The two U.S. Forest Service offices serving Superior National Forest on the North Shore are now closed Mondays and Tuesdays as the busy season in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness continues.

In an email sent to Paddle and Portage Aug. 13, the Forest Service said the ranger stations in Tofte and Grand Marais will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays due to labor shortages, including “permanent position vacancies and summer interns returning to school.” The changes impact only the Tofte and Gunflint ranger stations. Offices in Ely and other permit pickup locations across Superior National Forest are not impacted by this change.

“This shift in hours is a temporary solution as we are identifying ways to meet the needs of the public while navigating a challenging labor market,” Joy VanDrie, a public affairs officer for Superior National Forest, told Paddle and Portage.

The change in hours started Monday, Aug. 12. It will continue to impact people who planned to pick up a BWCA wilderness permit at one of the two ranger stations in Cook County for the remainder of the quota season, which ends Sept. 30.

There is a combined average of 50 quota permits issued from Gunflint and Tofte offices each week from now through the end of September, according to VanDrie.

Anyone visiting the BWCA wilderness between this week and the end of the quota season who chose the Gunflint or Tofte ranger station as their pickup location has been contacted via e-mail and by phone based on the information submitted to Recreation.gov to reserve their permit, according to the Forest Service. The agency’s staff have been working with permittees directly to switch to one of 43 other issuing stations, VanDrie said. People with a permit for the BWCA can change the location where they pick up their permit, including on the day of, if necessary, VanDrie said.

“The affected district offices have a sign on the front door directing visitors to cooperators who can assist them, and yes, they will be able to change their issue station,” she noted.

It’s important that people provide accurate contact information through Recreation.gov at the time they book their permit, VanDrie said. Some emails are bouncing back as undeliverable and it makes it challenging to contact permit holders to relay this type of information, she added.

Meanwhile, when the BWCA wilderness quota permit season ends, all Superior National Forest offices will resume normal business hours and be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Regarding closure on Monday and Tuesday possibly carrying over to next quota season, the Forest Service says it’s too early to presume or know what next season will bring.

“The staffing capacity for 2025 is unknown at this time,” VanDrie said.

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