiosity than having actual value in planning. Often times I have seen comments on the west side versus east side. Is the east becoming more popular with time? So I would like to see the trends over time.

Fishnfreak, that looks like an interesting project.

Beymer quotes usage statistics in his books, so there must be a method of getting the data out of the forest service.

"Hopefully next year I will get the access that I need to the DNR historical records."

You mean National Forest Service, right?

One would think that they would have an annual report of some sort which would show, minimally, yearly usage per EP. Possibly even a monthly one. Their reservations are all automated now, aren't they? The reports are there, one just needs to ask the right person. And no, I don't have any clue who to ask.

You can get the data for reservations yourself. I played with this a little but it is way to time consuming.

You can pull up the page for all entry points that shows how many permits are allowed per entry and how many are available. So you could pull up tomorrow's. Cut and paste that in to Excel, do a little massaging and there you have it. Now do it for every day of the reservation season and you'll have your information.

What you wouldn't get is the permits that were taken by people that just show up without a reservation. Don't have a clue how many that would be. I would certainly not pack all my gear, drive that far, and just take whatever, if anything, was available. But it happens. I've met people (usually young guys) doing it while I was getting my permit.

Update for "data buffs"

I did some digging (USFS). For the year 2000 to the current year, electronic files exist that will show by entry point and by date the number of permits written (of course not all permits are actually picked up)....... regardless, at least the files exist, and that is a starting point.

Head chief #1 is checking with head chief #2 if this data is OK to be released to the public.........

The kicker: Typically 35,000 permits are written per year...... hmmm......, 8 years X 35,000 = a bunch of data

Kicker #2: They will only release PDF files. I wonder if the data could be extracted into a stat program? Hand entry of this quantity of data would have me come to full stop......

I think I might have a winter project. Question: Why do I want to do this? Ans: hell if I know

But how do you get previous years'?

I've gone to the SNF website and there are various reports that obviously had to use such data. These are reports such as management plans, strategic plans, etc. But it doesn't appear that the raw data is readily accessible.

You can certainly get it, but who knows how or where. I guess contacting the main office in Duluth is the first step:

Superior National Forest
8901 Grand Ave Pl
Duluth, MN 55808
Email: gunflint@fs.fed.us
Phone: (218) 626-4300
FAX: (218) 626-4398

Bannock

Years prior to 2000 might be a problem. I suggest you make a call to Duluth and ask for Kris

Kristin Horman
Program Support Assistant - Wilderness
USDA Forest Service - Superior National Forest
8901 Grand Ave Place
Duluth, MN 55808
218-626-4349

Files from 2000 on are all electronic, available on request, and sent to your computer via email attachments. Slick........ 8 years of data for every day for every entry. You will need Adobe Acrobat Professional to extract usable data.......

one heck of a bunch of numbers..... I have a few things in mind that I want to do. Right now the ideas are just swimming around and I need to narrow my focus.

Good luck with what ever you are pursuing.......

Boredom, HPD that's what's wrong. And how do you beat boredom, HPD?... You crunch numbers.

guess I was wide open for that one....... nicely said :)

might have to change my quote now that I have been labeled a number cruncher...... anyone know of a good laptop and solar charger that I can take into the BWCA on my next trip?

Sorry, didn't mean to insult you. I'm an accountant so I'd never attempt to compile those statistics. It would be too much like work.

you guys need to go outside and play!

Hey Tman

No problem. I did not read that as an insult.

Bump

Just found this old thread and was hoping to hear if anything ever came out of the data you were looking at. I have sent an email to that contact listed but had my fingers crossed that someone had already done the heavy lifting for me. I think I am going to try to find the least used EP for my next trip and attempt to find a little more seclusion.

There is something a lot more recent than 2008. It gets published every year. Dumb question but did you try searching the forum?

Ok just searched entry stats. Here it is.

Entry stats

Interesting, thanks!