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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

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orrcountry is correct that the noise of float planes is disruptive to the tranquility that people seek in wilderness, but mistaken about aircraft are banned in the border lakes area. Float planes are common in the border lakes area, but operate under special conditions in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), which is a portion of the border lakes area.

Public Law 95-495, Section 4(i) explicitly allows the use of aircraft, motorboats, and snowmobiles for rescues (see page 4 at http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/documents/publicLaws/PDF/95-495.pdf). Aircraft may fly over the BWCAW if above 4,000 feet and assist in rescues per 36 CFR 294.2 (see http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title36-vol2/pdf/CFR-2011-title36-vol2-sec294-2.pdf)

It's also interesting to remember that until the settlement of a lawsuit in November 1989, the Minnesota National Guard flew training flights over the BWCAW that caused sonic booms.

From: Nighttime rescue a success

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