Recorded at Seagull Lake, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 9:30AM July 8, 2013.
Audio-Technica AT3032 mics in Variable (medium) Boundary Array. Tascam DR-680, 16bit/48khz, low cut/limiter- off.

Conditions (Grand Marais Airport, ~50 mi. SE) 57 deg. F, wind 0 kts. It felt more like 65.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=48.144818,-90.930742&hl=enll=48.144814,-90.930748&spn=0.008476,0.01929&sll=48.144818,-90.930742&sspn=0.004238,0.009645&t=h&z=16&iwloc=near

Song Sparrow and Ravens

On the bluff above the 'beach' campsite at Seagull Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a time-compressed recording from ~9pm - 1:30am. The wind rises and falls. Ruffed grouse drum and loons call in the middle distance. Is that a large ungulate passing through the woods?

N48 08.737 W90 55.920 elev. 1491ft.

Dual Primo EM172 capsules in Medium variable boundary array recorded 48khz/16bit to Olympus LS-11.

130708 Beach site bluff twilight to midnight

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team spent the final days of April and start of May 2021 in Ely. Hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs were selected for an 'artist residency' by the Listening Point Foundation.

This is property owned by Sigurd Olson that is now managed and owned by an organization in Ely known as the Listening Point Foundation. Olson was an author and a dedicated advocate for wilderness, including the Boundary Waters, but many areas across the country as well.

The podcast duo recorded and produced this episode at Listening Point. The theme of the episode is 'a rite of passage' and includes interviews with paddlers sharing their love of the Boundary Waters with their children, friends and the next generation of canoeists, and where Baxley and Friedrichs fit within that concept of people who share stories about the wilderness.

Up first we hear the story of Myron Klesner. Myron was introduced to Quetico Provincial Park in 1977 during a class trip. It was the first of 30 years of trips taken from Quincy Jr. High (Illinois) to Canoe Canada Outfitters and into Quetico.  Myron continues to visit canoe country and he has now gone with his two boys, the history teacher who started the school trips and others who have experienced Quetico over the years.

In part two of this episode, Cook County resident Hazel Oberholtzer talks about ‘her soul place,’ the Boundary Waters. Hazel frequents the BWCA and talks about her own rite of passage to wilderness travel, from camps to family trips to now paddling with her friends through canoe country. Hazel talks about the value of gaining self-awareness on trips to the Boundary Waters, learning from her mentors about strength and leadership both inside and outside of the wilderness.

The episode is shared through the lens of Listening Point and the work of Sigurd Olson to protect the Boundary Waters region, with the full understanding that the torch needs to be carried from generation to generation to protect these treasured waters.

Episode 41 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

Season Two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters launches Monday morning, March 14! 

Since the end of season one of this podcast, the Campaign has seen significant progress in the fight to protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining. At the end of the last season, we were just heading into a 90-day comment period in which the Bureau of Land Management solicited public comments on the application to ban copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters for 20 years. 
The Campaign and its partners helped to generate a record breaking quarter of a million comments in support of Boundary Waters protection. At the same time, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources hosted a 30-day comment period to solicit public input as it considers whether or not Minnesota's state mining rules are adequate to protect the Boundary Waters. Thank you to everyone who participated in these opportunities to speak up on behalf of the Wilderness!

2022 has seen this momentum continue - in January, the U.S. Department of Interior announced that it was canceling the two federal mineral leases held by Twin Metals in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. This move effectively kills the Twin Metals mine, as the company no longer has rights to any of the federal land or minerals on which their mine plan depends. In February, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's administration also announced that it would no longer consider the Twin Metals mine plan, and expressed concern over the proposed location of the mine's tailings facility. 

This year is the year of the Boundary Waters - a forever wilderness and a beloved canoe country. While we continue our efforts on advocating for the future of the Boundary Waters in court, Washington, D.C., St. Paul, and through legislation, we can't forget the tangible memories and moments formed year round that create our connections to this landscape. That's why in season two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters, we head into the Boundary Waters for winter camping adventures. 

Again, Season two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters launches Monday morning, March 14.

Meanwhile, look for the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend! (March 11-13)

Season Two Preview Of A Podcast To Save The Boundary Waters

July 28, 2021, 10:22 PM. A late night aquatic visitor on Seagull Lake.

Most Likely A Moose

29 June, 2016, ~17:45 CDT
N48 04.511 W90 17.411

16 bit, 48 kHz
Lightweight Modular Partially Baffled Boundary Array
Audio-Technica AT3032 Omni Condenser Mics
Sound Devices MP-2 preamp w/limiter
Olympus LS-11 recorder
Post-processing: iZotope RX5 De-Clip, gain adjustment


160629 Caribou Lake Thunderstorm Approach

Morning at the north end of Red Rock Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. An everyday, yet dramatic moment in the BW: Eagle scores breakfast, everybody gets a little uptight for a few minutes.
On top of a 25-ft bluff, overlooking an L-shaped inlet. The eagle was perched on the opposite shore of the bay.
2 foam-nosed partially-baffled boundary arrays spaced 40 feet apart, w/ Audio-Technica AT3032 &  AT4022 microphones, recorded to Tascam DR-680, 48/16.
Ravens, Common Loon, Bald Eagle, Blue Jay, Red Squirrel, Red-breasted Nuthatch, more species IDs to follow.

Episode 41 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

Related tracks