Lug a Tug: Last Friday, a 34-foot tug struck the breakwall in Marquette and sank into Lake Superior, according to reports. Photographer Tom Buchkoe was near by and took this photo of the tug recovery. (Tom, as many of you may recognize, is a long-time friend and contributor to Lake Superior Magazine.) The tug sank into 26 feet of water and was recovered on Monday. A potential of about 100 gallons of oil and diesel could have spilled, according to reports. No injuries were reported and the two people on board the tug escaped safely. The tug was "transiting to Marquette’s Lower Harbor when it lost power and struck the breakwall due to the on scene weather conditions," TV6 reports. It also has video of the barge working to recover the vessel.
Lock Down: The closing of the Soo Locks came just a wee bit beyond Jan. 15 this year. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the Locks, reports the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. (in this photo by David Hopkinson) cleared the Poe Lock at 4:06 a.m. Jan. 16, thus officially ending the 2020 shipping season. The downtime between now and March 25 for the Poe and the MacArthur locks will be put to good use, doing basic maintenance and necessary repairs to the hard-working locks. The Corps Detroit District also posted that, thanks to local partner support and the Corps’ Handshake Partnership Program, more than $100,000 will be invested in the coming years to upgrade the Soo Locks models at the visitor center. Two 3-D models dating 1893 and 1912 show the locks built 100 years ago. The oldest model was built to test the original Poe Lock plans in 1893, as evidenced by this photo discovered by Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs while working with historic photos. “I was doing some research when I found a photo dated March 1893 of the workmen posed with the model of the original Poe Lock, which I recognized from the park. I am sure this model was finished shortly after the picture was taken since one of the workmen is still holding a paint brush," Michelle says. It and the other model showing the Davis and Sabin locks will be conserved by repairing original pieces when possible or accurately replicating all others pieces.
A Walk on the Wild Side: Rebuilding Duluth's Lakewalk after being damaged in multiple consecutive year storms means creating a pathway more resistant to the increasing mega storms generated on Lake Superior. The Lakewalk covers nearly 8 miles of shore-hugging paved pedestrian and bicycle trail stretching from Bayfront Park to Brighton Beach. Last summer, repair work closed the walkway near the Canal Park lake-facing hotels. The work is slated to be completed by spring. Dan Kraker of MPRNews reported on the $17 million project that includes massive stone breakwalls and a higher base for the Lakewalk itself. (seen in this photo by Gus Schauer)."The new structure has partly obscured the view of the lake and impeded access to the water," Dan reports, but Matt Baumgartner, president of the Canal Park Business Association, says that the businesses and hotels have made peace with the change. “And the word that gets used most right now is it seems to be creating an opportunity for the Lakewalk and for Canal Park to envision what that space can be used for," Matt told Dan.
A Study Break: One of the world's longest running continuous studies of predator-prey relationship (or any wildlife field study) has been forced to take a break because of the pandemic. The wolf-moose study on Isle Royale has accessed the populations of those two species on the national park island every winter since 1959. Detroit News posted a story by The Associated Press environmental writer John Flesher, in which he talked about the project last week with park Superintendent Denice Swanke. According to John, "this year’s mission has been scrapped to protect the scientists and support personnel from possible exposure to the virus." John continues: "The park service and partners will try to document wolf population changes this summer using remote cameras and other techniques, Swanke said. But they won’t have the benefit of aerial observations that can be done only during winter, when the animals are easier to spot." That, according to researcher John Vucetich of Michigan Technological University, will create a hole in the data that "nothing can be done about."
Big Lake, Fragile System: The International Joint Commission's 2020 Second Triennial Assessment of Progress Report on Great Lakes water quality (or TAP) calls climate change impacts being seen on Lake Superior as the "canary in the coal mine" for the entire system. “Just because Lake Superior is big doesn’t mean it can’t change ... in fact, it’s one of the fastest-changing lakes in the world,” Dr. Jay Austin, a professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Large Lakes Observatory, is quoted on a recent IJC post. "Relative to all the lakes, Lake Superior is experiencing some of the fastest observed summer lake water temperature warming. And Superior has seen the highest decrease in its duration of winter ice cover," Allison Voglesong Zejnati writes in her story on the IJC site. The story also quotes U.S. National Park Service Aquatic Ecologist Dr. Brenda Lafrancois from her talk during the IJC’s Water Quality Issues Briefing meeting in 2019 at Northland College in Ashland, Wis. "Lake Superior is among the world’s most rapidly warming lakes and climate projections are for a warmer future," Allison writes, then quotes Brenda, “'so we can expect to see warmer (summer water) temperatures that potentially support more (blue-green algal) blooms, and we also know that climate projections are for a warmer, stormier future.'” Allison continues, "While Lake Superior is least hospitable of all the lakes to blue-green algal blooms, blooms appeared in the western arm of Lake Superior in 2012 and again in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Climate change impacts the patterns of temperature and precipitation, two major factors that contribute to the presence of blue-green algal blooms on Lake Superior." According to Allison, the IJC's 2020 TAP report recommends that the Canadian and U.S. governments lead a coordinated effort to eliminate blue-green algal blooms from Lake Superior. The IJC site has posted video presentations by Jay at a 2019 climate symposium in Thunder Bay and by Brenda at that presentation at Northland.
Another story on the IJC site by Kevin Bunch talks about the contributions of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, based on the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin, to climate change research. GLIFWC is accessing all species and the affects of climate change on them. Some represent culturally significant species that may change their locations. “Because of political boundaries, Indigenous communities of today can no longer move to follow culturally and communally important plant and animal beings if they shift their ranges due to climate change in the years to come,” Kevin quotes Robert Croll, climate change program coordinator with GLIFWC. “We’re looking at different categories in our vulnerability assessment, categories commonly used by Ojibwe people: crawlers, flyers, swimmers, four-leggeds and plants,” Kevin quotes Hannah Panci, climate change scientist with GLIFWC. “We’ve found swimmers and plants are the most vulnerable groups of beings.”
It's a Sign: Cyndi Perkins with Michigan Technological University put out this intriguing teaser for a story that appears in the online Michigan Tech Magazine: "You’ve seen the picture. Maybe you have the postcard. Now get the story behind the iconic End of Earth highway sign, told by the Michigan Tech students who pulled off the most enduring prank in University history. It’s a tale of artistry, engineering, tomfoolery – and the sense of place that stays with Huskies long after they leave Houghton. But most of all, it’s a story about the enduring friendship between John Marchesi and Tim Cicciolone that started in seventh grade and continues today. She quotes John, a 1986 electrical engineering graduate, as saying, “Tim and I were always mischievous. We were always pulling pranks,” says John. “He’s the only one I’ve ever called best friend.” The realistic road-sign replica only stood for a few hours in 1984 on the road between Houghton and Chassell before the Houghton County Sheriff Department removed it, but a photo in the student newspaper, the Michigan Tech Lode, immortalized it. Photographer Tim and fellow prankster John say the foggy weather that lends a certain eeriness to the photo was pure luck. "As one might expect of Huskies," Cyndi notes, "they logged the precise mileage for their project." That is, if you believe it, of course. The sign was later retrieved from the sheriff's office. Deputy Sid Collins reportedly said they would have left it up, but it was too close to the road. The sign remains in the Alpha Kappa Psi (now Theta Kappa Psi) House and 2012 alumnus Henry King, a Michigan Tech IT system administrator, says the particleboard has suffered from time and moisture, but members plan to restore it. “We’ll touch up the paint and apply a durable clear coat,” he tells Cyndi. “The plan is to have it done next spring.” What he refers to as “a highbrow prank” remains a point of pride for the groupm she notes. "As he sees it, the sign also continues to symbolize one of the biggest reasons why students choose Michigan Tech – location." As Henry puts it while referring to poet Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends: "There's a mystique to being out past the end of the world." Postcards, the sales of which bought John his first steak dinner as a poor college student and funded a spring break trip, are still sold at University Images and the Michigan Tech Bookstore.
Photo & graphic credits: Tom Buchkoe; David Hopkinson/via U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Michelle Biggs/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Gus Schauer; Conner Bowe/Unsplash via IJC; Michigan Technological University