The Aldo Leopold Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service are hosting a public event in Ely to “celebrate the evolution of land ethics and conservation.”

The event is open to the public and will take place Thursday, Sept. 19 and Friday, Sept. 20 in Ely.

Thursday kicks off at the Minnesota North College Vermilion Campus with a symposium on the past, present and future of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The program will draw upon Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific understanding of the region, as well as revisit the efforts of Sigurd Olson, commemorate the 75th anniversary of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and the 60th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act, according to event organizers.

Friday will focus on current efforts to “evolve land ethics through film, words, and community.” The program is a community partnership with participants from the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Listening Point Foundation, Tofte Lake Center, Ely Film Festival and Piragis Northwoods Company. Friday includes an introduction to the land ethic concept by Buddy Huffaker, executive director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, followed by a screening of “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” an Emmy Award winning film that challenges viewers to consider their relationship with the land and nature.

“This collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service provides a tremendous opportunity to really elevate the importance of advancing and adopting a conservation ethic,” Huffaker said. “We are excited to join forces with the Forest Service, with whom we have had a long and productive history. We also honor the relationship Leopold had early on with key protectors of the BWCA such as Arthur Carhart and Sigurd Olson. These events are not designed to just honor the past, but to be the next step in the evolution of why and how we care for wild places from urban parks to designated wilderness areas like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.”

Current short films by filmmakers selected for the Ely Film Festival will also be shown. The screenings will be followed by facilitated dialogue with the audience, filmmakers, Huffaker and Liz Engelman from the Tofte Lake Center. The day concludes with a drum ceremony presented by artists of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and a social hour at the State Theater.

According to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the connection between the Forest Service and Leopold dates back to 1909 when the acclaimed writer joined the Forest Service as one of the country’s first professionally trained foresters. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Leopold worked and lived most of his adult life in the Southwest. After surveying the Gila National Forest, he navigated and negotiated to secure the Gila Wilderness designation in 1924, two years before the first official protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 1926. Both would serve as the model for the subsequent Wilderness Act passed 40 years later in 1964. The Wilderness System now protects more than 110 million acres across the country.

There is no cost for Thursday’s program and tickets for Friday will be available through the State Theater for $10 online or at the door.

Click here for more information about the event.

Paddle and Portage will attend some of the events in Ely during this event. Check our social media pages and subscribe for more content from and about the BWCA Wilderness and beyond.