“Guided by the best-available science, input from local communities, Tribal consultations, and the Dept. of Interior’s mandate to steward public lands and waters on behalf of all Americans, today I took action to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and a spectacular network of rivers, lakes and forests in northeastern Minnesota,” Haaland said in a statement on January 26, 2023. “Protecting this special place is key to supporting clean water, a healthy landscape and its surrounding wildlife, upholding our Tribal trust and treaty responsibilities, and boosting the local outdoor recreation economy.”

As we begin a new year, we are getting ready to launch our 99th summer at Camp Kooch-i-ching and our 19th summer at Ogichi Daa Kwe. Many camps are struggling, still feeling the impact of having to close a few summers ago. We have many advantages, but most of all, we are lucky to have incredible support from our alumni, parents and friends. For this we are eternally grateful.

Unbridled Media came to Cincinnati last fall to capture a canoe build and field trip with Aiken High School students. We can’t wait for Camp Kooch-i-ching alum Mike Walsh and crew to make it north next summer to capture Camp Kooch-i-ching, Ogichi Daa Kwe and Owakonze in action.

As many of you know, we have been working on a book called The Oral History Project. An outside company helped us gather over 300 alumni stories and create a book that will be published this spring. The love of camp and the outdoors, and lifelong friendships are constant themes.

Have you ever wondered what it is about Kooch-i-ching and Ogichi Daa Kwe that gives us our elemental values, our good humor, our sense of community, our serenity of mind, and, most importantly, our humility? Have you ever thought, on a portage, if you took two steps off the trail, you would be the first human ever to walk in that spot?

The Foundation’s Urban Wilderness Program was launched 10 years ago with the expressed purpose of bringing the magic of what we do in the Northwoods to an urban environment. The experiment was straightforward: do kids have to travel all the way to the Canadian wilderness to have an impactful experience?

As quickly as the waters of Rainy Lake rose and fell, summer fades and we are all in full-on fall mode.

The summer of 2022 will definitely go down in history as a summer to remember, one where our camp community overcame all odds to fulfill our mission to deliver unforgettable wilderness experiences to campers and staff alike..