Where the River Meets the Lake

Where the River

Meets the Lake

FOLSR Newsletter | Spring 2021

Hello Friends

From Jim Anklam, FOLSR Board Chair

It is exciting to see new leaves, migrating birds along our wooded hillside and insects buzzing again. It is also heartening to think that the worst of the pandemic could be over. Buoyed by the promise of spring and life returning to normal, I'm inspired by the latest news from the Lake Superior Reserve. For example, the Estuarium is reopening on Fridays and Saturdays in June. It will be great to have the Estuarium open to locals and visitors again. The community will also soon have a new boat ramp to Pokegama Bay and the improvements at the boat landing will improve access and reduce the erosion and sedimentation occurring. In this newsletter, you'll meet a Friend and get the skinny on FOLSR's Earth Day date on Wisconsin Point.

I'm writing to you as FOLSR's new board chair and I'm looking forward to the conversations we'll be having over the next several years. I volunteered for this position because I want to help FOLSR expand membership and reach a more diverse audience so that the value and importance of the St. Louis River Estuary can be understood by more people. My wife Jane and I have lived next to the St. Louis River Estuary since 2003. In addition to volunteering to serve on the FOLSR board, I'm also a "trail adopter,” which means I maintain a segment of the North Country trail system in Douglas County. My background is steeped in environmental science focused on northern Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota. I look forward to serving you and hope you enjoy FOLSRs spring newsletter.

Your Friend,

Jim

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A Season of River Talks Ends Where?

Is the River Talk 20/21 season really winding down?

NOT QUITE!

May 12 at 7 p.m. or, if ill weather is afoot, May 19 is your last chance to participate in River Talks while it is happening. The final presentation will be in-person at parking lot #5 on Wisconsin Point, at the far end of the point near the shipping canal and lighthouse. Thomas Howes, natural resources manager for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, will talk about Ojibwe connections to Wisconsin Point and discuss events that brought them to this spot. He'll also cover the Tribe's recent history in relation to Wisconsin Point, how they use the area currently and what the future vision is for Fond du Lac-owned lands on the point.

The event will last an hour and will include time for comments and questions. Face masks are encouraged for COVID safety. Bring a folding chair.

While you are waiting for the final installment of River Talks, enjoy the video recording of March's River Talk, A River of Poems, on the Reserve's YouTube channel. This talk was held in conjunction with the St. Louis River Summit. Twelve poets from around the world and across the country read their prose to an audience of 85, a record attendance. The poetry reading was a moving testament to the power of rivers and the depth of our shared humanity.

You might also want to check out summaries of the 20/21 talks housed on Wisconsin Sea Grant’s blog:

Water Levels: Erosion, Wild Rice and Geese, presented in October by Brandon Krumwiede, Great Lakes geospatial coordinator with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, and Hannah Burgstaler, freshwater fellow at the Reserve.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Clash of Wetlands With lake Levels, Invasives and Humans, presented in November by Dustin Haines, research coordinator at the Reserve.

Coastal Wetlands: Dynamic Ecosystems of Lake Superior, presented in January by Kelly Beaster and Reed Schwarting with the Lake Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

A Virtual Visit: Explore the St. Louis River Exhibits and Animals at the Great Lakes Aquarium, presented in Feburary by Alexis Berke with the Great Lakes Aquarium

A River of Poems, presented in March featuring 12 poets from around the world.

Discovering the Magic of the Estuary: Bringing Tourists to the St. Louis River, presented in April by Nikky Farmakes, Superior-Douglas County Chamber of Commerce and Travel Superior, and Kris Eilers, St. Louis River Alliance.

Ojibwe Connection to Wisconsin Point: Past, Present and Future, presented in May by Thomas Howes, natural resources manager for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. A blog post will be available after the talk.

The 20/21 River Talks season was sponsored by The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.

For More Information:

Marie Zhuikov, (218) 348-7133, [email protected]

Deanna Erickson, Lake Superior Reserve, (608) 234-1510, [email protected]

Photo Credit: Michael Anderson, Singing Canoe

FOLSR and Friends Pick up the Point

They were spunky, those 49 volunteers who braved the snow-rain to meet out on Wisconsin Point on April 24, the Saturday after Earth Day. They also removed 528 pounds of litter from the beaches, woods and roadside of Wisconsin Point in just four hours. FOLSR sponsored this Earth Day cleanup but it took a wide variety of community groups to achieve the results.

Volunteers headed out in small, socially distanced groups to collect litter in assigned areas. The bulk of the retrieved waste was typical flotsam and jetsam: cigarette butts, plastics, cans, fast food containers and deflated mylar balloons. A few tires, angle iron and an abandoned grill added to the weight.

FOLSR sends a warm thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the beach cleanup, including members of local Rotary Clubs (Eco, Harbortown, Superior Noontime, Interact, Rotaract), Northland Paddlers Association and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Friends of Lake Superior Reserve are proud to call you friends!

Please consider joining us for FOLSR's next beach cleanup in September. We can't promise great weather but it's always interesting by the lake. Dates and details TBD.

By Sharon Moen, FOLSR Board Member

Photo Credit: Michael Anderson, Singing Canoe

2021 St. Louis River Summit a Big Success

How do you make a virtual conference as engaging and rewarding as the traditional in-person form?

For the 11 annual St. Louis River Summit in March 2021, the organizing committee met the challenge head on. First, they attracted two outstanding keynote speakers. Dudley Edmondson, a Duluth-based photographer, author, filmmaker and presenter, challenged the audience to get serious about welcoming people of color into environmental pursuits. On day two, Cameron Davis, vice president at GEI Consultants and the former Great Lakes “czar” of President Obama’s administration, offered compelling reasons for people to appreciate, protect and restore the estuary and the area around it.

The planning committed also stretched the Summit to span three days. They did this so that the presentations (30) and posters (24) would be less likely to lose their audiences due to Zoom fatigue. FOLSR's Jim Anklam and Mike Koutnik presented on the success of the group’s first-ever beach cleanup at Wisconsin Point in September 2020. And then there was the public-friendly River Talks associated with the Summit: A River of Poems. You can still enjoy this juried poetry reading that drew submissions from across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and South Korea on the Reserve’s YouTube channel.

To put icing on the cake, the committee offered four field trips. These outdoor events followed COVID-19 protocols (masking and a limit of 10 participants). Available slots filled up quickly and waiting lists were set up. FOLSR’s Pat Collins and Mike Koutnik led one of the field trips, a birding walk at Wisconsin Point. The weather was outstanding, which made it possible for newbie and experienced birders, alike, to enjoy the antics of about 10 bald eagles during the 2-hour event.

The success of the Summit reflects the amazing efforts of the Lake Superior Reserve staff and volunteers. They made the virtual Summit a nearly seamless experience for the 285 registrants representing a wide geographic area. Hats off to them for job well done. The post-Summit survey confirmed that most attendees viewed the Summit as a good use of their time (91%, with 42% agreeing strongly).

FOLSR looks forward seeing you at the St. Louis River Summit in 2022. In the meantime, come on over and visit the Reserve!

By Mike Koutnik, FOLSR Board Member

Photo credit: Mike Koutnik; Pat Collins leads a bird walk during the St. Louis River Summit.

In Search of Volunteers

The Reserve is seeking a few Friends to lend a hand.

Volunteers are needed to staff the Estuarium, which is reopening in June. Duties include:

greeting visitors,
answering questions about the exhibits, the Reserve and the area,
monitoring the exhibit space.

If interested, please email Deanna Erickson, Reserve Manager, at [email protected].

Stay in the Loop

Hirings: The Reserve is welcoming new members to the team. Staci Reynolds, a student at UW-Superior, is working as the Reserve's research and monitoring technician. Luciana Ranelli has been hired on to lead the Reserve’s education program.

Openings: The Reserve is seeking a seasonal boat operator and a permanent stewardship coordinator. Check in with Reserve staff for details.

Educators: The Rivers2Lake Education Program is accepting applications through June 15. Visit www.rivers2lake.org for more information.

Grant: FOLSR is pleased to have been chosen for $3,000 grant from the City if Superior. FOLSR intends to use this funding to buy birdwatching equipment, mud boots, and trash grabbers for Reverse visitors and volunteers to borrow.

Results: Three UW-Superior students, Elizabeth Romero, Mercedes Medlin and Connor Harmonic, put together a marketing plan for FOLSR as part of a service learning project. Their main recommendations were to start using Instagram, develop business partnerships and collaborate with like-minded non-profits.

Boat Ramp: Construction on the Pokegama River boat ramp is happening from June 7-21. Other additions include bathrooms, a newly paved road, and a parking lot. The Reserve will host a ribbon cutting on July 16 to celebrate its opening. The project was made possible by a grant from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to the Reserve to help provide residents better access to the river.

Geese: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will likely remove Canada geese from areas of the St. Louis River and its estuary in June. The two-day effort would focus on sites where wild rice is being re-established, not city parks. The public will have a chance to comment on the plan beforehand. Target areas include below the Fond du Lac dam, wetlands near Clough Island, the upper bays near the Fond du Lac neighborhood and in Allouez Bay.

Listening Sessions: The Reserve will be seeking comments on the management of Allouez Bay in late June and early July through several listening sessions. Dates have not yet been determined.

That's Different!

Fallout

During spring migration, warblers travel at night, likely following celestial cues. But when fog rolls in, as it is known to do on the south shore of Lake Superior, the small feathered travelers can "fall out" en masse. This means they land and poke around for awhile until the air clears. The Reserve is known as a place where spring fallout events happen. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you can watch hundreds of warblers foraging, resting, and preparing for the next push northward.

Get to Know Your Reserve

There's a lot to see at Lot 4!

Lot 4 along Wisconsin Point provides beach access to Lake Superior. An interpretive sign along the boardwalk explains the importance of the dunes that run between the forest and the lakeshore. The trail to the west end of the parking lot offers an easy walk through the woods. If you are lucky, you might even encounter a spring fallout there!

One of Your Friends

Luciana Ranelli recently joined the Reserve staff as the new education coordinator. Finding a bird she associates with wilderness under a hedge in a city delights her, but that's not the only reason why we're excited to introduce Luciana. Luciana has serious professional credentials! She recently served as the Youth and Family Programs Director at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and Field Education Faculty at Teton Science Schools. Nationally, Luciana trains environmental educators on community engagement, and social and environmental justice. Luciana has degrees in environmental studies (MS, Antioch University New England) and biology and secondary education (BS, UMN, Morris). She also has middle and high school Minnesota teacher licenses in life science. Among a group, Luciana values converging on a shared purpose and creating opportunities.