It's been about 100 years since the U-S Government withdrew the final acreage that became the whole Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Over one million acres, total.

But legislation and court cases over the last 30 years have put pressure on businesses in entry cities like Ely to adapt economically to new restrictions.

In Part 3 of "Boundaries on the Boundary Waters," Pat Kelly looks at the effort to balance commerce and conservation...regulation and access...money and maintenance.

There are many ways to enjoy what everyone invested in the Boundary Waters considers "paradise:"

"One of the primary objectives for wilderness areas is providing opportunities for solitude...? that there's going to be a place that they can get to they're going to see very little evidence of human activity."
But for decades, those visions have differed:

"And it must have been wonderful to snowmobile the border. Ya know: go in and do a giant loop, be out all day long and see nothing but white - it must have been phenomenal. And uh, the people who had that taken away from them as their 'favorite thing to do' - that must have really hurt!"

Nancy Piragis reflects the thoughts of many within Ely who felt hogtied by the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act.

That frustration also was felt from without - as much resort business dried up or was bought out.

Realtor Frank Salerno is a former Mayor of Ely.

"The economy suffered because of the bed space that was lost, people who said, 'I'm not going to come anymore if I can't take a boat into such-and-such a lake.'

A lot of people come to Ely specifically because it's at the end of the road: they want to get away from big cities and simply be left alone. And here was Uncle Sam, camped right on their doorstep.

Salerno: "We felt we got beat up, whether anyone else agrees with that or not, but we lived with it and we tried to make the best of it.

After years, there was many, many, many hard feelings, people started making things work; they made the adjustments; they made the changes."

Reichenbach: "Sometimes, folks still are not quite happy with what we're proposing to do and there's an appeal process that we go through but in some cases, folks still aren't getting - they still aren't satisfied.

Ely thrives from July 4th through the end of September canoe outfitters and tourism bring millions of dollars to the city.

But current Mayor Charlie Novak is among those who feel the town needs growth...and needs help with federal restrictions on the number of entry permits allowed to the BWCA..and exemptions on entry permits for resort owners and outfitters:

"We need to work that one; we need to work through our legislators to get some accommodation to us that are the entry points to the BW, because our livelihood depends on getting the permits for the visitors."
Marty Breaker, whose family sold their resort in '78, puts it bluntly:

"We don't need to have anymore...Boundary Waters. We got plenty there."

But Nancy McReady - who is for motorized use in the B-W-C-A has a softer take:

"We don't want anything more, but we sure don't want anything less."

"We'll work hard to maintain the quality of the water, protect the campsites, maintain the wilderness character of the Area, but develop the tourism potential."

That untapped potential is what keeps people like Nancy Piragis somewhat pessimistic:

"We do need more jobs, in order to support, even the summer - there aren't enough hotels right now, for people to stay in. Ely needs more: the population's been declining. It's tough to make a living here."

I'm going to give the last word to the U.S. Forest Service.

In this year's "Trip Planning Guide" the Service published, they wrote an article on the 30th Anniversary of the BWCAW Act.

It says, "there has always been, and there will always be, controversy over the BWCAW.

"Everyone agrees that the BWCAW is a unique natural resource and they love it.

"The controversy arises because they love it for different reasons."
Pat Kelly, the Northland's NewsCenter.