Gunflint Green-up May 1 - May 4 2008

I had a little reminder that winter is really just around the corner when I woke up to just a touch of snow on the ground the other morning. But planning ahead to spring, the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway committee is planning for the Gunflint Green-Up Event scheduled for May 1 - May 4, 2008. The focus of this weekend is tree seedling planting in the areas affected by the Ham Lake Fire. This would be a great time to pack up the family and come to the Gunflint Trail. The trees to be planted are really small so any age can plant a few and we estimate that 7,500 seedlings can be planted over 4 days.

Other events to share with the family are:

• seminars about forest ecology
• hiking trips or day paddles
• Ham Lake Run (shorter run for children)
• Pig roast and party following the Run

Put these dates in your 2008 calendar and come up and enjoy a few days of nature to start off your summer and shake off the winter.

Autumn Migration Birding and Superior Ecology Festival

October 26 - 28, 2007, Grand Marais, Minnesota, hosted by North House Folk School

Openings are available for the field trip/classes with distinguished birding leaders Bob Janssen, Jerry Bonkoski, John Hockema, and Dedrick Benz. Details regarding the 2007 birding trips are available from North House Folk School at www.northhouse.org or 888-387-9762.

Two intriguing topics (Climate Change and the Ham Lake Fire) will be addressed in the evenings by the weekend’s featured speakers. Both programs are included with registration.

Friday FIRE IN THE JACKPINE: Avian Response to the Ham Lake Fire with Lissa Grover, USFS Wildlife biologist
Friday Evening, October 26, 7:00 PM at the USFS Conference Room, Grand Marais
** The return of fire to the Superior National Forest’s jack pine ecosystem has increased bird habitat diversity limited by fire suppression during the last century. Avian responses to habitat change reflect the long association between disturbance and adaptation.

Saturdaym - 10,000 YEARS AND 50 MILES: A Minnesota Odyssey
with John Tester, Department of Ecology, University of Minnesota
October 27, 7:00 PM at North House Folk School
** Tester is a biologist and ecologists with deep roots in Minnesota. His research has taken him across North America. His inspired efforts created the classic book Minnesota's Natural Heritage: An Ecological Perspective, which was published by University of Minnesota Press.
** Climate change and eco-systems are directly connected. A small change in the average annual temperature (3 to 6° F) resulted in the end of glaciation in North America about 10,000 years ago. A similar change can be observed in a 50-mile east-west transect in northwestern Minnesota today.
Details regarding the 2007 event are available from North House Folk School at www.northhouse.org or 888-387-9762.

October in the Northwoods

The thing about October is that you can never predict what the weather will be. You can still have some beautiful fall weather or winter can reach out and touch you. This October it has been rain and more rain and a little snow. I have heard we have had 6 to 7 inches so far and the month is only 1/2 over. The lake levels are nice and Clearwater Lake has come up to it's spring level. We started the summer with the lake level about 12 inches down and it has recovered nicely. That means some of the river canoe routes for next summer will good - more paddle and less portage on the Granite River and Larch Creek might even be a creek again!

American Bald Eagle

When I first moved to Clearwater Lodge 5 years ago, I had never seen an American Bald Eagle other than in picture books and in my history books. It is been wonderful to see so many of them in the Northwoods. Bald Eagles and moose I never get tired of seeing. This picture of an eagle in flight was taken by the Abbott family this summer and sent to us.

The American Bald Eagle has up to a 7 foot wingspan. Both adult male and female have pure white heads and tail contrasted with dark brown to black body and wings. They have a large curved yellow bill and feet. The female is slightly larger than the male. Juveniles are dark brown with white spots or speckles throughout the body and wings with a gray bill. Juveniles attain the white head and tail at about 4 to 5 years old.

Per my Birds of Minnesota field guide by Stan Tekiela, this bird made a comback in MN with one of the largest breeding populations in the lower 48 states. It returns to the same nest each year, adding more sticks, enlarging the nest to massive proportions up to 1,000 lbs.