Four The Water: It’s the homestretch for four young kayakers from Marquette who have undertaken to paddle the full circle of Lake Superior this year to explore, to call attention to water quality issues and to meet their Big Lake neighbors. Under the name Four the Water, Ryan Busch, Drew Etling, Karol Rajski, and Jared Vanoordt, all of whom attended Northern Michigan University, began their journey in late May. They have mostly traveled together, though Drew had to miss part of the trip. While none of the four are Upper Peninsula natives, they’ve all adopted Marquette and Lake Superior as home. They worked as kayak guides at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which inspired them to get to know the rest of the Lake. On a visit to our offices along the way, all expressed amazement at the variety of landscapes at the shorelines, the genuine friendliness of people, the consideration of them (including the powerboaters who took to tracking them to make sure they were safe along the eastern shore) … and how many balloons you find, along with other plastics. [Really, please don’t release your balloons!] They are filming interviews for a documentary and are already planning a road trip Circle Tour next year to complete that film. Along the route, the paddlers teamed with the Superior Watershed Partnership to take water samples around the Lake, especially checking for the microplastics that have caused concerns recently. The samples will determine how much microplastic particles might be showing up in the water. Stay tuned for an update when they complete the circle and for our conversation with them.
Water Lust: Ron Seeley, writing for Ensia, takes a fresh look at the 2008 Great Lakes Compact signed by the Great Lakes states to see what the future might hold if an increasingly thirsty world looks enviously at the 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water in the five lakes. (Lake Superior itself holds 10 percent.) Ron starts his story on our Big Lake: “On the rocky beach at Little Girls Point County Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the heavy wash of Lake Superior seeking the shore rolls stones the size of softballs back and forth in the surf. … The power and immensity of the lake seems immutable. If there is anything in nature that will withstand the passing of time, this inland ocean would seem a likely candidate.” He goes on to tell the cautionary true tale of the Aral Sea, in Central Asia, once the fourth largest water body in the world, that lost 90 percent of its water due to irrigation projects.
A Super Super: After more than 16 years of managing Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Superintendent Bob Krumenaker is leaving to become superintendent at Big Bend National Park in west Texas, an 800,000-acre park on the U.S.-Mexican border. In the announcement posted Wednesday by Friends of the Apostle Islands, Bob says, “It’s a huge change, and leaving the Apostle Islands and the Chequamegon Bay area for a new challenge isn’t easy. I’ve put down deeper roots here than any place I have ever lived, quite intentionally. This community loves and supports its national park and I hope the park, in turn, has supported its community. I’ll miss northern Wisconsin and its good people, and the best group of National Park Service employees and volunteers I’ve ever worked with. Lake Superior will always be with me, even as I head to the desert.” Bob cites establishment of the Friends group in 2003 as one of the major park accomplishments during his tenure. Others include: significant improvement to dock and historic lighthouse infrastructure; congressional designation of the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness on 80 percent of park land in 2004; major emphasis on sustainability and adaptation to climate change; landmark agreement with 11 Chippewa tribes recognizing off-reservation treaty rights in 2013; legislation adding the Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light to the park and amending the park purpose to include the conservation and enjoyment of historic light stations in 2014; and design and construction of the new visitor center and a permanent shelter for the historic Twilite fish tug at Little Sand Bay in 2018. Thanks for your leadership, Bob. Farewell and good sailing (even in the desert).
Glad Clad: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s 43-year-old Civic Center will get a facelift, clad in new metal clothing by this time next year, reports Lindsay Kelly for Northern Ontario Business. The $6.9-million recladding project will help to alleviate the leaking, corrosion and broken window seals in the aging structure. The aluminum cladding will be replaced with aluminum-plastic composite and the clips holding the cladding in place, also in danger of failing, will be replaced. The transformation from brown is expected by summer 2019.
Bad Beetle: Check your trees for Asian Longhorned Beetles, especially the dying branches of maples or if you see the burrowing shown in the photo, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has requested. If you see a suspect tree or beetle, take photos, record the location, try to collect suspect beetles in a jar and report it to: MDA-Info@michigan.gov or phone the Ag Department Customer Service Center at 800-292-3939. If you spot the accidentally introduced beetle elsewhere around the Lake, contact the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network at Michigan State University. In case it escaped your attention, August is “Tree Check Month” and the Asian Longhorns are the invasive of focus by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this year.
A Blooming Issue: A rare large bloom of algae showed up in Lake Superior last week, raising concerns about the toxicity of the water plants that stretched about 50 miles, from the Apostle Islands to Superior, Wisconsin, according to a report by Dan Kraker of MPR News. Algae blooms are nearly unknown on Lake Superior, although in recent years flooding episodes, especially along the Wisconsin shore, has triggered them. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore noted on Facebook that samples taken at Meyers Beach “did not have detectable levels of the most common toxins.” Northwest winds had dispersed the bloom and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Zilber School of Public Health continued its testing. Some forms of algae can be dangerous to swimmers and to pets and children in the water. The Wisconsin DNR explains more about blue-green and other algae on its website.
You Go, Mary Jo: We can’t leave the week without noting a gone-viral video of Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, a Dominican nun formerly of Duluth, who gave one of the most impressive opening pitches ever during a recent Chicago White Sox-Kansas City Royals game. A video by ABC News shows the amazing pitch, along with Sister Mary Jo’s perky attitude and a sassy little baseball arm bump. She teaches at the Marian Catholic High School in Chicago and was throwing the first pitch to commemorate the school’s 60th year. The Duluth News Tribune fills in the bits about Mary Jo’s Duluth days: She played softball for Vermillion Community College in Ely and at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, where she also played volleyball and she taught for a time at Duluth’s Holy Rosary School. We hope she’s coaching her school’s baseball team!
Photo & graphic credits: Four the Water; Lake Superior Magazine; Photo by Jon Okerstrom; Photo by Jon Okerstrom; Michael Bohne/Bugwood.org; Michael Bohne/Bugwood.org; Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; ABC News.