So when did permits become a thing? And how did they work in the early days. I start tripping in the mid to late 70's, and I can't for the life of me remember how things were in the old days.

On my first few trips, I can't remember needing a permit (though I may be mis remembering). When did we start needing reservations? How did reservations work back in the day? I have a vague memory of calling. Of course this was long before the internet.

1981:
A $5 reservation fee for entry into the Boundary Waters is implemented.

If I recall correctly, back in the early 90's if you wanted to get in the initial lottery, you had to send a letter with a check for the permit fee and a note indicating the entry point, # of people, and number of days. I think that system had been around for a while.
Permit selection day at HQ must have been quite an event.
I'm not sure they took phone reservations at that point. You were best off calling the local FS office.
Although it's been a long time...

OgemaBlackstone: "1981:
A $5 reservation fee for entry into the Boundary Waters is implemented."

Fond memories of a simpler time, not necessarily better or worse. First trip in 1975, several more before`81, and been hooked ever since.

before it went Federal , remember stopping at the Old court house in Duluth for our permits , 3rd floor i believe ?

As I recall, my first trip in 1973 required a permit I picked up at a ranger station in Grand Marais without any advance application or cost. I maybe wrong but that’s what I remember.

Boundary Waters Chronology: Wilderness Management

BWCA history link

As someone who took out trips for a boys camp during the 1960s. I lived through the changes in permitting and rules. The first one that hit was the ban on cans. We had to revamp our menus (and the stock bought for the summer) to deal with this. Before that we had taken a lot of cans into the Boundary Waters.

In the early years we did not need a permit and could use any entry point we wanted. While it was strongly urged we camp on designated sites it was not required. Back then designated sites had wooden picnic tables and biffies along with fire grates. The maps we used did not have the campsites marked so we would mark them up ourselves. I still have my set of government maps from that era. The portages all were marked with signs naming the lake at the end of the portage and the distance.

In the 60s we transitioned to a system where those of us guiding applied for a seasonal permit. The fee was paid for by the camp. We were given a form which we filled out after each trip. At the end of the season we took/mailed the forms into the feds. There were no entry point quotas. Motors were allowed on many more lakes than today. There were a few towboats, but not many. I suspect that was because a majority of the trippers then were youth groups going out either through one of the camps or an outfitter. It was rare to see adult groups and even rarer to see adult couples. Solo trippers were even rarer and often locals.

There were still cabins, the Hubachek research center (with its distinctive Chris Craft wooden boat), and people like Dorothy, Ben Ambrose, and Knife Lake Pete who lived or spent the summer in the boundary waters. The four mile at the end of Fall was a dirt road plied by busses. At the end was the Brown's Paul Bunyan shop. The Becky Boo plied Fall Lake taking people from the landing to the four mile. It was a big wooden boat whose motor made a distinctive sound you could hear before you saw the boat.

As I continued tripping after getting married and leaving the camp, the permit system became more restrictive. The number of trippers not affiliated with youth groups or camps increased to the point where they became the majority. We did not see many other couples. This was accompanied by an expansion of outfitters with Canadian Waters, Tom and Woods, and others getting into the business. Where most youth groups were great campers, mainly because most of them were led by guides or experienced leaders, the new breed were different, trashing campsites, stuffing all sorts of things into the biffies, leaving dead fish and human waste. There was a period in the 1970s-90s when almost all our trips were into the Quetico because there were mostly only serious campers there and the Canadians, unlike the Americans, cracked down hard on violators. We also liked the no designated campsites and the let-them-be portages. Whether it is a result of the environmental movement, sites like this, and the newer permitting system, the quality of most trippers has improved since the 1990s, although a few bad apples still cause problems.

OldGuide2: "As someone who took out trips for a boys camp during the 1960s. I lived through the changes in permitting and rules. The first one that hit was the ban on cans. We had to revamp our menus (and the stock bought for the summer) to deal with this. Before that we had taken a lot of cans into the Boundary Waters.


In the early years we did not need a permit and could use any entry point we wanted. While it was strongly urged we camp on designated sites it was not required. Back then designated sites had wooden picnic tables and biffies along with fire grates. The maps we used did not have the campsites marked so we would mark them up ourselves. I still have my set of government maps from that era. The portages all were marked with signs naming the lake at the end of the portage and the distance.


In the 60s we transitioned to a system where those of us guiding applied for a seasonal permit. The fee was paid for by the camp. We were given a form which we filled out after each trip. At the end of the season we took/mailed the forms into the feds. There were no entry point quotas. Motors were allowed on many more lakes than today. There were a few towboats, but not many. I suspect that was because a majority of the trippers then were youth groups going out either through one of the camps or an outfitter. It was rare to see adult groups and even rarer to see adult couples. Solo trippers were even rarer and often locals.


There were still cabins, the Hubachek research center (with its distinctive Chris Craft wooden boat), and people like Dorothy, Ben Ambrose, and Knife Lake Pete who lived or spent the summer in the boundary waters. The four mile at the end of Fall was a dirt road plied by busses. At the end was the Brown's Paul Bunyan shop. The Becky Boo plied Fall Lake taking people from the landing to the four mile. It was a big wooden boat whose motor made a distinctive sound you could hear before you saw the boat.


As I continued tripping after getting married and leaving the camp, the permit system became more restrictive. The number of trippers not affiliated with youth groups or camps increased to the point where they became the majority. We did not see many other couples. This was accompanied by an expansion of outfitters with Canadian Waters, Tom and Woods, and others getting into the business. Where most youth groups were great campers, mainly because most of them were led by guides or experienced leaders, the new breed were different, trashing campsites, stuffing all sorts of things into the biffies, leaving dead fish and human waste. There was a period in the 1970s-90s when almost all our trips were into the Quetico because there were mostly only serious campers there and the Canadians, unlike the Americans, cracked down hard on violators. We also liked the no designated campsites and the let-them-be portages. Whether it is a result of the environmental movement, sites like this, and the newer permitting system, the quality of most trippers has improved since the 1990s, although a few bad apples still cause problems.
"

great timeline,thanks for that

Oldguide2…love hearing the timeline and your perspective going through it.

T

timatkn: "Oldguide2…love hearing the timeline and your perspective going through it.


T"

+1

May I ask what camp? I was at Nebagamon in the mid 80's/early 90's and all of the things you mentioned were gone by then. But the tripping program would still send groups out with a few cans, just wrapped in newspaper in case a ranger visited (!). That practice has ended years ago.

Nice link, thanks!

My first trip was 1978. As I recall we got a permit at Greystone Outfitters as well as a fishing license.
I also remember that there were canoe rests on some portages.
In 1980, we found a wooden picnic table at a campsite and we were surprised about it. We put up a squeetr net around that table and camped in luxury that night!