North Shore Morning

WTIP's North Shore Morning host, CJ Heithoff talks with North Woods Naturalist, Chel Anderson to find out more about Chel herself. 
Not one to talk much about herself, this was a rare opportunity for WTIP listeners to learn more about their favorite naturalist.

National Forest Update – July 11, 2019
 
Hi.  This is Renee Frahm, visitor information specialist on the Superior National Forest, with the National Forest Update for the middle of July, and in fact the middle of the summer.  We hope you’ve been out on the Forest enjoying some of the really nice weather we’ve been having!  With the Fourth of July having past and other town celebrations such as Bay Days in Silver Bay and Heritage Days in Two Harbors this weekend as well as Fisherman’s Picnic coming up in a few weeks, it’s a great time to enjoy the outdoors with your extra family in town. 

Those nice days though mean that there’s been little rain over the whole forest for the last few weeks.  However, there have been spotty showers or downpours in some locations.  While much of Minnesota is suffering from too much water, we are on the edge of too little.  The dry conditions have caused the Smokey Bear sign in front of our ranger stations to raise his finger to the ‘High’ fire danger rating.  In the definition of High Fire Danger are the phrases “unattended campfires are likely to escape” and “fires may become serious and difficult to control”.  This means that it is very important for you to make sure your fire is dead out and cold to the touch before you leave the area – even for a short time.  The easiest time to control a fire is when it is still a campfire, so don’t allow your fire to escape and become a serious incident.  It is also a good time to keep an eye on possible fire restrictions if Smokey ends up pointing at an even higher fire danger ratings as the woods continue to dry. 

Adding to the fire concerns has been an outbreak of spruce budworm.  Several people have stopped by our office asking about fir trees they have seen with brown branch ends and silky masses at the ends of the twigs as well as entire stands of dead firs.  These are signs of spruce budworm, which actually attacks more fir trees than spruce.  The budworm is the caterpillar stage of a moth and is a local, not an invasive, species.  It tends to have population booms and busts, and there is currently an outbreak in some areas of the forest.  The caterpillars spread when the adult moths fly and lay eggs in new areas, and also when the caterpillars themselves ‘balloon’ away on a long thread of silk.  Once on a tree of their choosing, the budworms eat primarily new needles at the ends of the branches.  It is possible for them to defoliate entire stands of trees, similar to what the eastern forest tent caterpillar or army worm does to aspen and birch.  The tree can recover from this, but if it is defoliated two or three years in a row, it will probably die.  The dead trees then become a fire hazard.  There’s no large scale treatment for budworm – usually an infestation is left to run its course, though thinning stands of trees and removing dead trees is done to curb the worms and reduce fire danger.  It is possible to treat individual trees with insecticides such as BT and save a particular tree in your yard, but BT kills all caterpillars so treating a large area would be harmful to the other butterflies and moths we all enjoy and benefit from.

Dry weather also makes it impossible to grade roadways.  We’ve been dry long enough that some of our forest roads are showing considerable washboarding.  Drive with care – going fast over washboards will really reduce your traction and make it easy to run right off the road on a curve.  If you are using a less used Forest Service road to access your cabin or a remote lake and want to clear the road or brush the roadside, be sure to get a permit from us first.  The permits are free; but we need them in order to keep track of what maintenance is being done where on the road system.  You can also pick up a permit to dispose of the slash you generate at a Forest Service burn pile.  Contact the Gunflint office for the permit and location of the pile.

There is a fair amount of log hauling going on.  In Tofte, haulers are on the same roads as last week – the Dumbell River Road, Wanless Road, Lake County 705, the Four Mile Grade, the Grade, and Cook County 27 and 8.  On the Gunflint District, hauling is happening on the Lima Grade, South Brule Road, Greenwood Road, Firebox Road, Blueberry Road, Cascade River Road, Pike Lake Road, and Cook County 6 and 7.  There is also hauling across the Superior Hiking Trail southeast of Cook County 6.

While we are talking about roads, our field going people have noticed a lot of turtles on the gravel roads.  This time of year, turtles are nesting and walking from ponds and lakes to sandy areas to dig nests and lay eggs.  Please watch out for these slow pedestrians.  You can help turtles to cross, but don’t set them back on the side they started from.  They are stubborn and will just set out across the road again. 

So, set out on your own adventures, enjoy the summer, go on a picnic, get out and fish or take a hike but certainly take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts.  Until next time, this has been Renee Frahm with the National Forest Update.
 

North Shore Morning host, Gary Latz talks with Hartley Acero for the July  Topic of the Month - "Humble Heroes: Secret Super-Powers of Everyday Foods".

In the Spirit of Medicine by Dr Arne Vainio
"Promise of a Warrior"

Dr. Arne Vainio is an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a family practice doctor on the Fond Du Lac reservation in Cloquet. His essays on life, work, medicine and spirit are published in "News From Indian Country”.
 

Superior National Forest Update with Steve Robertsen, education and interpretation specialist - Superior National Forest.
July 5, 2019

"To Minnesota with Love"  by Christina MacGillivray.

“To Minnesota with Love” is a feature produced for WTIP by Christina MacGillivray. She has close ties to Minnesota, and the North Shore in particular, even though she now lives in India and works all over the world.
This feature is Christina’s “audio postcard” back to WTIP and the area she loves.

In this episode, we learn about Darjeeling - the famous tea-growing area of India.
 

Wildersmith on the Gunflint    by     Fred Smith
July 5, 2019    
 
Days go by so fast, it seems as though I missed something with one week of July almost history. Here’s hoping all had a safe and sane holiday.                                                                                         

Since our last meeting on the radio, some nasty heat and humidity has engulfed Gunflint territory. Conditions have been keeping a lot of us woodsy critters in the shade or lake waters. Whereas it’s not hot as most of the US, our definition of heat in the northern forest has many folks crying “ugh!”                                                                                                                                               

Nevertheless, throughout the wild land, forest flora is shooting forth with enthusiasm after being stunted with cool since snow departed. Summer blooming is booming with oranges, pinks and yellows decorating back country roads and the few treeless spaces.                                               

Among wild edibles, strawberries, thimbleberries, Juneberries and blues seem to be shaping up for another juicy harvest. The same can be said for fruit on the Mountain Ash trees which will make a lot of Cedar Wax Wings happy come fall and early winter. All growing conditions being equal, it’s a good bet local green thumber’s are happy too.                                                                                     

The annual explosion of lupines has some folks smiling, while others more in the know are scowling at their noxious presence. While the multi-colored spires can be a blur of beauty to some observers, it’s hard to feel much affection toward the toxic invaders as they crowd out natives.                                                                                                                                                                             
 

As I kicked-off this weeks’ scoop, this neck of the woods has dried out once again. A couple wimpy showers in this neighborhood netted less than two-tenths of an inch, settling the dust for barely a few hours.                                                                                                                                           

Insomuch as our extended local forecast looked bleak in terms of a serious allocation soon, there’s a 90 % chance prognostications will be wrong. Perhaps a wet distribution will pop up unexpected by the time I hit the airwaves with this report.                                                                                           

Speaking of air waves, the Community Radio station of the northland is kicking off the 2019 summer support drive in the middle of this coming week. Considering WTIP radio waves connect people in this great area, the “Radio of 2000 Lakes” theme seems highly relevant as more earthy waves are dashing shorelines throughout the territory. Activities will get underway next Wednesday the 10^th and run until noon on Tuesday the 16^th.                                                                                                                            
 

This fundraising endeavor is the second of three held annually. In concert with the spring and pre-winter events, “Radio of 2000 Lakes” is a critical component to sustain the great broadcast opportunities to which listeners are accustomed.                                                                         

WTIP is counting on one and all to step up and help hit the mark. Be ready to check-in with your pledge of listener love.                                                                                                                          

I’m starting a list of “getting ready for winter” chores. There are buildings to stain, and firewood to stack heading the list as I get into month seven. With July’s weed whipping to do and continual brush to pile for snow season burning, there might not be enough days left if the month careens out of control as did June. So busy is an understatement.                                                                                                                                 

A couple notes from the Gunflint Trail Historical Society calendar remind members and friends of two coming events. First is an invitation to the grand opening celebration of the new Watercraft Exhibit Building at Chik-Wauk on this Sunday, the 7^th from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The second event is the July, Historical Society membership meeting on Monday July 8^th. This will be held at the mid-Trail/Schaap Community Center, beginning at 1:30pm. Treats and refreshments will be served at both events.                                                                                                                                                             

A bear or bears have been making the rounds in the Wildersmith neighborhood, but doing so in nighttime obscurity. To date there have been just “calling card” notices, piled here and there with no reported property ravaging. We can only keep our fingers crossed along the Mile O Pine.                                                                                                                                                              
 

Meanwhile, “Woody” the chuck is making daily visits to share seed vittles with the squirrels. The ground level seed patch is unusually contented with the two rodent species munching away right next to each other. “Woody” used to dash off at the slightest noise or movement from the house. Now it just munches away as I pass nearby.                                                        
 

My neighbor down the road dispatched one the other day, and I thought it might be the end of this Wildersmith visitor, but it turned out to be just a cousin as “Woody” remains at the feed trough.                                                                                                                                                                      
 

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, even though it’s been hot and sticky!
 

North Shore Morning host, Brian Neil talks with Michelle Schroeder for this month's "Backpacking 101".

Michelle has backpacked for 25+ years and is president and lead backpacking instructor at Backpack the Trails, LLC.
She is a NOLS-certified Wilderness First Responder.

Pack and Paddle with Scott Oeth of Bull Moose Patrol

In this edition, Scott talks to us about "bushcraft".

Scott is a Registered Maine Guide, an Eagle Scout and Minnesota Master Naturalist.  He’s an instructor for the Okpik National Cold Weather Leader School.

You can follow his adventures at www.bullmoosepatrol.com.
 

“To Minnesota with Love” is an audio-postcard series by Christina MacGillivray with stories from around the world produced exclusively for WTIP.
Christina is a transplant from Minnesota to India where she has lived for eight years. She produces films in different countries and “To Minnesota With Love” are stories from these travels.

In this edition, Christina tells us about the stray dogs of India.