Newsletter

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BWHT Newsletter October 2025  

Edited by Martin Kubik, martin.kubik@bwheritagetrails.org 

Boundary Waters Heritage Trails (BWHT) mission is ”To educate and preserve the history and heritage of wilderness trails as a resource for all future generations to experience and enjoy.” 

To accomplish that mission we are working on several projects and reporting here our progress. 

Message from the president. 

Every organization needs to set up its administrative structure. BW Heritage Trails was founded in December 2023. To date BWHT has completed and filed with the Minnesota State its Articles of incorporation and bylaws, obtained IRS 501 c 3 charitable organization status, formed a Board of Directors, set up a back account, created a website and club email, and created a BWHT logo. To create awareness about our mission in the public arena, we are having a poster and brochure designed. In addition, our members did two presentations: at REI Bloomington and at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on Gunflint Trail. And to build a productive relationship with the US Forest service, two of our members recently met with the US Forest Service and National Park Service in Duluth. 

Collaboration with the US Forest Service. Recently, Neil Jeddeloh and Martin Kubik, BWHT VP and President respectively, have met with Emily Munter, USFS and Chris Morgan, National Park Service to discuss the future of the Isabella Section House. Isabella Section House is a last surviving railroad dormitory style, two story building to house railroad workers along the line used to ship logs from Forest Center and Sawbill landing. It was used to house USFS summer crews, but has been left unused since 2017. While not dilapidated, the building will need some repairs to be habitable. Potential uses would be a rustic hostel like lodging for volunteer trail maintenance crews (Powwow Trail), backpackers, and XC skiers in winter in the nearby XC trail system. The building also has a potential to be on the Minnesota Register of Historic Places. 

Isabella Section House 

Meeting at Duluth USFS” Emily Munter,USFS, Neil Jeddeloh, BWHT, Chris Morgan, NPS, and Martin Kubik, BWHT. 

BWCA trails use permit data and hiking trends. In a phone conversation, Neil 

Jeddeloh discussed hiking permit data with the USFS assistant wilderness director Cathy Quinn in Grand Marais. One of the aims of BWHT is to obtain hiking trail permit data in the BWCAW since 1978. Cathy noted these are readily available since the 1990s but previous data is on paper and will require more research. Once the information about backpacking and hiking permits is compiled, it will be made available to all various trail groups, such as BWAC, Kek Trail Club and others. Cathy Quinn seems supportive of our heritage efforts, willing to meet in Duluth if convenient and we look forward to further collaboration. (NJ) 

Creating awareness about heritage trails and BWHT. 

Presentations. Founder Martin Kubik and club sec’y Tiffanie Ellis presented “BWCAW Historic Hiking Trails” at the Chik-Wauk Museum on Gunflint Trail in Mid-September. Chik-Wauk in turn donated $200 to the BWHT. 

Martin Kubik with door prize winner Grand Marais resident Jim Winnanen at the Chik-Wauk Museum on September 13. 

Presently the BWHT team is scheduling more presentations on BWCA historic trails at Twin Cities and at Frost River in Duluth. 

Designing BWHT poster and handout brochure. Rick Kollath of Kollath Design and author/illustrator of several Arrowhead area nature books have volunteered his talent and time to help us. Rick is the creator of the BWHT logo and he also crafted several BW Advisory Committee Duluth Chapter posters in the past. If you would like to review and comment on the draft copy of the new poster, please send an email to: 

info@bwheritagetrails.org 

Exploring the history of the land and people in the Superior National Forest. While hiking on an old railroad bed used to haul lumber from Forest Center to northshore, Martin Kubik and Tiffanie Ellis met a couple of ATV’ers, Tom and Pat Wallace. Conversation ensued, and we learned that Sawbill Landing (south of Forest 

Center) was actually a logging town. Tom lived there years ago, and told us that the Stony River Café (now for sale) was moved to Isabella from Sawbill Landing and not from Forest Center. The school at Sawbill Landing had, at one time, more than fifty children. There was also a church. Forest Center was considered the Taj Mahal of logging centers in the Superior National Forest, because it had a grocery store and other amenities. 

What’s next? We are looking at a funding plan with the goal to raise funds for a scanner for scanning old maps and documents from the Forest Service and the Discovery Center at Chisholm. Another task we are undertaking is a search for a pro bono attorney intern to help research legislation relating to the BWCA Wilderness Act of 1978 and backpacking trails. To better understand how the US Forest Service works, and about the trends in backpacking use in the BWCA, we have requested a Forest Service organizational chart and permit date for BWCA hiking entry points. More about our work will appear in our next newsletter before the end of the year (or is this that “next newsletter”?. We depend on volunteers to accomplish our vision of trail preservation and recording the history of BWCA trails and so we are looking for writers, web designers, and volunteers to interview people who lived in the logging towns of Forest Center and Sawbill Landing, neural scientist (Why is the phrase “neural scientist” included here? It seems out of place), and to help with other club tasks. If you would like to learn more please contact Martin Kubik, martin.kubik@bwheritagetrails.org or call Martin at 651-214-5849.