North Shore Weekend

Johnson Loud Jr. is a potter, a painter, and an Episcopal Priest who has served his parish at Prairie Island, Minnesota for 15 years. He is from the Red Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Northern Minnesota. He was recently in Cook County along with his colleague Robert Two Bulls, for an art show and a series of religious seminars. In this interview with WTIP producer Staci Drouillard, he discusses the connection between his art and his work as an Episcopal priest.

Dr. Seth Moore is Director of Biology and Environment with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 
 
The Grand Portage Reservation is located in the extreme northeast corner of Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Cook County. Bordered on the north by Canada, on the south and east by Lake Superior and on the west by Grand Portage State Forest, the reservation encompasses an historic fur trade site on beautiful Grand Portage Bay.
 
The band engages in fisheries and wildlife research projects throughout the year, working with moose, wolves, fish, deer, grouse, and environmental issues. Dr. Moore appears regularly on WTIP North Shore Community Radio, talking about the band's current and ongoing natural resource projects, as well as other environmental and health related issues of concern to the Grand Portage Band.  In this segment, Dr. Moore talks about a new moose calf mortality study the band is conducting in collaboration with the Minnesota Zoo.  Produced by Carah Thomas.

 (Photo by Jerry, Danielle G, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons.  This work has been released into the public domain by its author.)

Fred Smith is a native Iowan and retired high school athletic administrator now living on the upper Gunflint Trail with his wife Fran. Each week, he brings us his commentary “Wildersmith on the Gunflint.” This week, he brings us the latest from the Gunflint Trail.

The Grand Portage Native Fish Hatchery has been producing and rearing coaster brook trout, a native Lake Superior fish, since 2007. Their populations plummeted in the mid-1900s, and since the establishment of the hatchery, restoring coaster brook trout, or coasters, has been a top priority for Grand Portage biologists. And they've been successful, which is a rare thing in the grand scheme of issues facing Lake Superior. But the work isn't over, and there are many obstacles that biologists have to confront in their effort to restore coasters. In this edition of the Lake Superior Project, Grand Portage Trust Lands biologist Seth Moore and biologist Chad Abel of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, share some of the difficulties in restoring this native fish, the role that bands around the lake are taking in restoring native fish species, and the challenges of balancing priorities when it comes to maintaining the health of Lake Superior.

Adios March…it’s almost April…no fooling! The way month three has flown by makes me wonder if there isn’t some way we could slow life down.

As we greet month four, the upper Gunflint is on the brink of mud season. Serious spring warmth has not confronted us regulars, and it has been interesting to watch a tale of two seasons lately.

 The power of our new season’s sun has been turning roof tops with southern exposure from shrinking white to sparkling drippy icicles. Walking just a few dozen steps to the shady north side of the house, I find nary a drip falling and the chill of winter remaining a reality. So one can see we are in the midst of the year’s quarterly climatic tug-of-war.

That said, a reflection on territory atmospheric happenings during the past seven days has provided little excitement. It’s been pretty normal for this time of year, pleasant days and cold nights. Here at Wildersmith we have still been seeing zero to single digit temps setting a thickening crust on the snow pack after dark, which softens under sunny daytime rays.

 Along our Mile O Pine and other less traveled back country roads, you would barely notice that spring has made much headway.  Yet out on the Trail blacktop, the snow banks have been gnawed away pretty good. In fact, remnants of the winter road de-icing are making for an ugly look of urban snow, yuk!

Lately a “murder of crows” has taken over around our neighborhood. When they are not strutting around the yard scratching for nutritional elements, they are winging through the tree tops like a storm cloud. Their raucous conversation has put the silence of the woods on temporary hold.

Just a few days ago, while trekking down the Mile O Pine, we came upon two huge handsome wolves. Both these wilderness icons and the Smiths were surprised to meet each other. In the blink of an eye, the canine originals turned and galloped off into the forest.

Passing their off-road exit, I was surprised at the indentations their bodies made as they struggled through the deep snow. It became quite evident that travel off the plowed road is very difficult for them, as well as other wild critters, particularly when they break through the crusted depths.

A recent report from down at Gunflint Lodge tells of an employee having a close up meeting with another wolf. Whereas wolves most usually high tail it in human encounters, I’m told that this one did a brief stare down before turning the other direction. Knowing they prefer venison, it would still be a little unnerving if they didn’t quickly vamoose upon a close-up human juncture.

I was made aware that two fishermen came upon another downed moose carcass. This one was observed at the far east end of Gunflint Lake. Because there were enough of the remains, it was determined to be that of a cow. So it’s another one down and counting on this sad saga of moose population decline.  It might have been two MIA if she had been in an expecting way.

I’m guessing it could be blamed on the wolves once again. However, if she was healthy, that likelihood could be questioned, as the Arrowhead herd has more than wolf issues. Those canid lupis have a way of picking only on the afflicted or very young. It’s a good bet that this one’s demise may have been due to a stressed physical condition.

On a closing, but amusing note, the deer are pacing back and forth by my lower level windows stopping to peek in at me as I key this week’s scoop. A forlorn look in their big brown eyes indicates that they want a handout. Boy, do they have me conditioned!

Keep on hangin’ on, and savor the thought of coming April showers, be they solid or liquid!

Airdate: March 29, 2013

The upper Gunflint Territory seemed headed toward a lamb-like end to March. We were teased with a couple swell early spring days, then came Easter Sunday. All talk of April making a blissful entry, with an end to low digit temperatures, was dashed by a resurgent lion-like slap from Old Man Winter.

Our parade to Grand Marais for Easter church services was marked not with thoughts of bunnies, eggs and celebration, but stymied by snow showers and serpentine whiffs of snow slithering down the cold byway ahead of strong northwest winds.

It was almost as if the great spirit of the north was howling, “Just not so fast my border country buddies. Ghostly reminders of Jack Frost and I will cede to spring only when I say it’s time.”

Although new snow accumulations amounted to little, here we are, almost a full week into month four, with the bloom of a new season hovering in a cool holding pattern. Regardless of melting yet to be done, time cures all, and the virtue of patience will prevail knowing we’ll get a blessing of days for rebirth, perhaps as soon as tomorrow!

Until then, it’s back to gloves, sheepskin hat, insulated boots and heavy coat! No foolin’, it was minus 2 at Wildersmith on April 1 with wind a-howlin’.

Those last few days of month three were so inviting. How inviting was it? It was so inviting that I brought the old rocking chair out of storage onto our sunny deck and walked around in a sweatshirt, even though walkway and driveway snow piles remained well over knee deep.

The Wildersmith neighborhood even had a spring shower of the liquid variety before the return to February. All over the area, art work of Old Man Winter was taken over by Sol, and nature’s heat source did some reduction work on the snow pack.

The Mile O Pine, like many seldom-traveled winter roads, saw the warmth allow a few patches of brown gravel bleed through months of packed wintry buildup. Those brief days of meltdown also gave way to a few puddles, a bit of trickling water, and our first mud.

During my travels down the road and tromping through the woods, there is confirming evidence that we’re shrinking the deep snow. I’ve found that a number of baby trees which have not seen the light of day for some time are proudly poking their growth buds skyward. Similarly, their older forest brethren are perking up after months of bearing the weight of winter decorations.

Meanwhile, the powerful sun has chiseled out countless shapes in roadside snow banks. The Trail, now completely free of slippery patches, has miles of etched windrow embellishments that lend themselves to an aggregation of imaginative beauty, in spite of their grungy color. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.

Life goes on in the wild neighborhood. Critters come and go daily, and I’ve noted a couple cases of seasonal bumps. And I don’t mean those in the road.

Specifically, I reference belly bulges on several expectant does, while on the opposite of white tail genders there are swelling knots where crowns of manhood will soon be growing.

It’s also a good bet that our warm days stirred the slumber of our north woods Brunos, as well as chipmunks and those not-so-popular skunks. About the only critters probably not aroused at this point is the first generation of nasty biting bugs. I don’t know of anyone who would feel bad if those winged savages forgot to show up. We should be so lucky!

Keep on hangin’ on, and savor thoughts of the spring takeover!

Airdate: April 5, 2013

‘Twas the days before spring, and all through the woods, the critters were stirring in shivering wonderment. So goes the story up the Trail as month three has been much less than spring-like so far.
 
Under a growing “crust on the snow moon” (Onaabani Giizis), the topper was this past Sunday when the Wildersmith neighborhood awoke to a shocking minus 29. This followed the five previous mornings where our mercury column registered at least zero or below. It’s been so cold that we are making ice on area lakes, thus adding to the 3-foot cake already set on most bodies including Gunflint.
 
There has not been any significant snow shrinkage out this way, due to the cold. But neither has what we have on the forest floor grown during the past seven. Only a couple dustings has freshened us as storms once again have missed border country. We’ve had mostly sparkling clear days where the brightness and power of old Sol caused me to forget about the frosty January-like sunrises.
 
One has to remember that a year ago at this time the snow was all but a memory. And the lake ice on our Gunflint gal made an all-time record exit on March 25. What a difference 365 days can make!
 
As can happen quickly, our more normal March might be reversed to real spring between the time this scribing is keyed and when it comes out over the waves of cyber-space. Here’s wishing, though, that a few more droppings of the winter element might blanket us before mud season and dreams of green poking through the meltdown actually become a reality.
 
Wild neighborhood critters continue making candid appearances. The lynx that has been frequenting the grounds around Gunflint Lodge was recently observed in pursuit of a snowshoe hare by a lodge guest. I was not told whether the race outcome favored the cat or the rabbit.
 
Over the past couple weeks, white tail traffic has increased considerably about our place. I guess nourishment must be hard to come by under the crusted white. It’s been entertaining to watch a few crows browse about between the hooves of my brush-pruning deer.
 
I don’t know if there is a precise term for describing a bunch of pine martens, but if there is such, it can be applied to the scene on our deck-side cafeteria. A number of them are often cavorting about at almost any given time of day or night. I observed one leap-frogging over another recently in quest of the next open sunflower seed station, quite amusing.
 
Recently a member of the Gunflint/Loon lake wolf pack has been on fast food surveillance duty through the yard.  Evidenced by tracks, scat and territorial marking, it has yet not brought in the troops to execute their predator exploits.  
 
Meanwhile friends from over on Hungry Jack Lake share an ongoing saga of a moose carcass serving nutritional needs of many hungry creatures in their neighborhood. The end of life for this waning icon of the north woods might be blamed on the wolves too but, then again, it could have just been its time.
 
So players in our wilderness drama of search and survival continue keeping the Wildersmith two, and most other Gunflint residents, with our noses to the glass during these waning days of this long white season.
 
In a closing salute, yours truly sends a big thanks to all who stepped to the plate in our “15 reasons” membership drive. If you missed getting your token of support in during the 5 ½- day run, your willingness to be a part of the WTIP family will always be accepted and much appreciated. Just call or click at any time!
 
Keep on hangin’ on, and savor the equinox signal of an ending and beginning!

Airdate: March 22, 2013

Me'tis artist Christi Belcourt lives near Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She creates intricate paintings inspired by the traditional beading process and woodland style of beadwork design. In this edition of "Anishinaabe Way: Lives, Words and Stories of Ojibwe People," she shares her influences, her art and her artistic process. She also talks about her current work co-coordinating the project "Walking With Our Sisters," a Commemorative Art Installation for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada.

It is estimated that 600+ native women in Canada have gone missing or have been murdered in the last 20 years. Many have vanished without a trace with little to no concern paid by the media, the general public or politicians. For this project, 600+ moccasin tops (vamps) are being created by hundreds of people to create one large collaborative art piece that will be installed for the public in various galleries and sites. They will be installed in a winding path of beaded vamps on cloth over a gallery floor. The exhibit is currently booked to tour across Canada and perhaps into the United States. For more about this project including the exhibition schedule, visit the "Walking With Our Sisters" Facebook page.

After last weekend’s snow, it seems hard to believe the official calling of spring is only five days away. This neighborhood got only about five inches but I’m told there was more in other places down the Trail.
 
Temps were just right for a nice flocking of the forest as the “great white spirit” of the north paid his visit. We are hoping that it will not be his last, as every little bit of precip is a blessing. So the snow banks that have been gnawed on by old Sol have been replenished for the time being, and the wilderness canopy is decked out like it was going to the prom.
 
Ahead of its calendar time, America has declared spring with that daylight savings time nonsense. Yes, we sprung forward an hour out here in the woods too, for what I know not, except that it’s dark when I wake up once again.
 
The Gunflint Lake ice was alive for a second consecutive weekend with the big pink celebration. Events went off like clockwork in the fund raising effort to support national breast cancer research.
 
Official figures have not been confirmed, but it has been reported that the endeavor raised nearly $40,000 this year. If this is correct, it would put the seven-year total at well over $100,000, pretty cool for a small but energetic bunch of woodsy folks!
 
Main event on the weekend card was the dogsled run. Once again it was a blast to see about 30 entries hit the Trail. Many states were represented from as far away as Louisiana. Of special interest were several entries from the Samoyed Dog Club of America. This event is obviously gaining nationwide attention when mushers are coming from far and wide.
 
Although finishing first is not the main objective, it is always interesting to hear which team reaches the mid-Trail destination ahead of the rest. This year’s fastest finisher was Jessica Berg-Collman. I’m told that her time was just over two hours while the final team took about five hours.
 
Congratulations to all the mushers for blessing this event with their presence. And a great border country thanks to all the organizers, many volunteers, hundreds of donors and sponsors for making this a superb happening! Good job, Gunflint community and all of Cook County!
 
The next few weeks will be a somewhat subdued as momentum begins growing for buddin’ time. It’s of interest that although it has not been as warm as a year ago at this time, I recently happened on a few fuzzy pussy willow buds peeking out of their husks. A humorous thing about this observation was that it happened while I was plowing snow along the Mile O Pine last Sunday morning. Bet they’re glad they had fur coats on!
 
In spite of the recent snow, another sign of the times presented itself when I saw the first crow return to the yard. This one was busy scratching for morsels from where deer are prancing and pawing during their daily browse. It wasn’t long before I heard some raucous chatter, so there are more somewhere about the neighborhood.
 
Coupled with our thoughts of new birth in the region, our Gunflint Green-up is not too many weeks away. Scheduled for the first weekend in May, coordination of the event is being handled by the folks at Gunflint Lodge. If you’re interested in helping or participating, look for more details at www.gunflint.com.
 
The new snow has further enhanced the trails for some great cross-country skiing. There will likely be some days ahead where the snow may be sticky; nevertheless, there is plenty of time to hit the region’s groomed system before we call it a winter.  
 
Speaking of tracks, a fellow who grooms these ski trails tells me about seeing plenty of lynx activity. Movement of the north woods tabbies around the Gunflint Lake area extends from the south rim trail on the east to the Cross River on the west. He indicates an interesting trait-- that they most often paw right along in the tracks set for skiers. Probably easier walking, pretty smart, huh!
 
On a final, but very important note, your community radio station is in the midst of its “15 Reasons” spring membership drive. To keep this broadcast treasure moving forward for all of us, your ongoing participation and financial support is needed.
 
Don’t wait, call 387-1070 or 800-473-9847 or click and join NOW!
 
Keep on hangin’ on, and savor this vernal time in the making!

Airdate: March 15, 2013

Should Minnesota establish a wolf sanctuary, where hunting and trapping of the species is not allowed? Recently, the eminent wolf biologist Dr. L. David Mech suggested creating a sanctuary as a compromise to the ongoing controversy over the state's new wolf hunting and trapping season via an interview with the International Wolf Center in Ely.
 
The controversy boils down to a debate between those who believe the wolf population should be managed by hunting and trapping and those who believe the animals should be protected from the same. In the interview, Mech is asked if there is a way to satisfy those who favor recreational wolf hunting as well as those who oppose it.
 
The state's present compromise is to limit the number of wolves killed and to allow them to be taken only during certain seasons, Mech replied. Then he says, "Other than more-stringent regulations on taking, which will bring howls of protest from those in favor of hunting wolves, the only other compromise that has not yet been mentioned is to set aside a certain part of the state where wolves would be protected year-round."
 
He suggested the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a candidate for a wolf sanctuary, because it is far from areas with livestock. Mech has been studying wolves there since 1966. At one million acres, the BWCAW encompasses 6 percent of the state's wolf range. About 150 wolves in 20 to 30 packs live there. Due to difficult access, wilderness receives minimal hunting and trapping pressure.
 
Curious, I called Dr. Mech to learn more about his idea. He stressed that he is proposing a sanctuary as a type of compromise for the contentious wolf hunting issue. For his position on wolf management, he directed me to his website, where he writes:
 
"Individual citizens have individual opinions about wolf management.  State legislatures and Departments of Natural Resources must balance all these many conflicting views while ensuring that their wolf populations survive but conflict minimally with humans. As long as the wolf is no longer endangered in a particular state, I support that state’s approach to managing its wolves."
 
It would be up the Minnesota Legislature, rather than the DNR, to create a wolf sanctuary. As of this writing, no bills to do so have been introduced.
 
I asked Mech if creating a BWCAW wolf sanctuary might conflict with future efforts to save the area's moose population, which is experiencing a sharp decline. In other words, what if we have to kill wolves to save moose? He said if the present studies determine wolves are a predation problem for moose, someone could propose killing wolves to protect them. However, biologically it would be difficult to kill enough wolves to make a difference. He isn't sure wolves are heavily preying upon moose calves, which some folks speculate is occurring.
 
"Our research has found wolves generally take older moose and some calves," he said.
 
I also talked with DNR large carnivore specialist Dan Stark, who said refuges and sanctuaries are typically created for biological reasons, such as protecting resting or breeding habitat for waterfowl. A wolf sanctuary would be created for societal, rather than biological reasons--a new idea. Currently, Minnesota has areas closed to wolf hunting, such as state parks, national wildlife refuges and some tribal lands. The largest sanctuary is Voyageurs National Park, the only area vast enough to encompass one or multiple wolf packs. Elsewhere, wolves likely move between refuges and areas open to hunting.
 
Hunters and trappers are required to register the wolves they take and to report the kill location, so the DNR can monitor where the harvest occurs on the landscape over time. If future harvest data shows too many wolves have been taken in specific areas, the agency can adjust harvest quotas accordingly. Data from Minnesota’s inaugural hunt suggests most wolf hunting occurs near populated areas. Analyzing the harvest location data from the 2012 hunting and trapping seasons, Stark said wolves are being taken where people have the best access. "Some areas are just more accessible to hunters and trappers due to roads and terrain," he said.
 
Harvest data shows six wolves were taken in or very near the BWCAW in 2012. Along the North Shore, 24 wolves were taken in Lake County and 14  in Cook County. In Cook County, most wolves were taken in areas accessible by roads. A couple of wolves were taken in the BWCAW, as well as one up the Gunflint Trail and three north of Hovland. The BWCAW encompasses roughly one third of Lake and Cook counties. Based on the 2012 data, closing the Boundary Waters to wolf hunting and trapping would have had virtually no effect on the overall wolf harvest.
 
Creating a wolf sanctuary might assuage some critics of recreational wolf hunting and trapping, but it raises larger issues. If we establish a refuge for wolves based upon societal, rather than biological reasons, will we do the same for other species? Certainly, a new wolf sanctuary would open the door to that possibility. I suspect the implications of setting a precedent for societal-based wildlife refuges would be a serious consideration for lawmakers and wildlife managers if a wolf sanctuary proposal were to move forward.
 
However, the chances of that happening this year appear slim. State Representative David Dill, who chairs the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee, has said he won’t allow any bills on trapping or guns to pass out of his committee to the House floor, due to his concerns that legislators could then attach wolf-related amendments. Dill’s district includes the BWCAW.

Airdate: March 15, 2013