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BWCAW given “Quiet Park” status

Currently one of only two places in the U.S. to achieve the exceptional award

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 3/22/23

THE BOUNDARY WATERS— The yodel of a loon. The chirp of a bald eagle. The sound of waves lapping on rocks. These are sounds of nature that visitors to the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe …

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BWCAW given “Quiet Park” status

Currently one of only two places in the U.S. to achieve the exceptional award

Posted

THE BOUNDARY WATERS— The yodel of a loon. The chirp of a bald eagle. The sound of waves lapping on rocks. These are sounds of nature that visitors to the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness can take for granted.
Yet it’s the sounds that they don’t hear that may be the most significant. Which is why the Boundary Waters has been recognized by the California-based nonprofit Quiet Parks International as a “Wilderness Quiet Park,” making it only the second such award in the United States. The organization recognized Glacier National Park in 2022 and is currently reviewing applications for several other locations around the globe. In a world dominated by human activity, places where the sounds of civilization give way to the sounds of the natural world are increasingly rare. 

“The reality is that there are very few quiet natural places left on planet earth. The Boundary Waters is special and inspiring for many reasons, and its soundscape is certainly one of them,” said Matt Mikkelsen, an audio engineer who serves as Executive Director of Quiet Parks International. Mikkelsen, who moved to Duluth in 2021, said the process of documenting the Boundary Waters as an exceptionally quiet place took considerable time.

“The process starts in front of a computer,” Mikkelsen said. “You look at different things, like the population density of the region, flight traffic maps, and transportation and industrial corridors.”
Mikkelsen said the Boundary Waters is fortunate that it sees few commercial airline overflights, which is one of the factors that make the area exceptional. After determining that the Boundary Waters was a good candidate, Mikkelsen gathered sound readings using highly sensitive recording devices in numerous locations, both inside the wilderness as well as at entry points ranging from the Gunflint Trail to north of Ely. The data from his efforts confirmed that the Boundary Waters met the criteria for the award. “What we’re looking for is the noise-free interval between noise events,” said Mikkelsen. “The criteria is a dependable 15-minute interval. I know that doesn’t sound like much but it’s really hard to achieve that even in very remote areas. Aircraft really are everywhere.”
That’s a point brought home to Gordon Hempton, the group’s volunteer media spokesperson, during a recent visit deep inside the Amazon rain forest. “I was just there two weeks ago and was probably 1,000 miles from a modern highway. The only access was by boat. But there were eight commercial overflights a day that didn’t have anything to do with the Amazon.”
He said he’d also spent time recording sounds of the Kalahari Desert in Africa and when the wind was calm, he could hear a muffled generator operating at a tourist camp 20 miles away.
Hempton, who lives in the Seattle area, spent time in the Boundary Waters during his college days in Wisconsin. He said he was thrilled to hear that the area had met the criteria for the award. Hempton, who recently retired from a career as an acoustic ecologist said he has made sound recordings from the Boundary Waters and recognized it as an exceptionally rare location from a sound perspective. “I’ve been aware for some time that the Boundary Waters really is world class,” he said.
Indeed, while the criteria requires sound-free intervals of just 15 minutes, the sound recording in the Boundary Waters demonstrated far longer periods without noise intrusion. Mikkelsen’s research documented that the Boundary Waters’ soundscape is significantly free from sounds other than nature for intervals of hours at a time and does not typically experience noise from such sources as commercial air traffic, military activity, mining or other extractive activity, or other startling and disruptive sounds. 
Even the Quetico Provincial Park, located just across the border from the BWCAW, has more sound intrusion from aircraft overflights, noted Mikkelsen. “The Boundary Waters is one of the only places left in the Midwest and Great Lakes region that you can go and hear only the sounds of nature for hours at a time,” he said.
Raising awareness
Quiet Parks International is an entirely volunteer organization with active volunteers all over the world who seek to bring attention to the importance of quiet places, both for wildlife as well as humans. The group notes that studies have shown that quiet has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and helps to restore focus. They have sought to call attention to the value of quiet as well as promote those places that qualify as refuges of quiet. The awards granted by the group have no regulatory authority but are designed to increase public interest and awareness of uniquely quiet places. In doing so, the group hopes to increase the public’s interest in protecting the handful of truly quiet places that still exist in the world.
Award highlights risks
Given the fragility of truly quiet places, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is highlighting the recognition as part of their work to oppose copper-nickel mining near the wilderness. “This award recognizes what millions of visitors have experienced in the Boundary Waters - the healing, quiet solitude of nature that is so hard to find anywhere else,” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters. “Turning the edge of the wilderness into an industrial mining zone would mean that noises of drilling, blasting, machinery, heavy traffic and more would drown out the natural sounds of our northwoods.”

“The Boundary Waters is one of the only places left in the Midwest and Great Lakes region that you can go and hear only the sounds of nature for hours at a time, with no noise intrusions.” 
Quiet Parks International conducted testing and analyzed the data throughout 2021 and 2022 to determine the BWCAW meets the criteria as a quiet place. Using high sensitivity microphones, sound-pressure level meters, and other tools, researchers with the nonprofit found that the soundscape is significantly free from sounds other than nature for intervals of hours at a time, and does not typically experience noise from such sources as commercial air traffic, military activity, mining or other extractive activity, or other startling and disruptive sounds. 

Even the Quetico Provincial Park, located just across the border from the BWCAW, has more sound intrusion from aircraft overflights, noted Mikkelsen. “The Boundary Waters is one of the only places left in the Midwest and Great Lakes region that you can go and hear only the sounds of nature for hours at a time,” he said.

 

Raising awareness

Quiet Parks International is an entirely volunteer organization with active volunteers all over the world who seek to bring attention to the importance of quiet places, both for wildlife as well as humans. The group notes that studies have shown that quiet has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and helps to restore focus. They have sought to call attention to the value of quiet as well as promote those places that qualify as refuges of quiet. The awards granted by the group have no regulatory authority but are designed to increase public interest and awareness of uniquely quiet places. In doing so, the group hopes to increase the public’s interest in protecting the handful of truly quiet places that still exist in the world.

 

Award highlights risks

Given the fragility of truly quiet places, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is highlighting the recognition as part of their work to oppose copper-nickel mining near the wilderness. “This award recognizes what millions of visitors have experienced in the Boundary Waters - the healing, quiet solitude of nature that is so hard to find anywhere else,” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters. “Turning the edge of the wilderness into an industrial mining zone would mean that noises of drilling, blasting, machinery, heavy traffic and more would drown out the natural sounds of our northwoods. Our rallying cry for years has been ‘we must speak loudly for this quiet place’ and we intend to keep doing just that to protect this gem.”