Chequamegon Bird & Nature Festival

The 2009 festival will be May 15-17 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. The festival has over 120 activities ranging from birding field trips,kayaking, rain gardens, children's activities with David Stokes and a lot more. This is the peak weekend for neo-tropical bird migration. You can register online and join us for a wonderful weekend.

Lake Superior Partners Meet April 16 in Iron River

The Lake Superior Basin Team is meeting on Thursday, April 16 at 7:00pm at the Community Hall in Iron River. Please join us to hear presentations on two new initiatives in the watershed.

First we'll hear from Carmen Wagner and Kristen Tomaszewski from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources about a forest watershed project that looks at how forest canopy cover affects water runoff into our streams. Scientists have seen that leaving at least 60% forest cover in our woodlands can reduce the velocity and volume of water entering our streams, reducing the erosion of clay and soil that harms fish and our drinking water supply.

Also at the meeting will be updates from Matt Hudson and Michele Wheeler of the Bad River Watershed Association on their Watershed Action Plan.

For more information, contact me via email at ruth.oppedahl@uwex.edu or call 715-685-2676.

Hooded Mergansers at the Center

A pair of Hooded Mergansers are hanging out at the pond behind the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. They are pretty shy and nest in hollow trees. They pair up in winter and may be headed further north. Our pond was tested for dissolved oxygen this winter, and did not have enough to support most fish. So I wonder what the mergansers are eating?

Photo courtesy of USFWS.