The Highs & Lows of Cargoes: Grain shipments were positive notes from both of Lake Superior's major ports this year, despite the pandemic-induced slow downs. The Port of Thunder Bay (where one finds this grain elevator seen in a photo by Michael Hull) reports continued above-average grain shipments, 27% higher than the same time in 2019. Canadian farmers are experiencing one of the Top 5 largest crops in history, the TBay port reported. A similar outbound grain surge is being experienced by the Port of Duluth-Superior, which as of Aug. 31 was 14% ahead of last year at this time for grain shipments and 7% above the cargo's long-term average in the port. Inbound, the Duluth-Superior port has benefited from nine shipload arrivals of wind turbine blades, towers and nacelles (outer casings) to Clure Public Marine Terminal. The rapid pace of wind cargo shipments will continue, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority predicts, with overseas vessels arriving in Duluth from Brazil, India, Spain, Turkey and other countries. Duluth Cargo Connect manages all of the wind cargo arrivals (seen in this photo). Total tonnage for the Port of Duluth-Superior, however, was down by 31% for the year on Aug. 31 compared to the totals at that time in 2019. “If this pandemic-plagued shipping season was a prospector’s pan, there’d be a lot of black sand and only a few golden nuggets,” said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “But even a few golden nuggets are cause for excitement, and we’re certainly pleased to see strong grain numbers and potentially record-setting success with wind cargoes. … A season like this emphasizes the importance of cargo diversity in a port." She added, “No one expected a pandemic, but the port is weathering the storm, and we’re extremely grateful for all of the hard-working men and women who keep essential cargoes moving through what has been an unprecedented shipping season thus far.” The season has been a tough one all along the St. Lawrence Seaway system. "International cargo volumes through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes have fallen 8.4% to about 19.3 million tons so far this year in a shipping season that's been described as "pandemic-plagued,” according to a Times of Northwest Indiana story by Joseph S. Pete.
Island Pups: The National Park Service folks at Isle Royale National Park announced this week that both visual and scat evidence indicated wolf pups were born on the island. The two seen in these images actually were not conceived on Isle Royale, but born to a pregnant female transplanted from Michipicoten Island in Ontario. However, there is scat evidence that indicates younger pups from another female, likely one transplanted from the Grand Portage Ojibwe reservation. The National Park Service and State University of New York-College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) documented the reproduction. “We can estimate the minimum number of pups born annually from scats collected at den and rendezvous sites, as well as monitor the genetic health of the population through time,” said Mark Romanski, NPS biologist and wolf introduction program coordinator at the park. Adds Dr. Jerry Belant, SUNY- ESF professor assisting the NPS with characterizing the wolf introduction program. Continuing to track this population closely will allow the NPS and its collaborators to evaluate the long-term success of the introduction and how wolves impact the ecosystem. “Documenting reproduction is critical to the success of any introduction effort. In contrast to 2019 where female wolf 014F was likely pregnant before translocation, the breeding and rearing of two litters of pups this spring was a major step toward their recovery. We will continue to evaluate reproduction and recruitment of Isle Royale’s wolves using multiple lines of evidence including GPS collar data, remote cameras, DNA from wolf scats, and observations.”
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling: Apostle Islands Area Campground outside Bayfield has the sweetest little getaway wagon on site. A young family, the the Krivosheins (Zach, Jennifer, Kirsta and Ian) purchased the campground a few years ago. The covered wagon for two is no throwback to those old Wagon Trail shows (and you can be rolling, rolling, rolling in it). This sweet number features things those old trail hands could only dream of – a flush toilet and bathroom sink, heat and A/C (by the Lake, you might need both the same day), a small refrigerator, shower (BYO Towels); queen-sized bed (BYO Bedding) and an outside picnic table and fire ring. If you want to bring your own tent or camping trailer, the campground offers -63 sites, a dump station free to guests, electric (50 & 30 AMP), water, sewer, WiFi and a camp store. There are also rustic camp cabins.
Corps Projects: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is kicking into high gear on a couple of Lake Superior-based projects. The Corps plans to remove more than 130,000 cubic yards of material, including contaminated sediment and debris, from Howards Bay (in photo) in Superior beginning this fall. The removal is part of a maintenance dredging contract awarded to J.F. Brennan Company Inc. of LaCrosse, Wis. “Dredging in Howards Bay is a voluntary public-private partnership formed under the Great Lakes Legacy Act to dredge contaminated sediment from Howards Bay,” according to Project Manager Steve Rumple. “Cleanup of sediment at Howards Bay is a necessary action to remove beneficial use impairments and to eventually delist the St. Louis River Area of Concern.” Meanwhile, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the Corps has launched round-the-clock operations on Phase One of the new lock at the Soo Locks. "Trade West Construction is deepening the north channel (in photo) of the decommissioned Sabin Lock to a depth of 30 feet by mechanical means and positioning the materials brought up to the northwest pier, which will eventually become a break wall for the new lock," the Corps posted. The new lock, which will occupy the space of the closed Sabin and Davis locks, will be the same size as the Poe Lock, which handles the majority of modern Great Lakes freighters because of their size.
Pedal to Work: Starting Monday is national Bike to Work Week and the city of Washburn in Wisconsin wants to prime the pedal pumping with a prize. The Washburn Area Chamber of Commerce encourages local folks to take a picture of their commute and post it with the hashtag #BikeToWorkWashburn20. Among the local bike shops and organizations supporting the program are North Coast Cycling Association, Washburn Hardware & Sport. Bay City Cycles and Howl Adventure Center. The bike trails at Mt. Ashwabay got a nice boost from a story posted recently by Spencer Harding for The Radavist. "Just a few miles outside of Bayfield, Wisconsin, hides a compact but wonderful system of trails that weave their way around Mt Ashwabay. These trails were masterfully crafted by CAMBA (Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association). After sampling their handiwork in the Cable/Hayward area as well, I feel like I can say that I found the Mt Ashwabay system to be some of the most fun trails I have ever ridden in the Midwest and some of CAMBA’s best work," Spencer writes.
Pie Throwing (Kind of): It won't exactly throw a great-tasting pie your way, but Rustic Inn Café and Gifts at Castle Danger, Minn., will ship one to you. Pies ship out Mondays and Tuesdays and orders must be in multiples of two. (The editor is partial to the 5-layer chocolate and southern-style pecan.) The pies are frozen in biodegradable packaging for next-day delivery. Sorry East and West Coast, this is Upper Midwest only. Call the cafe at 218-834-2488 or email to Rusticinncafe@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order. While you're thinking Rustic, you can also check out the current take-out menu.
Where on the Circle is Andy?: Our friendly Circle Tourer, Andy Kaknevicius, posted Episode No. 4 in his series of Lake Superior Circle Tour videos. In this one we travel in Ontario to White River, Marathon and Terrace Bay, with a few special features and guests in between. Looking along the Trans Canada Highway it appears to be a very remote stretch of road, so Andy reminds us to check the map, Google the area, and enjoy what the Lake Superior coast has to offer with a bit of adventure off the highway. The almost 20-minute segment also takes a short jaunt to Pukaskwa National Park. Andy warns us there will be a Circle Tour video hiatus with this one. He's making plans to get to the Big Lake himself for a few weeks, hoping to see moose, bear, eagles and wolves "and some fresh water crocodiles." We'll have to ask Andy about that one when he gets back.
That's No Scow: One of the wreckhunters who helped to discover the remains of the carferry Pere Marquette 18 about 110 years after it sank in Lake Michigan, pointed out to the e-editor that the last week's issue of Around the Circle This Week erroneously called the 338-foot, steel-hulled vessel a "steam scow." The mistake came because of a too-quick look at the Wisconsin Historical Society's great Wisconsin Shipwrecks website, which listed the Pere Marquette 18 as a "steam scow" – or that was what the editor saw. It actually says "steam screw," which, according to Wikipedia, is "an old term for a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine, using one or more propellers (also known as screws) to propel it through the water." A scow, on the other hand, is a "a type of flat-bottomed barge," also as per Wikipedia. In sending his gentle course correction, wreckhunter Jerry Eliason (who found the PM18 along with Ken Merryman) noted, "I am chuckling as I write this, but thought I would be remiss to not mention the mis-labeling. … I would say calling the Pere Marquette 18 a 'scow' is analogous to calling Lake Superior a 'rain-filled puddle.'" The good news about the fixer here is the chance to use another of Ken and Jerry's cool underwater images of that discovery.
Photo & graphic credits: Michael Hull/Port of Thunder Bay; Duluth Seaway Port Authority; NPS/SUNY-ESF; Apostle Islands Area Campground; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Mt. Ashwabay; Rustic Inn Café; Andy Kaknevicius; Jerry Eliason & Ken Merryman