Management of the Superior National Forest can have significant impacts on the Wilderness. The Forest Service frequently proposes new logging and road-building projects and the Friends analyzes the projects and advocates for the highest level of protection for the Boundary Waters and its ecosystem.

As more logging, development and other activities occur around the Wilderness, the BWCAW risks becoming an isolated island in a sea of clear cuts, mining exploration, road networks and invasive species. Specific impacts from logging and other management activities include:

• Noise in the Wilderness from logging machinery, drilling, and vehicles.
• Erosion and water quality impacts. Streams flowing into the BWCAW can become silted and polluted.
• Destruction of wildlife habitat. Species like wolves and lynx need areas with few roads to thrive.

In addition to these projects, there are also occasional Forest-wide management projects such as the Forest Plan (which is revised every 15 years) and the Travel Management Plan (governing off-highway vehicles use, see this page for more information).