(a) Motorboat use.

(1) For purposes of this section, motorboats permitted to operate in the BWCA Wilderness are defined as watercraft propelled by a gasoline or electric powered motor with the propeller below the waterline.

(2) Motorboats may operate without restrictions on motor size or number of motors on Sand Point Lake, Little Vermilion Lake, Loon Lake, Loon River, and that portion of Lac La Croix which lies south of Snow Bay and east of Wilkins Bay, all in Saint Louis County.

(3) Motorboats with a motor or combination of motors totaling no more than 25 horsepower may operate on Trout Lake in Saint Louis County, Fall Lake, Moose Lake, Newfound Lake, Newton Lake, Sucker Lake, Snowbank Lake, South Farm Lake, and Basswood Lake, except that portion of Basswood Lake generally north of the narrows at the north end of Jackfish Bay and north of a point on the International Boundary between Ottawa Island and Washington Island, all in Lake County, and East Bearskin Lake and Saganaga Lake, except that portion west of American Point in Cook County.

(4) Motorboats with a motor or combination of motors totaling no more than 10 horsepower may operate on Clearwater Lake, North Fowl Lake, South Fowl Lake, Alder Lake, Canoe Lake, Sea Gull Lake, and Island River east of Lake Isabella, all in Lake County, except that motorboats may not operate—

(i) After January 1, 1999 on that portion of Sea Gull Lake west of Threemile Island, and

(ii) After January 1, 1994, on Brule Lake in Cook County or until the termination of the operation of the resort adjacent to Brule Lake in operation as of 1977, whichever occurs first.

(5) Motorboats with a combination of motors that exceed 25 horsepower may travel on that portion of Saganaga Lake in Cook County described as the Saganaga Corridor extending from the Saganaga Narrows north to the International Boundary east of Campers, Clark and Horseshoe Islands and west of Oskenonton Island; provided that the motor or motors in operation at one time do not exceed 25 horsepower.

(b) Mechanical and mechanized portages.

(1) BWCA visitors may use portage wheels and other non-motorized devices to transport watercraft over the following routes:

(i) The portages along the International Boundary.

(ii) Four Mile Portage from Fall Lake to Hoist Bay of Basswood Lake.

(iii) The portage from Back Bay to Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake.

(iv) The portages from Fall Lake to Newton Lake to Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake.

(v) The portage from Vermilion Lake to Trout Lake.

(2) The Forest Service may authorize, by special use permit, the use of motor vehicles to transport watercraft over the following portages:

(i) Four Mile Portage From Fall Lake to Hoist Bay of Basswood Lake.

(ii) Vermilion Lake to Trout Lake.

(iii) Prairie Portage from Sucker Lake to Basswood Lake

(iv) Loon River to Loon Lake and from Loon Lake to Lac La Croix.

(c) Snowmobile use.

(1) A snowmobile is defined as a self-propelled, motorized vehicle not exceeding forty inches in width designed to operate on ice and snow, having a ski or skiis in contact with the snow and driven by a track or tracks.

(2) The Forest Service permits use of snowmobiles only on the following routes:

(i) The overland portages in Saint Louis County from Crane Lake to Little Vermilion Lake in Canada.

(ii) The route in Cook County from Sea Gull River along the eastern portion of Saganage Lake to Canada.

(3) The Forest Service may issue special-use authorizations to use snowmobiles for the grooming of specified cross-country ski trails near existing resorts.

[50 FR 16231, Apr. 25, 1985]