Marten Mystery (Partly) Unmasked: Marie Zhuikov, a science writer/novelist, is working on a story about American martens for our upcoming December/January issue and sent us a
dispatch from last week’s 7th International Martes Symposium at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. The symposium is the gathering of the Martes Working Group, started in 1993 to improve communication between international researchers interested in the martes family (marten, fisher, sable, wolverine, and tayra). Marie heard about new reveals on the mystery of martens found – after nearly half-a-century gone – within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
As you may recall from our earlier stories, American martens (Martes americana) reappeared a few years ago on the Apostle Islands after not being seen there in more than 45 years; in fact, they are the only endangered mammal in Wisconsin.
Marie takes up the story: “As an Ojibwe clan symbol, they are of cultural significance to regional tribes and to natural resource agencies as their presence indicates healthy ecosystems. The marten buzz started in 2014, when a visitor to Stockton Island took a photo of a marten as it ran through his legs. About that time, researchers were placing trail cameras on the islands to see what carnivores were in the park. Once the trail cam images came back, it quickly became evident that martens were alive and well on several of the Apostles’ 22 islands (the winter photo here is Stockton Island, the other on Cat Island). But questions remained: Where did the martens come from? How did they get to the islands? Had they been there all along and nobody noticed?
“At the symposium, Matthew Smith, a doctoral student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, announced initial findings from genetics studies to help solve the mystery. Analysis of 223 marten hair samples collected on the islands reveals most of the Apostle martens were related to martens reintroduced into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from animals brought from Ontario. A few others were linked to martens in the nearby Chequamegon National Forest in Wisconsin.
“Matthew works in Associate Professor Jon Pauli’s Lab at UW-Madison, and this marten genetics project is a cooperative venture between Northland College, the National Park Service, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and UW-Madison. (Abstracts of symposium presentations and the program can found online.) Researchers don’t yet know for sure exactly what year the martens came over to the islands. That question, along with what they are eating and how they move among the islands, are topics for continued study.”
Discover all of Marie’s marten morsels in the December/January Lake Superior Magazine issue, which mails to subscribers in mid-November.
Sweet Sauna: Lines were forming for a new sauna on Porphyry Island now open to boaters on the Canadian north shore, Paul Morralee, managing director of Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior Inc., reports in the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal. Porphyry is at the end of Black Bay, east of Thunder Bay. “The sauna, built by volunteers, offers an opportunity to relax and enjoy the northern atmosphere,” Paul noted in an invitation for visits. Canadian Lighthouses offers tours, rentals and artists-in-residence programs at several lighthouses that it has taken under its wing. As to the popular new sauna, Paul says rumour has it a family stayed on the island two extra days just to get some sauna (sow-na) time. A short video shows a tug pulling the prefabricated sauna sections to the island in late spring.
On the Mend: It’s been more than two years since torrential rains turned usually mild-mannered creeks near Saxon Harbor, Wisconsin, into raging beasts that tore up the local marina and campgrounds, damaged cars, wrecked boats and killed a firefighter en route to help. Barry Adams of the Wisconsin State Journal visited Saxon Harbor and reported this week on the progress of the $12 million project to restore the harbor, breakwall and other structures destroyed in 2016 floods. “An estimated 44,000 cubic yards (about 3,000 dump trucks) of soil, rock and debris filled much of the harbor during the July 11, 2016, storm,” Barry writes. “Just last week, a 31-foot Chris-Craft boat was found on the harbor’s south side. It was buried under dirt in a spot that should have had 10 feet of water.” Hopes are to reopen Saxon Harbor marina by spring of 2019. The Saxon Harbor marina and campground, operated by the Iron County Forestry and Parks Department, has been posting Facebook updates and photos of the progress. “The harbor is beginning to take shape!” came the news Aug. 2. “We have the north and south walls completed and the west wall in the south basin will begin on Monday. The channel and the north basin are dredged to final depths and all of the old piling have been removed or cut off below grade.” Meanwhile, nearby Harbor Lights bar and restaurant has been struggling to wait for the reopening. Its business is down 45 percent from before the flooding. Grace Hines, who has owned the business for 44 years with her husband, Bill, remains optimistic. “I’ve always said I’ll stay as long as I’m having a good time and I still am because the people have been absolutely wonderful,” she told Barry. “We’ve got one more winter to make it through. Hopefully next spring we’ll be back at it.”
Neighborhood-to-Nation: A Thai Basil Bowl recipe by Anne Klingler, chef/owner of Outlanders in Marquette, won for the North Central Region in the 2018 Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest from General Mills Foodservice. Anne wins $5,000, plus $1,000 to her chosen charity, Teaching Family Homes of Upper Michigan, a private, non-profit child welfare agency helping families in need. Anne will also be in the running for the Grand Prize, to be announced later this month, which includes $25,000 plus $5,000 more for her charity and a three-day trip for two to the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival this October. The Marquette community gets to celebrate Anne’s accomplishment and sample the award-winning recipe at 2 p.m. Aug. 21 at Outlanders, 1014 W. Washington St. Anne told General Mills that as a busy mom juggling children’s schedules and her own tasks, including meals, she decided the city “needed a fast food restaurant that did not involve French fries!” She created just that in 2013 with Outlanders as a take-out restaurant that expanded in 2017 to sit-down service. “It’s our passion to make delicious, wholesome food for families in the community. Whether customers dine in or take out, we’re here to bring folks together to slow down and enjoy a meal with family and friends,” she says. The Thai Basil Bowl winning recipe, found here, combines coconut milk, ginger, basil, cilantro, Mountain High Original Whole Milk Yoghurt with rice, chicken and veggies. Sounds yummy.
It’s Been Framed: The city of Houghton, Michigan, installed an “Instagram Frame” facing the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in, as the Facebook page terms it, “Loho,” or Lower Houghton, requesting that you “Put yourself in with the bridge & send us your photo!” The city also posted about its Raymond Kestner Waterfront Park, showing off its “chutes and ladders” feature. “My kids call this park ‘Chutes and Ladders,’ because of the huge slides,” Hilary C. of Waterford, Wisconsin, wrote on TripAdvisor. “My grandkids just call it ‘Awesome!’ Great way to spend an afternoon or early evening in summer. The view is beautiful, too!” Hilary gives the park a top rating of 5 points. We suspect the grandkids may give it a 6.
Shirley, They’re Grand: Longtime friends and members of the Bayfield community, Shirley Hanson, left, and Shirley Bodin, right, will preside over the 2018 Bayfield Apple Festival as its Grand Marshals. Nominated by public vote, they were chosen by the Bayfield Apple Festival Committee because of their quiet behind-the-scenes work to improve the community. Shirely H served as treasurer of the Bayfield Ambulance Commission for many years, helping to ensure area access to emergency services. Shirley B, a member of a family commercial fishing locally for five generations, has participated in a wide variety of community activities and groups and served as a founding member of the local chapter of the Homemaker's Club. The Bayfield Apple Festival, which runs Oct. 5-7 this year, attracts more than 50,000 visitors. The Shirleys will be part of the community parade and other festival fun.
Photo & graphic credits: Northland College/UW-Madison/U.S National Park Service; Canadian Lighthouse of Lake Superior; Iron County Forestry and Parks Department; General Mills Foodservice; Outlanders; City of Houghton; City of Houghton; Bob Gross/Bayfield Chamber & Visitor Bureau.