The purpose of this report is two-fold: (1) to provide current estimates of the recreational activities, or uses in the newly-established Voyageurs National Park that are dependent upon Crane Lake as a means of access or source of supplies, (2) to examine Crane Lake as an operating community in relationship to its physical resource base, its service to the larger society, and to the public services and agencies with which it must interact.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Blank, Uel

Larsen, Dayton

Simonson, Lawrence R.

English

Research Papers in Economics

Staff Paper Series
Staff Paper P77-3 February 1977
THE CRANE LAKE CONNECTION
Uel Blank
Dayton Larsen
Larry Simonson
University of Minnesota
Institute of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics
St. Paul, MN 55108
Department of Agricultural and Applied
EconomicsP77-3 February 1977
THE CRANE LAKE CONNECTION
Uel Blank
Dayton Larsen
Larry Simonson
It is the policy of the Agricultural Extension Service of
the University of Minnesota that all persons shall have
equal opportunity and access to its programs and facili-
ties without regard to race, creed, color, sex or
national origin.
Staff papers are published without formal review within the
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
Copies available from the Department of Agricultural and
Applied Economics or from the author.1
I.. Introduction and Scope
The purpose of this report is two-fold:
--
-.
To provide current estimates of the recreational activities, or
uses in the newly-established Voyageurs National Park that are
dependent upon Crane Lake as a means of access or source of
supplies.
To examine Crane Lake as an operating community in relationship
to its physical resource base, its service to the larger society,
and to the public services and agencies with which it must
interract.
Data upon which use estimates are based was assembled by the
authors in cooperation with business operators, agencies and indivi-
dual citizens of Crane Lake. This was done in the Spring of 1976.
The data that are developed here can:
-- Provide a benchmark measure against which change
can be measured.
-- Assist governmental agencies in developing facilities
and policies.
-- Serve as a guide to Crane Lake business operators.
The treatment of Crane Lake as a community is far from compre-
hensive. At best, the report onty highlights some of the potentials
and problems. Its purpose will have been served if it helps to stimu-
late constructive discussion of Community goals among Crane LakeCitizens
which it
2
and between the community and the several agencies with
must interract.
II. The Crane Lake Setting
Crane Lake occupies one of the most unique recreational access
sites in North America. Through Sand Point and N amakan Lakes it
serves as the southeastern entrance to the Voyageurs National Park.
It is the western entrance to the million- acre Boundary Waters
Canoe Area. It is an international boundary-crossing point and pro-
vides access to the adjacent Canadian wilderness which includes
Quetico Provincial Park. It is situated along the traditional route of
the Voyageurs and within a northern woods and waters near-wilderness.
Its location is isolated at the end of county highway 24. The
nearest incorporated area is Orr -- at a distance of over 30 miles.
Human population of the area is sparce since the land is used almost
exclusively for forestry and recreation and almost no other industry
exists within 60 miles.
The vastness of apparently undeveloped land contributes to its
visitor’s image of being in a remote wilderness area. This factor
adds flavor to the experience of visiting Crane Lake and, through
it, gaining access to the Voyageurs N’ational Park or the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area.3
111. Estimates of Recreational Uses of the Region That are Based in
Services From or Access to the Area Through Crane Lake.
Voyageurs National Park was officially designated in 1975.
Already it has national appeal even though limited park facilities
were available in 1976.
The figures that are given below provide a benchmark measure
against which growth of activity in the Voyageurs National Park
area and other parts of the region about Crane Lake can be measured,
They may also be used as policy guides by agencies and individuals
operating in the area. Estimates are for 1975. Two kinds of estimates
are made.
An Overall Estimate of all Crane-Lake Based Recreational Acitvity
This estimate
an upper limit for
measures all people-activity. It thus establishes
people-pressure from Crane Lake upon any part of ~
the resource. Total person-days by all people in the area are computed,
based upon persons served through the Crane Lake Post Office.
Person days
3 months, peak period
90 days x 3000 people
270, 000
2 months, limited recreation period
60 days x 1500 people
90, 000
7 months, year round residents
220 Indians, 80 others, 210 days x 300
60, 000
Total person days 420, 0004
The reader should note that although this is an approach to a comp-
rehensive estimate, it is aLmost certainly conservative. It will not
include day users who live outside the Crane Lake Star
are also numerous visitors who do not make use of the
Route. There
postal services;
among these will be those who embark through Crane Lake without
making specific contact there.
The area covered includes the Crane Lake Star Route, pLus second
homes from Crane Lake north into Namakan Lake, those camping,
..
canoeing outfitted and flown in from Crane Lake Services to Canada
.,.,
(mainly Quetico area) North to Namakan Lake and East to Lac La Croix
and other parts of the BWCA and nearby Canadian Woods and waters.
Resorts in Sand Point and Lac La Croix Lakes are included.
The Crane Lake population of 360 (Including all served by the
Star Route) expands tenfold to 3000 during the peak period. The people-
days of use if spread evenly throughout the year would be equivalent to
a city having a resident population of 1250. Services for people -including
transportation and waste disposal - must be maintained on a scale. cap-
able of handling a population of 3000.
Estimates of Crane Lake Tourist-Recreational Use Impacting Upon
the Voyageurs Park Area
Estimates made below are for activities and facility users
at and/or services through Crane Lake. These are grouped to
based
avoidb
disclosure of data from individual operations. For example resort
house-keeping cabins, lodging rooms, and American plan resorts are
al~ included in the resort figure, however, each different one is com-
puted separately to arrive at the total estimate for person-days of use.
1. Second Homes - Uses related to second homes currently exert
by far the greatest recreational impact upon the area. This in-
cludes people-days in the area and on the water, economics, and
alteration of the natural setting by man-made facilities. Other
recent studies have also found a dominance
recreational uses elsewhere in Minnesota.
Minnewaska in Pope County; study findings
of second home-related
An example is Lake
are reported in the
Fall 1976, and Winter 1977 issues of .IJ’Iinnesota Tourist Travel
Notes. Specific data for use per second home in the Crane Lake
Area are not available. As a first approximation average data
from other Minnesota studies have been used. In these studies it
was found that
by an average
second homes
the average second home is used 75 days per season
of 4 persons or 300 person-days.
in the
Seventy of these are
since users of these
C’rane/Sand Point /Namakan
There are 350
Lakes area.
politically in Ontario, however they are inc
second homes will exert pressure upon the
physical resource which is a part of the Voyageurs
2. Resorts - There are 12 resort operations with 101
of all types: Lodging rooms, housekeeping cabins,
National Par!
rental units
and Arneric an
uded
..6
plan. It is estimated that these operations could house an
average of 400 guests. Crane Lake thus can accommodate a
relative small number of overnite visitors in commercial
lodging facilities.
3. Boat Launchings and Boat Rentals - An estimated 250 renta~ boats
are available in the area. There are two large marina services.
In addition, most facilities for overnite lodging maintain
launching and marina facilities. Many day users and boat
campers bring their own boats and pay for launching privileges
and a place to park their automobile and boat trailer. Many “’
others from N. E. Minnesota rent marina space and leave their
boat in the area for all or part of a season where it is avail-
able for their use as desired. Boat campers are those who make
camp from their boat at some shore-side site outside the immedi-
ate Crane Lake Community area. Use estimates in this cate-
gory only include those boaters not counted in other classifications.
4. Campers - This figure considers only those
or near the Crane Lake area. There is one
who set up camp at
commercial camp- -
ground in Crane Lake, however, since operators are permitted
to host up to four campers without a permit, there is some
camping immediately within Crane L,ake that is not in this camp-
ground, In addition there are Superior National Forest camp-
grounds available nearby.7
5.
6.
7.
Houseboats - A totai of 16 houseboats are based at Crane Lake.
Eight of these are individually owned and maintained primarily
for owners use only. The eight rental houseboats are intensively
used during the peak season.
Canoeists - There
in the Crane Lake
craft with them.
are an estimated 200 rental canoes available
area. Many area canoeists bring their own
FIY in - The service is available, however, no use estimates ~
were made since nearly all of the fly-in parties go into Ontario.
Estimates of person-days of use for each of the above items are
given below. Total person-days for each class of user that is depen-
dent upon Crane Lake are estimated. In each case a varying proportion
of total person-days is allocated to the Voyageurs National Park area.
These proportions are based upon information obtained from operators
about activity patterns.
Person days
Type of Activity/Facility
1. Second homes
2. Resort Patrons
(80Y0 fish. , 1/2 assigned
to VNP)
3. Boat Launchings & rentals
(1/2 to VNP) (not included
other five classes)
4. Campers
(most fish. , 1/2 to VNP)
in
5. Houseboats (on[y have access
to VNP waters)
6. Canoeists
(Bulk go into BWCA)
Total Person Days in VNP area
105, 000 105, 000
41, 000 16, 000
22,000 11, 000
9, 000 4, 500
4, 000 4, 000
15, 000 3, 000
=6, 000 143, 0008
Border Crossing at Crane Lake
Border crossings at Crane Lake, from Canada into the United
States are g,iven below for the year 1975. These were supplied by the
U. S. Customs. The data complement use estimates made above in
that (1) they measure a specific activity which cross-cuts the use
estimates and (2) seasonal patterns are shown. Note that person-days
of use cannot be determined from these data since information on length of
of stay is not available. Note also that crossings in only one direction
are given.
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Aug USt
September
October
November
December
Border crossing into U. S.
222
329
341
272
815
2, 347
1, 783
2, 104
1, 150
296
96
104
Total 1975 crossings into U.S. from
Canada at Crane Lake
9, 8599
IV. Crane Lake as an Operating Community
The Crane Lake Community is not only uniquely sited - its
economic base is unusual. Tourism and recreation are almost the
sole basic economic activity. In the United States tourism and recre-
ation have been growing and now account for 20 percent of consumer
purchases. In few locations, however, is tourism so nearly the single
economic reason for a community’s existence.
A complementary relationship exists between’ the tourism- recre -
ation-service businesses of Crane Lake, the
the several large publicly-managed facilities
natural resources, and
of the region. The un-’
usual woods- waters- northland features attract many who wish to
recreate -- to see and experience the beauty and wilderness qualities
of the region and to engage in many specific recreational activities
of which fishing, power -boating, and canoeing are the more prominent.
But in order to gain access to the region many services must be per-
formed. The basic ones are lodging, food and transportation. In
addition special services including equipment rentals, outfitting,
ing, guiding, portaging and fly-in must
community specializes in the provision
to the area.
aunch-
be avaiiable, Crane Lake
of these services for visitors10
In 1976 there were 38 separate business
Lake. They may be classed in three groups
operations in Crane
as
Hospitality Services - those necessary for people to live
and travel away from home.
Recreational Related - services necessary to the pursuit
of specific recreational activities,
Residential and Support - those needed by people in order
to live in the area and necessary to support the above
activities.
A classified listing of the services includes:
Hospitality Recreational Services Supporting
Resorts Outfitting
Restaurants Canoe rentals
Auto and Gasoline Boat rentals
Campgrounds Marina (launching,. docking,
Fly-in repair)
Limousine Water taxi
Bait and tackle
Guide
Groceries
Construction
General Repair and
Maintenance.
Religious services
Access to health care
Access to education
Communications
facilities
Power and Fuel
Many of the above services may be classed in more than one way.
—
For example, grocery stores supply food to residents, but in the case
of Crane Lake the bulk of grocery sales almost certainly go to non-
residents. Hence grocery operations might as well be classed as
“Hospitality” types. Similarly, gasoline and automobile services are
used by residents and visitors alike.In some cases a number
a single business operation.
11
of the above services are performed by
In addition to the for-profit business
operation, there are many other people service s~such as religious and
social, provided by the community.
The privately provided services of Crane Lake Community com-
plement a substantial set of governmentally- provided ser vices in the
area. These latter are substantial and prominent
proportion of the natural resource which is owned
governmental agencies. These resources include
because of the large
and managed by
all meandered waters,
plus a high proportion of the land surface.
take place on governmentally managed land
Most recreational activities
and water area, but rela -
tively few individuals could enjoy these resources without the private
services provided by Crane Lake. These private services provide a
variety of alternatives in access and accommodations. They appeal to
a wide range in tastes and ability to pay. This is a major genius of such
a complex of private operations. Without them public investment would
be needed to provide this access, and it would almost certainly offer
a more limited range of service.
Special Problems of Crane Lake
Because of its uniqueness, Crane Lake confronts a number of
special situations. These pose challenges in the on-going life of the
Crane Lake Community and to the several businessmen who serve12
the tourists there:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Remoteness - This factor lends special charm and appeal. It
also results in high costs for food, fuel, building supplies. It
limits the ready availability and variety of supply and it pre -
eludes easy access to commercial transportation.
A high proportion of publicly owned land - One result of a high
proportion of publicly owned land is limitation to flexibility in
area land use patterns. In one important respect this is desir -
able -- stable patterns of use, guaranteeing a wilderness setting
are essential to the vacation/recreation image of
On the other hand limited areas of privately held
artificially high
force it into an
many decisions
price and tend to either limit new
Crane Lake.
land create an
development or
point beyond the
characteristic of
already congested setting. Another result is that
concerning the land management are made at a
ocal community (It should be noted that this is
most non-resident ownership whether public,
a
individual-private, or corporate).
The International Border - The nearness of Canada generates
visitor appeal. But it means that there is the added problem of
international crossings of individuals,
fishing licenses required by a foreign
from both directions.
customs clearances, and
government for visitors
Governmental Agency Impact - A welter of public agencies impact
upon Crane Lake, and especially upon those businesses serving13
the tourist industry. Every community and business is., of
course, subject to regulation by governmental agencies. But
the special situatic]n of Crane Lake results in a presence of non-
local governmental bureaucracy that exercises a dominant in-
fluence. The three
area’s recreational
factors noted immediately above plus the
appeal are primarily responsible for the
unusual degree of governmental agency impact here.
Among those agencies having regular interaction with
Crane Lake are:
--
-.
--
--
--
--
---
--
St. Louis County Agencies - Crane Lake is remote
even from most agencies of its own county government.
Arrowhead Regional Development Commission - A
regional planning agency.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - has juris-
diction of the fish and wildlife resources, water area, and
state-owned land.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota State Planning Agency
Minnesota Environmental Quality Council
Minnesota Aeronautics Department - aircraft are an
important means of local transportation.
National Park Service - Manages Voyageurs
National Park5.
--
-.
--
-.
-.
--
14
Superior National Forest
National Forest including
- lManages
the specia
the Superior
Ly-designated
Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Federal Communication Commission - radio is a
major means of communication.
U. S. Coast Guard - has responsibility in international
waters.
The U. S. and Canadian
The U. S. and Canadian
Customs Services
Immigration Services
The International Joint Commission - regulates lake “
water levels.
The number of these agencies is so large that local business-
men must consider them in most business decisions. Often
agency heads are remote from Crane Lake, thus policy rulings
and operating procedures may be poorly adapted. Further, there
may be inconsistency between rulings of two agencies with closely
related jurisdictions. There may be limited communications and
even open conf Lict among agencies. The overall effect is some-
times to buffet the business operators at Crane Lake
wholly unintended manner.
Relatively Short History of Intensive Development
about in a
While there has been settlement at Crane Lake since the
19th century, its present popularity as a recreational center15
came after
recreation
World War II. As a result its development as a
service center may be described as immature. It
is focused primarily upon fishing with limited (but growing) recog -
nition of its boating and canoe service potential. H has few other
services: such as for childrens activities, for non-fishermen
(or non-fisherwomen), or for evening activities. Even interpre -
tation of this outstanding area is available only
ther, its development upon the water and along
most part first-tier. That is, ail services are
incidentally. Fur-
roads is for the
crowded directly
onto the waterfront or ‘road with little
This is a characteristic of “frontier”
back-land development.
development. The effect is
to limit the community’s capacity to expand services for hosting
visitors and to create a sometimes cluttered appearance.
6. Conflicts Between “Wilderness” and “Development” Values
As with most areas having the natural beauty of Crane Lake
and its appeal for recreation, there are substantial differences
of opinion in the desired degree of wilderness that should be
maintained. These differences exist among residents as well as
visitors. Often second home owners are particularly vocal con-
cerning the need to limit further development; they purchased
their site because of wilderness qualities and do not depend upon
the flow of commerce for a living. Environmental groups, con-
sisting mostly of non-residents, may also express wilderness16
objectives. This conflict of view is a necessary part of the de-
bate over resource use in our democracy, There is nO single
“right solution” for all time. It should be possible, however,
to agree upon general area goals toward which Crane Lake
citizens, public agencies and the many other interested publics
can work.

THE CRANE LAKE CONNECTION

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics