Friends
of the
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Update April, 2010
All Images are thumbnails - click to view full size.
Outer Island NPS Photo
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Friends Update April, 2010 All Images are thumbnails - click to view full size. |
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Outer Island NPS Photo |
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Friends support of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is justified
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About "Bear Boxes" Which is why "bear boxes" - bear-resistant food storage lockers - are provided at most campsites. "Bear boxes" cost $1,000 each installed. And for the last four years the Friends have provided Match Funding, which simply means if a group or individual contributes $500 we match it and a "bear box" is installed in a campsite needing one. Kayak Clubs in Chicago and the Twin Cities have responded to our challenge in the past. Thanks! Park staff have informed us that "bear boxes" are still needed on Rocky Island and South Twin Island. So kayakers and other Apostle Island campers, here is our challenge. Send us $500, and we will match it. So the bear will stay in the forest - not in your campsite. |
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Historic Preservation Project
#1 |
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The Friends Board has selected the boat house at the Raspberry
Island Lighthouse landing as its first Historic Preservation Project. Those of us who were a part of the many discussions over two years with patient Park Service Staff, as we made one choice that in the end was judged to be unfeasible at this time, then went through a lengthy process that finally resulted in the boat house selection, learned a great deal. The boat house at the Raspberry Island is one of the first things visitors see as they disembark to visit the complex, and one of the last structures waiting restoration to the way it appeared in mid 1920. No one knows how old it is for sure. What we do know is that the foundation is crumbling, the sill logs that support the structure are full of rot, and that unless it is correctly restored from the lake bed up, the waves of Lake Superior will have their way, and a priceless bit of history will not be seen by our children's children. This partnership restoration project is a first for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and for the Friends. We hope many more will come.
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The Lights of Outer Island |
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When you receive
the June/July issue of the Lake Superior Magazine, turn to the last
page. Featured there will be the print to the left & a good word or two
about the Friends.
From being on the cover of the 2010 Ashland County Visitors Guide, to the article in the Wisconsin State Journal and now Lake Superior Magazine, press coverage has been well beyond expectations. And if the photographers are lucky in July, we will have a "Milky Way Over Sand Island Lighthouse" to cherish. Please visit the Friends website for information on how the photo was accomplished. Just 40 of the 100 Limited Edition print are left. All proceeds from your purchase go to the work the Friends do in partnership with the Lakeshore. |
Historic Preservation Project #2 |
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The construction simple and basic, the siding logs and shiplap boards, the roof tarpaper, and the grounds a bit grown over. In some ways, it is not the building that by itself is worth preservation. Just a simple fishing camp after all. But it is as a silent witness to what was, to the time when men, women and children in the business of lifting fish from Lake Superior lived and played here - that is what matters. Five years ago a few Friends boated out to Rocky Island to paint the building. This summer we are going to make that trip again, to paint, to spruce up the grounds, and most important to install new roofing. And perhaps to stand silently and remember what was. We will announce a date and all the rest of the details for our Friends Volunteer Preservation Party to our members within a month or so. |
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Volunteer Opportunities On The Islands In 2010
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• Plant
restoration. |
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| • Piping plover protection.
Piping plover monitors are stationed on Long Island throughout the plover nesting season (mid-May through July). The monitors keep track of the birds and monitor their behavior. They also provide information to visitors. One to two volunteers are needed to assist or fill in for the regular monitors. Primitive camping is required and volunteers need to walk fairly long distances on loose sand.
Contact: Julie VanStappen, Branch Chief, Natural
Resources |
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| • Trail maintenance. Volunteers are needed for general trail maintenance. Hand tools and training would be provided. Shorter trials, such as the ones on Manitou, Rocky, and Devils could be “adopted.”
Contact: Dave Wilkins |
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| • Signs. There is a need to replace a significant number of signs within the park. A volunteer is needed to help make the signs – equipment and training would be provided. Contact:
Julie VanStappen, Branch Chief, Natural Resources |
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| • Research reports. The park has a significant number of research reports within its library. The vast majority of them are only in hardcopy form and for many of the reports there is only one copy available. A volunteer is needed to digitize these reports so they are preserved over the long-term and can be made much more readily available to researchers and interested parties. Equipment and training would be provided.
Contact: Julie VanStappen, Branch Chief, Natural
Resources |
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| • Breeding bird survey.
The park annually conducts breeding bird surveys along ten transects on eight islands and the mainland. Volunteers are needed to assist with these surveys. Skills required include: the ability to accurately identify by sound the over 150 bird species that nest in the park.
Contact: Julie VanStappen, Branch Chief, Natural
Resources |
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| • Exotic species control.
The park has a need to control exotic species at a variety of locations within the park. Volunteers are needed in late July and August to assist with these efforts. Contact: Julie
VanStappen, Branch Chief, Natural Resources |
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Annual Meeting Notice The 2010 Annual Meeting of Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore will be held at 6 PM, Saturday, August 14 at Big Top Chautauqua in the Spirit Cottage. All Friends Members are invited for the short business meeting, and a social/get acquainted gathering. We’ll enjoy good snacks, and wine, and stimulating conversation. Our entertainment for the evening is the 7:30 performance of "Wild Woods & Waters" which is a show that was new last season, so will be "new" to majority of those who attend.
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Join - or renew
your membership
with
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