New Trip Report posted by weastman

Trip Name: How the BWCA was saved for future generations.

Entry Point: Other

Click Here to View Trip Report

That was a great read, thanks for sharing

If we have learned anything, it is that there will be constant attempts to wrest the resources from the park. We must be vigilant to protect that which we love and appreciate.

It's hard to beleive that over 90 years ago people were fighting industries trying to destroy our natural resources and the fight continues today. It would have been so easy for them to ignore this. It appears to have happened by chance, a casual conversation one day. I am glad that they were succesful for many reasons. Great read.

The passing of the Shipstead-Newton-Nolan Act was far from just by chance. But without the support of the Minneapolis area business men, and the formation of the Quetico-Superior Council , Ed Backus may have been able to build his dams.

Actual preservation of the area started at the turn of the century when General CC Andrews convinced the US Land Office to withdraw the land from homesteading after it was surveyed for settlement. The Superior National Forest was created in 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt's proclamation 848.

I wonder if those men back then would have supported the Wilderness Act or not.

Mr. Eastman:
Thank you for posting that first hand account. Industry will always covet extractable resources. And industry rarely wishes to pay full value for those same resources.
Those of us born after WWII must now carry on the vigilance of your father. Hopefully, we can pass on those same values to our children.

Fascinating to read a first hand account. Thank you.

Thanks. Ingenious use of Trip Reports Forum.

Question: what happened to Newton? How did he die?

Tony

Thank you for sharing from the diaries! This goes well with the story of Oberholtzer, also (see the book, Keeper of the Wild, by Joe Paddock), who is mentioned in your father's report. Interesting that a main political group they engaged (besides Isaac Walton League) was the Legions (American and Canadian). This was not very long after WWI.

anthonyp007: "Question: what happened to Newton? How did he die?

Tony"

According to this he resigned from his congressional seat and was replaced by William Nolan. The reason for his resignation was so he could serve as personal secretary to President Herbert Hoover. Walter Newton died 12 years after that. He’s buried at Lakewood Cemetery.