A Northwoods Almanac for 3/19 – 4/1/21

 A Northwoods Almanac for 3/19 – 4/1/21  

 

Spring Is Coming and Lakes Are Booming

            Bob Kovar lives on Wild Rice Lake in Manitowish Waters and wrote this on 3/11: “The lake looked different at first light this morning, more dark than white, something big was going on. When I stepped outside, I heard the sound of rolling thunder in the distance. You know that sound – the constant rumbling of a big storm approaching, the occasional louder boom punctuating the din of the ceaseless, uninterrupted rumbling as it gets closer. Down on the shoreline, I realized I was hearing the seismic rumble of the entire ice pack on the lake breaking up. It was loudly re-locating, cracking and shifting as this morning’s wind pushed hard against it, causing a lake quake measuring a magnitude 9.0 on the Bob scale. I’ve not heard the lake have this much to say in quite some time. I’ve always been told we have two ears and only one mouth because we are supposed to listen twice as much as we speak. So I settled myself in on a patch of ground, waited for the sun to rise, and listened.”

 

Common Loon Decline

            I recently listened to a talk given by Dr. Walter Piper on the reproductive decline in Wisconsin loons. Piper has been studying loons since 1993 on over 200 lakes, nearly all in Oneida County, and in his most recent analysis, he’s found some very disturbing trends. Here are the highlights (or lowlights):

-       Regarding loon chicks, there’s been a slight loss of chicks less than 5 weeks old.

-       For chicks older than 5 weeks, however, the rate of loss has increased by 82% since 1993. The annual loss is now 5.6% compared to 2.9%.

-       Two chick broods are now declining at a rate of 3.4% annually. From 1993-98, 47% of loon pairs had 2-chick broods. In recent years, only 27% had 2-chick broods.

-       Chicks are lighter, and less robust – an 11% decline since 1998.

-       Floaters, those adult loons between 3 and 6 years old who don’t have territories, have dramatically declined since the 1990s. Nearly 40% used to return after their migration as juveniles to the Gulf of Mexico, but now only 15% return.

-       The overall population of loons in Piper’s study area is declining at a rate of 6% annually. 

            The question, among many, is whether this is a international, national or local trend. This is the most closely monitored population in the U.S. The second most monitored population is in Ontario, and their population is in decline as well.

            The reasons for the decline? No one knows for sure, but the possible list is long: red tides in their Florida wintering grounds, climate change, lead consumption, eagle competition, a fisheries issue on breeding lakes, black flies, recreational impacts, and periodic die-offs from botulism on Great Lakes staging grounds (thousands of loons died from 2006 – 2012 from toxicity on the Great Lakes).

            No species is more iconic to the Northwoods than common loons, so their decline is an issue of great concern. I’m very thankful for dedicated researchers who forewarn us of such things so that we have a chance to react. The question now is what specifically needs to be done.

 

First-of-the-Year Sightings

            March marks the beginning of birds migrating back into the Northwoods, and we always are excited to record our “first-of-the-year” (FOY) sightings. The first two weeks of March have been mild, contributing to a very significant snowmelt in open areas. As the ground bares itself, a few “early” songbird species respond by heading north, despite their DNA telling them it’s likely a fool’s errand. Our usual FOYs arrive around spring equinox, but this year on 3/11, we already had common grackles, European starlings, and red-winged blackbirds return to our property on the Manitowish River, and I heard a robin that same day as well. 

            Some of our overwintering bird species mate and nest very early, too. We heard a great horned owl hooting across the river from our house on 3/8. Great horned owls are one of our earliest nesting species and should be on their nests by now, well along in incubating their eggs.

            And on 3/9, Mary picked just the right moment to watch a pair of eagles mating on their nest across the river from our house.

            Canada geese flew over our house on 3/10. Trumpeter swans are returning, at least those that migrated (a hardy cadre of trumpeters remain the winter on the Manitowish River). Sandhill cranes are due back any day as are great blue herons. A host of waterfowl will arrive as soon as open water beckons. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see the first pioneering killdeer and tree swallows arrive this week. 

            Birds are only part of the early spring story. We watched a pair of red squirrels mating in our back yard on 3/8, while Pat Schwai spotted a chipmunk under her feeders on 3/11. I’m waiting for someone to call me with a sighting of black bears – I would bet many are on the move already, and then it’s time to bring your bird feeders in at night.

 

Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearings Advisory Questions

            The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) and the WDNR will again hold the annual Spring Hearings online due to Covid. The hearings will open on April 12 at 7 p.m. and will remain open for 72 hours. The public can provide input on proposed rule changes via the online website. The WCC received a record-setting 64,943 responses to the 2020 Spring Hearing Questionnaire, so join in to make your voice heard.

            The Spring Hearings ask a very wide range of natural resource-related advisory questions. For instance, there’s this question on supporting the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act: “Should the Wisconsin Conservation Congress endorse and encourage the U.S. Congress to enact carbon fee and dividend legislation with the intent of reducing CO2 emissions, benefitting conservation, and stimulating technological innovation and economic growth through revenue recycling?”

            Along other environmental lines is a question regarding the Enbridge Line 5 crude oil pipeline that runs under the 5-mile-long Mackinac bridge. The pipeline has already spilled over 1.1 million gallons of oil in 33 incidents. Another study described the Straits of Mackinac as “the worst possible place for an oil spill in the Great Lakes” because the Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for more than 1.6 million Wisconsin residents alone. 

            One questions asks: “Do you support WCC opposition to construction of a new 42-mile segment of the Enbridge Line 5 crude oil pipeline in Ashland and Iron Counties to replace the existing portion of the Line 5 pipeline that bisects the Reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa?” A second asks: “Do you support WCC opposition to issuance of any permits for the Line 5 project by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at the conclusion of its EIS process?”

            One other environmental question regards protecting our rivers and lakes: “Would you support legislation to require perennial native species vegetative buffers of 50 feet along rivers and streams and 16.5 feet along ditches not covered by local zoning ordinances under Wisconsin’s Shoreland Management Program in NR 115?” 

            On the other side of the coin, there’s this one, which has repercussions for our area and rightfully already failed twice in previous years: “Would you support legalizing the harvest of white (not albino) deer statewide?”

            First off, there’s no way a hunter can determine from a distance whether a white deer is albino or not. According to geneticists, you need a genetic test to confirm albinism because of the many forms it can take, and somehow I don’t think hunters can administer the test prior to taking a shot.

            Further, the description in the questionnaire wrongly states that albino deer are “completely white with eyes, nose and other soft parts being pink.” In writing the text for Jeff Richter’s book White Deer: Ghosts of the Forest, I contacted Dr. William Oetting at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Minnesota to determine if our local white deer were indeed albinos. I sent him close-up pictures of two of the deer that have blue-green eyes, and through a series of correspondences, he concluded, “Without confirming this with molecular testing, both of these deer have tyrosinase negative oculocutaneous albinism. There is a lack of pigment in the hair, skin and eyes of both deer. A close-up of the eye of the yearling shows a lack of pigment in the iris (green-blue).”

            In addition to Dr. Oetting’s statement about eye color (albinos can have green-blue eyes), the literature on albinism clearly states that there are different kinds of albinism, and that some albinos may show some color in their irises – often a light blue or gray.

            The questionnaire goes on to say, “In the wild, white fur and markings place these animals at a selective disadvantage because they lack the typical protective coloration and are more visible, making them more susceptible to predators.” My response to this endlessly repeated assertion is that if they were at a selective disadvantage, they wouldn’t have survived in the wild for the last 10,000 years. Not to mention that we have 5 months of white winter here, where they are obviously at a selective advantage, not a disadvantage.

            One last statement on this that needs to be addressed: “From a strictly biological perspective, there is no reason to protect white deer.” That’s true. It’s also true, however, that from a strictly biological perspective, there’s no reason to hunt white deer either.  

            To see the entire questionnaire, go to:

https://widnr.widen.net/view/pdf/frop1w9xkk/WCC_SpringHearingQuestions_2021.pdf?t.download=true  

 

Correction

            Isle Royale is in Michigan, not Minnesota, as I mistakenly wrote in my last column.

 

Celestial Events

            On 3/19, look after dusk for Mars about 2° north of the waxing crescent moon. 

            The Vernal Equinox occurs officially on 3/20.

            The full moon – the Maple Sugar/Crust on Snow Moon – shines bright on 3/28.

            

Thought for the Week

            “This simple technique of awareness had long been my way to open a conversation with any unfamiliar landscape. Who are you? I would ask. How do I say your name? May I sit down? Should I go now? Over the years I’d found this way of approaching whatever was new to me consistently useful: establish mutual trust, become vulnerable to the place, then hope for some reciprocity and perhaps even intimacy.” – Barry Lopez

 

 

A Northwoods Almanac for 3/5-18/21

 A Northwoods Almanac for 3/5-18/21  

 

The History of Lake Names

            I’ve been working for a few years now on a book describing the last undeveloped, wild lakes of northern Wisconsin, and one of the both fun and frustrating aspects of the book has been my attempt to find out the history of these lake names. There are books on the history of place names in Wisconsin (Place Names of Wisconsin by Edward Callary and The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names by Robert Gard), but I’ll be darned if I can find a source for the history of lake names. 

            I have learned a few histories. For instance, Pat Shay Lake in Forest County was named for Patsy Shay, a local surveyor. Frank Lake in Vilas County was named for Frank Long, a state forest ranger and game warden from 1911 until his death in 1937 while on duty on snowshoes in the Star Lake Area (so reads a brass plaque bolted into a boulder on the lake). Star Lake was named for Bob Star, a surveyor, and his brother Harry, a pile driver who was accidentally killed at the planing mill site on the lake (Bob’s Lake  to the northwest of Star Lake was given Bob Star’s first name because he had a cabin there). Salsich Lake derives its name from Hamilton Salsich, one of the co-owners of the saw mill and planing mill in Star Lake.

            Some information I have needs more details. A gentleman recently called and told me that Jean and Dorothy Dunn lakes in Vilas County were named after women who worked in nearby logging camps. But what logging camps, and why these women and not others?

            So, I’m reaching out for some help. Do you know the history of the lake names for any undeveloped, wild lakes in Wisconsin? Note that for the purposes of this book, if there’s development on a lake, I’m not looking for the history of that lake’s name – only an undeveloped lake. Note also that I obviously don’t need the history of lake names for places like Hemlock Lake, Mud Lake, Perch Lake, Moose Lake, Rice Lake, and many others that are named after some obvious wildlife, flora, or geological/soil feature (did you know we have 116 Mud Lakes, 82 Bass Lakes, and 59 Long Lakes in Wisconsin?).  However, some lakes named after a cultural or natural feature would be interesting to know more about – why “Two Axe Lake” in Sawyer County or “Luna Lake” in Forest County or “Camp Lake” in Vilas (what camp?). And some Native American names are escaping me – Totagatic Lake in Bayfield County and Allequash Lake in Vilas. I’d also love to include the original Native American names for each of these lakes, and I’m looking for a resource on that.

            Here’s a list of just a few of the wild lakes I’d love to know more about: In Vilas County, Benedict, Devine, Escanaba, Fallison, Nebish, Nixon, Pallette, Starrett, and Trilby. In Oneida County, Cunard, McNaughton, Sweeney, and Zottle. In Forest, Bastile, Laura, McKinley, Scott and Shelp, Riley, and Zarling. And in Florence, Grandma, Lauterman, and Savage.

            My contact information is at the end of this column – a thousand thanks for any help!

 

Update on Isle Royale Wolf Restoration

            You may remember a column I wrote in late 2019 concerning the debate and final decision regarding reintroducing wolves onto Isle Royale in Minnesota. In years past, there were up to 50 wolves in different packs on Isle Royale. Their interaction with moose has been the focus of the longest running predator-prey study in the world, now 62-years-long. For most of those years, the wolves were effective at moderating the island’s big moose population, but a combination of inbreeding, accidents and disease caused the wolves' numbers to dwindle to just two. The closely-related pair, an older male (M183) and a younger female wolf (F193) who was also his daughter and half-sister on their twisted family tree, were the only permanent wolves on the island for years before the fall of 2018 when the park service and its partners released 19 new wolves onto the island that had been trapped on tribal land in Minnesota, on Canada’s mainland and one of its islands. 

            By then, the moose population had grown exponentially to over 2,000, and their overbrowsing of vegetation was a huge concern to the park service. The only way to solve that was to bring back the predator balance.

            A year later in October of 2019, a National Park Service ranger came upon the body of M183 lying on his side on the trail. A necropsy would later show the wolf known had been attacked by other wolves. By the time of his death, M183 weighed only about 65 pounds, which made him about 20% underweight, and was 11 years old. The necropsy showed he had an age-related arthritic condition, osteoarthritis, in his back and feet that would have meant constant aches and pains. His teeth were also heavily worn and a few broken. In his prime, M183 would likely have weighed around 80 pounds, but now he was more like a 90-year-old man in human years. 

            Researchers believe his health had been slowly declining, because for several years when traveling with F193, his younger 9-year-old mate, he would often follow her, and when she stopped for a break, he’d lay down. 

            He and F193 were never radio-collared. She’s not been seen over the last year, and researchers suspect she might be dead, too. 

            The good news is that the Michigan Tech researchers located two wolf pups in their 2020 survey, the first wolf pups in numerous years to be born on Isle Royale, and a major step toward their recovery. 

            The survey indicates there are now up to 14 adult wolves on the island (several of the transplanted wolves have died), and an estimated 1,876 moose, about a 9% decrease in the moose count. For years, the moose population had seen a steady uptick of about 19% per year, so this decrease is good news, too. The decline is not only due to predation by the new wolves, but moose starvation. The researchers estimated about 100 moose starved to death in the spring of 2019. Moose have big appetites and their large population meant a decrease of their forage trees on the island, and thus starvation for them. 

            The wolf population is still in flux. One new wolf left the island for the Canadian mainland in early 2019 when a Polar Vortex created an ice bridge. And later that winter, researchers noted some new wolves had apparently walked across the ice bridge from the Minnesota or Canadian mainland and visited Isle Royale. 

            How the new wolves sort themselves out into packs and into defended territories is still taking place. They have yet to formalize true packs and are still building social bonds. 

“A wolf population is more than a collection of individual wolves. A wolf population is organized,” said John Vucetich, a Michigan Tech CFRES professor, and one of the lead researchers. “It has social structure that includes wolves associating closely with one another, being territorial and exhibiting courtship behavior. We observed those social interactions this winter [2019-20]. It’s exciting to see.” 

 

Seed Catalogues/What to Plant 

            It’s that time of year to put your garden daydreaming into a plan. For wildlife plantings, here are a few of our favorites (please remember to always plant native species):

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) to attract hummingbirds.

Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees

Bee balm (Monarda didyma) for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees 

Milkweeds [marsh milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)] all for monarchs.

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) for hummingbirds

Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis or others) for fruits that attract songbirds, and for you!

Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) for fruits for songbirds and you.

Crabapple (Malus - various species) for winter birds

Dogwoods (Cornus florida, Cornus racemosa, Cornus sericea) for vireos, juncos, cardinals, etc.

Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) for robins, catbirds, cardinals, finches, thrushes, etc.

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) for robins, bluebirds, waxwings, etc.

            

Sightings

            It’s been a roller coaster of weather, but not that unusual for late February into March. Consider that red-winged blackbirds, starlings and robins typically begin returning around spring equinox, 3/20, and that will help get you through the tumult. As I write this on the last day of February, we just got 8 inches of snow, but most of the week will be above freezing. So, we’re entering the freeze/thaw anarchy of March, and all we can do is ride it out.

 

Celestial Events

            Planet watching in March: After dusk, only Mars is viewable – look in the southwest. Before dawn, look for Jupiter very low in the ESE, and Saturn low in the SE.

            We reach 11 ½ hours of daylight on 3/7 as we race toward spring equinox on 3/20. I should note that we actually hit 12 hours of daylight by 3/17, so we don’t have to wait for the equinox before we gain an equal day and night. March 18 marks the first time we’ll have more day than night since 9/24.

            Look before dawn on 3/9 for Saturn 4° north of the waning crescent moon. The following early morning, 3/10, look for Jupiter to have traded places and now also be 4° north of the crescent moon. The new moon occurs on 3/13.

            

Correction!

            I make lots of mistakes in my life, but I hate it when I make one where I know better and just write it wrong. Anyway, I wrote last column, “Our lowest lows typically fall between -20F and -30F, which puts us in zone 3. We used to be zone 4, which means our lows used to reach -30 to -40°.” Well, reverse that. Zone 3 is colder than zone 4. We used to be Zone 3, and now we’re in the warmer zone 4. My apologies. 

 

Leopold Week and Wisconsin Water Week

            The coming of spring in Wisconsin is celebrated by “Leopold Week” with events that depict the land ethic. This year Leopold Week runs from March 5-14. Check the Aldo Leopold Foundation for a list of speakers. And Wisconsin Water Week runs from March 8-12 – check https://wisconsinlakes.org/wisconsin-water-week/ for an excellent list of virtual talks.

 

Thought for the Week

William Blake: “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way… As a man is, so he sees.”