These international waters are governed by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, which states that “boundary waters and the waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other”. (6) The Rainy River Watershed headwaters begin in northeastern Minnesota and flow north through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park and into Canada along the shared international border. (5) The Rainy River Watershed lies within the Superior National Forest, which contains 20 percent of the fresh water supply in the entire National Forest System.

All Bands have a legal interest in protecting natural resources and the Forest Service shares in the Federal trust responsibility to maintain treaty resources.

(4) The federally recognized Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa retain hunting, fishing, and other usufructuary rights throughout the entire northeast portion of Minnesota, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, under the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe. (3) In 1978, Congress passed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act (Public Law 95–495) to remove incompatible uses, prohibit mining within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and on 220,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, and to provide management guidance to protect, preserve, and enhance the lakes, waterways, and forested areas of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to enhance public enjoyment of the unique landscape and wildlife. (C) 150 miles of land and water on the international border with the Government of Canada. (B) 1,500 cultural resource sites including historic Ojibwe village sites and Native American pictograph panel sites and (A) nearly 2,000 pristine lakes ranging in size from 10 acres to 10,000 acres, and more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes (2) The Forest Service manages the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which includes.

The area is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota.(1) The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a 1,090,000-acre Federal wilderness area, located within the Superior National Forest, that was originally designated in the Wilderness Act of 1964 (Public Law 88–577). The Boundary Waters is a popular destination for recreationalists pursuing camping, canoeing, and fishing as well as for those simply looking for natural scenery and relaxation. The Boundary Waters region is characterized by a vast network of waterways and bogs within a glacially-carved landscape of Precambrian bedrock covered in thin soils and boreal forests. Wilderness Area protecting its southern extent, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The name 'Boundary Waters' is often used in the U.S. Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota may also be considered part of the Boundary Waters. This region is part of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, and in Canada it includes La Verendrye and Quetico Provincial Parks in Ontario. While 'Boundary Waters' is a common name for this region, the two nations also share extensive boundary waters along their border, beyond this region. The Boundary Waters, also called the Quetico-Superior Country, is a region of wilderness straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario and Minnesota, in the area just west of Lake Superior.

Boundary water park