A Message to Potential Members
Why should I become a member?
Boundary Waters Heritage Trails is a IRS 501c3 charitable non-profit incorporated in the State of Minnesota. It was founded in December 2023 by five outdoor enthusiasts who felt that it was important to preserve history and trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest.
Why BW Heritage Trails?
Martin Kubik founded the Kekekabic Trail Club in 1990 and Boundary Waters Advisory Committee in 2002 with the intent to advocate for abandoned hiking trails in the BWCAW. However, both KTC and BWAC eventually turned to trail maintenance as advocating for trails can be challenging. Martin Kubik and friends wanted to do more, and to return additional trails to public use as well as to provide education about the history of the land and the people who lived and worked there. To make that happen, BW Heritage Trails was born.
What are the aims of the BWHT?
BWHT organizers intend to catalog historic trails, lobby for their reinstatement on the Forest Service trail inventory, provide links to maps and historical documents and publish guides to help hikers navigate trails that can still be followed. Like the Kekekabic and the Powwow trails, these could be restored with virtually little or no cost to the US Forest Service, while expanding the opportunities for solitude and wilderness experience for future hikers.
Why should I join?
Moose and wolves frequent the abandoned trails but unfortunately they can’t write letters of support, hikers can! We need volunteers to help in a number of ways, whether writing letters of support to US Forest Service and legislators, or help with creating presentations, distributing literature to outdoor stores, or surveying trails and writing guides. BWHT is a 100% volunteer run organization and your help is invaluable!
“As long as there are people willing to maintain these trails, there is no reason why they should not be open to the public.” John Huberty, 3M Club Outdoor Club volunteer canoeing on a return trip from a hike on the Kelso Mountain fire lookout trail, sometime in 2004.
Benefits of membership
By contributing in whatever way you can, you will be benefiting others and making a difference between trails being lost forever and being revitalized so that others can experience freedom of the hike. We intend to email out a monthly newsletter with articles, and updates about the BWHT work in the wilds.
