The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is maintaining current requirements for all food, food containers and scented items to be securely stored to help prevent bear-human interactions in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) through an updated forest order for an additional five years as the current order is set to expire.
The closure order mandates bear aware behaviors in regions known to have significant risk of interactions.
Forest Order Number 09-09-26-02 requires that attractants be suspended at least 12 feet above the surface of the ground and six feet horizontally from the trunk of a tree or stored in an Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee certified bear resistant container.
These restrictions apply to designated areas from April 1 to Nov. 30, effective Feb. 1, 2026-Feb. 1, 2031.
These restrictions apply to all visitors to the BWCAW, unless they have a written authorization specifically exempting them from this order or they are carrying out their official duties as a member of a rescue or firefighting team. Attractants do not need to be safely stored if they’re in use, such as cooking or preparing food or when kept under close watch. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on the forest order website page for additional information.
The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world.
The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
