SOEI 1

SPRING 2015

Dear Friends,

Just as the seasons are changing, transitions are also underway with the Institute’s programming on the topics of water, wildlife, and wildness that will give us greater depth in all three areas synonymous with the Lake Superior North Country.

In March, Northland College announced the receipt of a $10 million gift from the Mary Livingston and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation. The gift will establish the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation where arts, science, and water resources will merge at the family’s former 892-acre retreat, named Forest Lodge.

The Institute’s water staff—Dr. Randy Lehr, Matt Hudson, and Chris McNerney—will be part of the new Center. Dr. Lehr will codirect the Center along with Peter Annin, journalist and author of “The Great Lakes Water Wars.” You can read more about the project inside this newsletter.

SOEI is proud to have nurtured this program, providing the infrastructure and support to allow it to move to an exciting new level. The transfer of SOEI water staff to the new Center will free up resources for the Institute to focus on wildness — a term that gets to the deeper, human experience. I am excited about the possibilities

we’re now exploring that will put more emphasis on better public understanding and stewardship of the North Country’s wild creatures, places, and spaces. We’ve already begun that effort with our new Timber Wolf Alliance project you’ll see on page 6.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Mark Peterson

Above: Spring-run steelhead swim up stream from Lake Superior to spawn in the rocky shallows of the Sioux River near Washburn, Wisconsin.

2 SPRING 2015

Michael A. Miller, Ph.D.President, Northland College

Mark R. Peterson, Ph.D.Executive Director, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

SOEI StaffJean Ayers Administrative Assistant

Matthew HudsonWatershed Program Coordinator

Randy Lehr, Ph.D.Bro Professor of Sustainable Regional Development

Erica LeMoineLoonWatch and Citizen Science Program Coordinator

Christopher McNerneyEnvironmental Chemist

Val Olinik DamstraCBAP Coordinator

Special ContributorsAmber Mullen

Summer InternsJoe FitzgeraldEllen GorskyMarina HeinParker MatzingerMegan McPeakNile MertonDesi NiewinskiKim OldenborgJake OsterNicholas SmithMarisa UlmanJordan WelnetzSamantha Winters

Contact the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

Phone: 715-682-1223 Email: soei@northland.edu On the web: northland.edu/soei

National Journalist, Research Scientist to Codirect New Freshwater Center Northland College Awarded $10 Million Endowment to Support Program

Northland College has hired journalist and author of “The Great Lakes Water Wars” Peter Annin and Dr. Randy Lehr, to codirect a new center devoted to freshwater issues.

Annin has been the managing director of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative since 2010. He will start in August. Lehr has been a professor and director of the SOEI Ecological Solutions Initiative at Northland College since 2010.

SOEI 3

“The goal is to shed light on research, innovations, solutions, and policies around the many and evolving issues related to water,” Annin said. “This is an exciting opportunity to work in a place that I love—the Lake Superior region—on a subject that I am passionate about.”

The Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation in St. Paul last month awarded the College a $10 million endowment to create the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation—where arts, science, and the environment will merge at the family’s former 1902

country retreat and summer home, named Forest Lodge.

The U.S. Forest Service has owned and administered Forest Lodge since 1995. Northland College and the USFS are working in partnership on finding the best uses of the property for scientific and educational purposes.

“The Center’s activities—both at the College and Forest Lodge—will focus on water and environmental science, communication and education, and leader summits and symposia to advance policy and behavior change,” said College

President Michael A. Miller.

“Northland’s mission is to foster the next generation of environmental leaders and this will be an added tool to do so—it will expand our reach, enrich our programs, and give us a national voice on these issues,” Miller said.

Top Left: The Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation will focus on the many and evolving issues surrounding freshwater. Top right: Author and journalist Peter Annin. Above: Dr. Randy Lehr.

4 SPRING 2015

EPA Terminates Funding for Binational Forum The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has terminated funding for

the twenty-three year old Lake Superior Binational Forum. At a time when the lake’s water quality is of great public concern with proposed mining, concentrated animal feed operations, and other issues, the SOEI believes the decision is unfortunate. While the Institute will no longer have a significant role in managing the Forum, it is working with its Canadian and U.S. chairs to ensure the Forum continues its role of education and outreach in another setting.

AnnouncementsNorthland College Adult Summer Programs

The summer on the south shore of Lake Superior is a place like nowhere else on Earth. We’re surrounded by a million acres of forest and the largest freshwater lake in the world. Both of these amazing resources provide endless opportunity for exploration, learning, and adventure. Join us!

Exploring the Penokees June 20-21$165 residential/$95 commuter

Northland College Professor of Geology Tom Fitz, will guide you on a geologic history of the Penokee Mountains, the site of the controversial iron pit mine proposal that has been withdrawn. You’ll enjoy some of the region’s most scenic trails and waterfalls as you investigate the fascinating formations in this rugged, wild country.

Life Ways of the Voyageurs June 26-28$295 residential/$215 commuter

Explore the life ways of the Voyageurs and Ojibwe in culture and tradition. Become familiar with the Voyageurs life of fur trade, paddle, portaging, and song.

CBAP Coordinator Hired

SOEI recently hired Val Olinik-Damstra as coordinator for the Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership (CBAP), which it facilitates. CBAP is a coalition of agencies and organizations working collaboratively to improve the ecological fabric of the bay. CBAP has brought in more than $1 million in funding for projects ranging from restoring native fish habitat to reducing sediment and nutrient pollution.

LoonWatch Seeks Volunteers

The LoonWatch program at Northland College is seeking volunteers to help with a one-day Wisconsin Loon Population Survey. LoonWatch orchestrates this survey that is conducted every five years on more than 250 preselected lakes throughout northern Wisconsin. The survey takes place from 5-10 a.m. July 18. For more information or to volunteer, visit northland.edu/loon-population-survey or contact LoonWatch coordinator Erica LeMoine at loonwatch@northland.edu or (715) 682-1220.

Photo By: L. Michelle Howard

Save the Date

SOEI 5

Northland College, Feds Activate Program to Promote Conservation Stewards and Find Them Jobs

The federal government has named Northland College as a partner in activating the next generation of conservation stewards.

The new 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC), a national effort to place thousands of young people and veterans in conservation work, selected Northland College in December as one of its partners to facilitate the program.

While partners are still being added to the list, Northland College is the only four-year college and one of the few institutions in the upper

Midwest on the list, said Stacy Craig, coordinator of applied learning at Northland College.

The 21CSC provides preferential hiring status to students and veterans who have logged time in internships, volunteer, or seasonal positions in the U.S. Forest Service for jobs with the same agency.

SOEI Executive Director Mark Peterson, who spearheaded the application for federal approval, noted that Northland is an ideal institution for the partnership. “Our long-standing focus on environmental studies with an emphasis on the conservation of public lands attracts many students wanting to work for the USFS,“ he said.

The 21CSC is a new initiative set up by the Obama Administration implemented after the creation of America’s Great Outdoor Initiative in 2010.

A Geologic History of Lake Superior’s South ShoreJuly 10-12$249 residential/$175 commuter

We’ll be your guide through the geologic history of Lake Superior’s south shore from the ice age glacial deposits on the Bayfield Peninsula to the Lake’s most impressive outcrops.

Artful Nature JournalsJuly 25-26$249 residential/$175 commuter

We’ll explore several tools and technique for creating an illustrated nature journal to capture the essence of a place, providing field experiences in a variety of landscapes from bays, to estuaries and waterfalls.

Tracing the Footsteps of Sigurd OlsonJuly 31-August 2$295

Here’s an opportunity to visit the places that shaped Sigurd Olson and that inspired him to capture in words—from Elizabeth Olson’s family farmstead to his writing cabin in Ely to Listening Point on Burntside Lake.

Register today at northland.edu/lifelong

Smokey Bear gives a friendly wave with a Northland College alumna at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor’s Center in Ashland.

6 SPRING 2015

Support SOEI

northland.edu/give

Your support makes the work of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute possible. It provides information for the public, support for research, and valuable hands-on experience for Northland College students —the conservation professionals of the future. Please consider making a sustained gift to the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. Even a small monthly gift can make a big difference. For more information or to set up your sustained gift, call (715) 682-1234 or go to:

The Timber Wolf Alliance Returns Home

After a seven-year tenure at the North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, the Timber Wolf Alliance (TWA) has returned to Northland College.

“We birthed this program and handed it off during a period when we couldn’t sustain it, but now it makes sense to bring it back,” said Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Erik Olson, who sits on the TWA board and will provide faculty support to the program.

Northland College started TWA in 1987 as a way to educate citizens about the wolf recovery plan in Wisconsin. In 2008, the Discovery Center offered to house the program—an offer Northland accepted.

From early 2008 through 2014, the Discovery Center provided a home for TWA board meetings, delivered outreach educational programs and events, managed memberships, and directed fundraising efforts, such as the Wolf Awareness Week poster.

“But as the vision for the Alliance expands from a regional focus to the national arena, we are delighted to work with the Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute and the TWA board, to ensure a smooth transfer that is mutually beneficial,” said Discovery Center Director Azael Meza.

The belief is that Northland College will provide TWA with fertile academic ground, student involvement, and additional resources that will help it flourish.

Olson will provide faculty support to the TWA program by assisting with the development of Wolf Awareness Week activities and by organizing three one-credit courses that align with the TWA mission—Wolf Ecology and Management, Furbearer Ecology and Management, and Carnivore Tracking—available next year to both students and the public.

Leadership will also come from Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute Executive Director Mark Peterson who is shepherding the move.

“As a society, we have a long way to go in finding common ground that benefits humans and predators like wolves,” Peterson said. “My hope is that with the science and research of our faculty combined with our outreach efforts, we will not only dispel myths about the wolf, but help resolve conflicts, so the wolf can play its critical role in the northern ecosystem.”

SOEI 7

Water Quality Monitoring on Fish Creek to Continue this Summer

BY AMBER MULLEN

The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute plans to continue and expand upon current baseline water quality monitoring in the South Fish Creek watershed starting this spring.

According to Watershed Program Coordinator Matt Hudson, the need for expanded water quality monitoring in the watershed came about when a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) of approximately 26,000 swine submitted an application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for a facility bordering Fish Creek just west of Ashland.

“We were already collecting water quality data in this area for other reasons, so it made sense to add a

couple of sites to help give decision-makers more detailed information to evaluate the possible CAFO project,” said Hudson. Hudson added that the WDNR and SOEI believe it is important to gather baseline information before the facility begins operations to help evaluate any changes that may occur as a result of facility operations.

For the past year, college students have been collecting sediment, nutrient and bacteria data from eleven streams (including Fish Creek) that drain to Chequamegon Bay. Collected data is used to help understand how these streams affect the bay and how climate change may affect fish and other important values the Bay provides, according to Hudson.

“Our student workers are put through rigorous training to make sure they are capable of doing this type of work,” Hudson assured.

“Chequamegon Bay is a vital resource to local communities and the more we can understand how

our actions affect what happens in the Bay, the better we can do to maintain and improve its health,” Hudson said.

“This area is naturally susceptible to disturbance because of the mix of sand and clay soils, historical land use, and large increases in precipitation that have happened over the last sixty years. It is of particular importance to understand how increasing agricultural intensity fits into these changes and how we can expect the Bay to respond,” said Hudson.

Research on CAFO facilities across the nation suggests that manure runoff from these facilities has contaminated personal wells, streams, and lakes. Because this CAFO is the first of its kind proposed in the northern region of Wisconsin, many people are concerned about the potential impacts on water quality.

The data Hudson and his colleagues are collecting will begin to help answer these questions. “Our monitoring work is designed to help us begin to wrap our head around these concerns, but it takes time and lots of data to fully understand how our use of the land affects the water resources we depend on.”

Collecting comprehensive baseline water quality data can take years. However, because the proposed facility hopes to start operations as soon as this summer, data collected this year will have to suffice.

Hudson said the project will certainly be funded throughout 2015, but is uncertain after that.

“Hopefully, we will be able to continue collecting data well into the future.”

SOEI has requested the WDNR conduct an environmental impact analysis on the proposed CAFO.

Heavy precipitation often flushes large amounts of sediment down Fish Creek and into the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. Monitoring the current quality of water in the creek sets an important baseline for measuring the environmental impact of future activities in the area.

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

1411 Ellis AvenueAshland, WI 54806-3999

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDDULUTH, MN

PERMIT NO.1944

"At last I caught what I was listening for—the long-drawn quavering howl from over the hills, a sound as wild and indigenous to the north as the muskegs or the northern lights. That was wilderness music." —Sigurd F. Olson, Songs of the North

Moquah Barrens—

April 15, 2015, Bob G

ross