Foundation Document Overview, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; National Park Service

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; near the tip of the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin; includes 21 islands in Lake Superior and a 12-mile-long narrow strip of mainland shoreline. The park is located in Bayfield and Ashland Counties; within the ancestral homeland of the Ojibwe people. Established by an act of Congress (Public Law 91-424) on September 26; 1970; the purpose of the park is “to conserve and develop for the benefit; inspiration; education; recreational use; and enjoyment of the public” the islands and their related geographic; scenic; and scientific values. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore encompasses 69; 372 acres; of which 27; 323 acres are submerged lands in Lake Superior; the park boundary extends a quarter-mile from the shore of the mainland and from each island. Eighty percent of the land area of the park was designated as wilderness in December 2004 and named the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness. The islands range in size from 3-acre Gull Island to 10; 054-acre Stockton Island. The islands are spread out over a portion of Lake Superior nearly 290; 000 acres in size—an area larger than Rocky Mountain National Park or Mount Rainier National Park.