BWCAW food storage order extended to 2031 to reduce bear conflicts

The U.S. Forest Service has extended the food storage order in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for an additional five years.

On Thursday, the Forest Service announced the agency will maintain current requirements for all food, food containers, and scented items to be securely stored to help prevent bear-human interactions in the BWCAW.

A food storage order has been in effect in the BWCAW for several years following an increase in human-bear interactions.

In the summer of 2022, warning notices about bears were posted at several BWCAW entry point lakes in Cook County, including Lizz, Meeds, East Bearskin, Daniels, Duncan, Clearwater, and South, where bear-human related problems had occurred.

Once a bear is ‘rewarded’ with human food or garbage, it is likely to become habituated and continue the behavior, which could lead to the bear being dispatched, Forest Service officials have told WTIP in previous interviews.

In 2024, the Forest Service updated the existing forest order to include enforceable fines of $50 for BWCAW visitors who commit food storage infractions.

The updated order will take effect from Feb. 1, 2026, to Feb. 1, 2031. The restrictions apply to areas designated on the following map from April 1 to Nov. 30 each year.

Forest Service order restricted area | Graphic by U.S. Forest Service

The order requires attractants be suspended at least 12 feet above the surface of the ground and 6 feet horizontally from the trunk of a tree. The order also allows attractants to be stored in a bear-resistant container certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, excluding times of preparation, consumption, or on-site visual observance.

Kalli Hawkins January 15, 2026