By Eric Freedman
Looking for a holiday gift for a reader who loves the Great Lakes? Here are five prospects to consider – and what our reporters learned from interviewing their authors this year.
The post Great Lakes books for your holiday gift list first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
https://greatlakesecho.org/2025/12/02/great-lakes-books-for-your-holiday-gift-list/
By Isabella Figueroa Nogueria
Frank Boles, a retired Central Michigan University historian, has spent decades documenting Michigan’s past. His latest book, “Visiting Mackinac: 150 Years of Tourism at Michigan’s Fabled Straits,” explores how Mackinac Island and the surrounding Straits region became a hub for travelers from across the country.
The post New book shares how Mackinac Island became Michigan’s tourism gem first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
https://greatlakesecho.org/2025/10/29/new-book-shares-how-mackinac-island-became-michigans-tourism-gem/
Gina LaLiberte is a true clean water champion who has studied algae in local lakes for two decades. She is a research scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s Bureau of Science Services and serves as the Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Coordinator.
Wisconsinites and tourists see big wooden signs at the borders of our state that say “Welcome to Wisconsin” and highlight recreation, along with industry and agriculture as highlights of our state. Summer recreation, unfortunately, has limits on some of our lakes’ beaches when algae blooms and bacteria prompt health department closures.
Gina explains what blue-green algae is, how it gets in our lakes and rivers, and what we can do to stay safe during summer recreation.
The interview was featured on the VMO Show on Monday, July 21 on 98.7 WVMO-FM in Monona, WI. This episode of the VMO Show was hosted by River Alliance of Wisconsin’s Communications Director, Stacy Harbaugh.
Stacy: Welcome to the VMO show. I’m your host, Stacy Harbaugh, and in the studio with me today is Gina LaLiberte. Gina is an expert on algae in lakes. She’s been studying algae for about 20 years, I believe, maybe longer. 30 years. 30 years She’s been studying algae, why it gets into our lakes, what it does, why it’s a problem, and what we can do about it. So, I’m really looking forward to a conversation with her in advance of her talk at the Clean Lakes Alliance event that’s coming up on Tuesday and we’ll give you details about that in a moment. So, please join me in welcoming Gina LaLiberte. Welcome to the WVMO Studios, Gina.
Gina: Thank you so much for having me.
Stacy: Fantastic. Well, tell me a little bit more about your role at the Department of Natural Resources and how you got into studying algae in lakes.
Gina: Sure. Well, I am currently serving as the statewide harmful algal bloom coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. And while that might sound like I I go out and make blooms happen, it’s more of a a response to blooms. So, I lead communication in response to blooms, I get bloom reports from the public, from other staff at DNR, from county partners and other partners throughout the state, and do a lot of outreach to to groups, especially this summer, right? I’ve been doing a lot of outreach to different groups all over Wisconsin about blue-green algae and other types of algae.
Stacy: Well, there’s a lot to talk about since we have so many lakes, especially in our listening area, and Wisconsin’s known for its wonderful lakes, and we’ve got to keep them clean. So, in this case, a bloom is a bad thing, right? This is not like a garden bloom. This is a form of pollution, like a natural form of pollution in our lakes. Would you say that that’s true?
Gina: Yeah, that that is that is a good way to to think about it. So, normally there’s there’s going to be algae, including blue- green algae, growing in every water body in Wisconsin. There’s just no such thing as a lake or river that doesn’t have them. And they normally just quietly mind their own business, do their own algae things. But if there are a lot of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus in the water, that can fertilize their growth. It can fertilize the growth of other types of algae and aquatic plants, too. But if the blue-green algae really start to take off, they grow to really high levels, most for the most part, you can see a bloom when it when it’s growing. It looks like sort of greenish water, other discoloration in the water or scums or mats floating on the water. And that’s what a bloom is.
Stacy: That sounds pretty gross. Probably something we don’t want in our lakes. So, why is this a bigger problem for our lakes besides being something that’s not really good to look at?
Gina: Well, it does have those aesthetic issues. It’s really not fun to look at, and when blooms start to decompose, it can be really stinky and almost smell like sewage sometimes. Ecologically, decomposing blooms can create problems for wildlife. If there’s a large enough bloom that is decomposing, it uses up a lot of the oxygen as the bacteria decompose it and that can lead to reduced oxygen level that can result in fish kills. If fish just can’t move out of the area. So there’s a lot less oxygen for them to use up and unfortunately they die.
Stacy: Yeah, that’s that’s bad for the health of our lakes, but also that’s bad for people when it comes to having us access these lakes for recreation, for enjoyment. Tell me a little bit about why perhaps a swimming beach might be closed because of an algae bloom.
Gina: Sure. Well, one of the big concerns that we have with blue-green algae is that some of them can make toxins. Now, not all blue-green algae can make toxins, and even those that do don’t make them all the time, but it’s sort of a problem if you’re at the beach and you see a bloom because you can’t tell if a bloom is making toxins just by looking at it. So there has to be beach testing, but in general, if you see a bloom present, you really need to be cautious and you definitely want to avoid swallowing water that contains that bloom or if you are say water skiing or tubing on a lake, you can be exposed by inhaling water droplets. So, you really want to avoid bloom areas on a lake if you’re, say, going really fast and creating a spray and tubing or skiing.
Stacy: Wow. That’s something I never think about. I always think of stagnant water as being the places where, you know, where to avoid those blooms. I never think about water skiing or some of those more active forms of recreation. I’m just sad when a beach is closed, you know, and we do face that in the Monona area, in Dane County, you know, and in other places in the State of Wisconsin. You know, these beaches are very are very special to us. And, you know, you don’t need a country club membership to go swim at a beach, but we do need to make sure that they’re safe before we go in. So, we’ll talk about that a little bit more a little deeper into the show. So you talked about the presence of nutrients in in water and nutrients are in water too all the time. But where do these nutrients come from?
Gina: Well, for the most part nutrients there are there’s going to be some nutrients just present in lakes from historical inputs, but there are inputs coming into lakes all the time and they’re coming from the land. So everything that’s upstream is possibly going to end up coming into the lakes via runoff. And unfortunately when we have like really heavy rain events like we did recently that can bring a lot of nutrients into the lakes.
Stacy: Yeah, we’ve had a lot of rain this summer. In fact, uh, at my day job, I am the communications director for River Alliance of Wisconsin. And we recently had one of our flagship events, the Fools’ Flotilla, which is where a bunch of people get into costumes and they decorate their boats, their kayaks, their canoes, and travel down the Yahara River in order to go to the Waterfront Festival. Super fun event, but every single year, not only do we have to watch the weather for the day of the event, but we’ve got to keep an eye on how the weather is leading up to it because there have been algae blooms even in, you know, the Yahara River. We think of blooms as being more of a lake issue, but they do occur in rivers as well. So, you know, we don’t want our event to be ruined by an algae bloom, but but we always have to keep our our eyes open for that, too.
So Gina, you’ve been studying this for a long time. What is it about algae that sparked your scientific research interests?
Gina: Well, I originally started out studying fish and then I took an algae course at a field station and I reversed course and started to to work on algae. They’re just there’s so many cool and beautiful algae out there and it’s really magical to just put just a drop of water under a microscope and look at it because I never know what I’m going to see. Sometimes it’s old friends, sometimes it’s things I’ve never seen before. So, it’s it’s really an adventure on a a tiny scale for me.
Stacy: And what does algae look like under a microscope? Can you describe it?
Gina: Oh gosh, there are so many diverse shapes. There are some green algae called desmids that have all sorts of crazy shapes like stars and fat little triangles, snowflakes even. Even some of the the blue-green algae are really cool. There are some filaments that are motile. They can crawl around. So, it’s a lot of fun to see these guys moving around under the microscope. And I don’t know, it’s it sounds like a weird thing. And I actually thought, “Oh, algae, that’s not that not that interesting.” But after I took this field course, obviously, I changed my mind.
Stacy: Well, that’s amazing. And we need scientists like you to, you know, fall in love with the subject enough to stay focused on it because it really is such a long… it’s a big, complex problem, right? When we have too much algae in our lakes and we need scientists who are passionate to to keep on it and to keep that research going, to know what’s out there and to help us inform uh some of the solutions to you know when it when it becomes a problem and it is it is a big problem. It’s not just when our beaches close. It’s much more complex than that. So I was wondering if you had some advice on what people, whether they’re listeners right now, or what community leaders can do to solve this problem when there’s too much algae in our lakes and we have these algae blooms.
Gina: Well, once once the nutrients get into a lake, it’s very very hard to take them out. So, preventing nutrient input into the lakes is is really essential. So that can be at large scale like doing different municipal projects to reduce kind of widescale runoff or even if you are a lakeside homeowner or you you live in a neighborhood where you know that part that portion of the watershed drains into the lakes. You can do things like installing rain gardens, uh, infiltration projects, minimizing fertilizer use on your lawn, and even minimizing herbicide use, too, and salt use because all of those things can help to contribute to blue-green algae blooms. Blue-green algae are more tolerant of salt. So, the more salt that gets into a lake, it’s the more desirable kinds of algae that are better foods for little microorganisms and fish, they don’t do as well. But blue-green algae do. Same with herbicides. Blue-green algae are less susceptible to herbicides than other more desirable kinds of algae. So, herbicide use, if you have herbicides washing from your property into a lake, that’s not good good news for the lake. And the blue green algae don’t care. They’ll just keep on growing.
Stacy: And they’re tough.
Gina: They are.
Stacy: They’re very tough. Here in the City of Monona, they’ve been taking their lakeside responsibilities very seriously as well. In fact, in June, the city council had a meeting that received some reports on their storm water and wastewater plans. And so they’ve been the the plan commission has been doing a lot of work to try to address what’s coming out of the the culverts, what’s coming out of the pipes and the connections to our lakes. They used to have really bad outfalls, those discharge points where water comes from from off of surfaces, off of everything from land to streets to sidewalks, all of that. Everything that washes off and goes into the lakes, it really wasn’t clean water back in the day. And so they’ve been working a lot with planning both above ground and below ground to have more green infrastructure, but also the city of Monona has been doing a lot of investing into changes in just their infrastructure and trying to green that up. So, Schluter Park was one, Stone Bridge Park, the latest project in Kelly Place. These are all projects trying to lower the a number the volume of this these particulates or this, you know, any of those nutrients that are getting into our lakes as as well as trash. But there’s some other programs too that listeners might want to know about. Just getting your leaves picked up in the fall. Not having those things go into the gutters and go into the storm drains. That’s a really big thing. Keeping your trash contained helps. The Salt Wise program is something that’s a great program in the state to educate, you know, anyone who’s got a sidewalk that needs salt, right? That’s W I Salt Wise dot com. You can find more information about Salt Wise Wisconsin. And yeah, the City of Monona’s programs for leaf-free streets and adopt-a-drain programs. These are all programs to help keep some of the stuff that feeds algae out of the lakes and contained where they should be. And of course, we can all use, like you said, lower fewer pesticides and chemicals on our yard, so we can all do our part. Any other thoughts on sort of the big picture on what we can do as a as a whole community beyond just our listening area? What we can do in Wisconsin to keep our lakes clean?
Gina: Well…
Stacy: It’s a big it’s a complex problem, right? And this these are, you know, algae is tough, right?
Gina: It is a big problem, but there are a lot of different programs going on all throughout the state. In particular, there are a lot more farmer-led groups. Farmers want to keep the nutrients on the land because it’s expensive to apply fertilizers when you’re growing crops. So, there are a lot of farmer-led initiatives that are that are happening throughout the state. And they’re getting a lot of good participation with with farmers. And these are peer-to-peer groups. It’s not someone in the government telling them “you should do this.” It’s farmers encouraging other farmers. And there’s a lot of friendly competition involved, too. If you’ve got better yield using better management practices for a field, your fellow producers see that and they want to do that, too.
Stacy: That’s good. Well, that’s good that that information is being exchanged and it’s a it’s a complex problem, but we can all do our part.
Welcome back to the VMO show. I’m your host Stacy Harbaugh, and in the studio with me is Gina LaLiberte. She’s the DNR’s expert on algae and algae blooms and all things algae in our lakes. And she’s here to talk to us about why our beaches close and how we can swim safely this summer. So what do you think? What’s your best advice for people who want to go swimming in our local lakes, maybe bring their dog? What’s the best way that they can swim safely and not get into trouble with algae blooms?
Gina: I think the the best thing you can do is to look at the water before you go in, before you let the kids go in, definitely before you let the dog go in. So, if it looks questionable, then you might want to pick a different beach to swim at. When it comes to blue-green algae, we quite often have a lot of blooms accumulating at downwind shores. Blue-green algae float and so they’re really easily moved around by wind. So, if you are deciding on what beach to head out to in the day, look at the weather forecast and look at what the wind direction is. If the wind is quite often out of the south or the southwest in the summer, then the beaches at the the north and the northeast shore of a lake might be more affected than the beaches towards the south or the southwest end of the lake. So, pay attention to the wind direction and always look at the water before you go swimming. So, if you see water that has a lot of little tiny green particles in that, that is very possibly blue green algae. If you see floating scums, that’s definitely not good conditions to swim in. And we are really lucky in Dane County that the Public Health Madison Dane County, our public health department, does a lot of beach testing. So, they test both for E.coli bacteria at the beaches, but they also do testing for blue-green algae and they test for toxins at the beaches. So, they have a great website that shows the recent testing results for all of the beaches. They even have an email signup where you can just get those, any beach closures automatically delivered to you by email. So, we’re really lucky to have them working for us to offer this in Dane County.
Stacy: Yeah, that’s really helpful, especially if you’re busy parents and you want some place to take the kids, you want someplace safe to swim. Uh, that’s a great website. So, that’s public health M D C dot com and that’s where you can go and look up beach and lake water quality and sign up for those email alerts. If you’re an avid swimmer, that’s an essential piece of information.
So, Gina, you’re giving a talk in the community here pretty soon. Tell us more about what’s happening with the Clean Lakes Alliance.
Gina: Sure. Well, Tuesday, July 22nd, I’m giving a talk at the East Side Club for the Clean Lakes 101 program. So, I’m going to be talking about blue-green algae in our lakes in in Dane County. It’s going to kind of be a general look at at blue-green algae, but also looking specifically at some of the blooms that we’ve been having in in lakes right around Madison and Monona.
Stacy: Well, good. So, if you want to dig into this topic a little bit more, then please join Gina and the Clean Lakes Alliance at the East Side Club on Tuesday, July 22nd. Learn more about what’s going on in our lakes, especially our beloved Lake Monona. Well, thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of the VMO show. I hope you get to swim a little bit this summer, someplace with a nice safe beach, an algae-free beach. That’s what we hope for. And tune in to the next episode of the VMO show where we talk about community events and what’s going on in the Monona area. Thanks for listening. Drive safe and we’ll see you next time.
– Stacy Harbaugh, Communications Director
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post Gina LaLiberte: blue-green algae in Wisconsin’s waters appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/gina-laliberte-algae/
You had to be there. At the wild rivers anniversary celebration on June 28, we gathered at the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center in Florence, WI to recognize the extraordinary leadership and foresight of Wisconsin state legislators, including Republican Representative Dave Martin, who led the effort to protect our state’s five wild rivers from destruction.
One of our speakers was John Roberts, a passionate expert in wild rivers. John was our last speaker who led us on a meditation of how one can experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers with all of our senses. It was the perfect way for us to get ready to visit Breakwater Falls and Meyers Falls on the wild Pine River after the celebration.
Several of the event attendees asked us to share John’s reflections, so here’s what he told us. We hope you get to experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers, including the 60-foot, “secret” Breakwater Falls.
It is early morning. In the dark dawning of twilight, there is no color yet, only the beginning of shapes in shades of grey. Still snuggly tucked in my winter sleeping bag under a simple low tarp, ice has formed on the overhang of my tarp and on the ground around me. It is early spring. For months the river has been blanketed below ice, but now, ahead, lies my version of opening day. I am wide awake, waiting for the return of light, anxious for all that it will bring. After months below seemingly solid ice, I have come to the riverbank to see the surfacing, that moment of magical transformation of solid ice into flowing water – the return of river.
I love rivers! I love how uniquely rivers express their version of being self-willed, of being wild. Their magic is in the flow. As long as a river remains a river, the flow of water is the river. It is ceaseless. I can look at a map that is 20 years old, 50, 100, 200, 400 years old, and the river has always been there. This is true, but it is also a mirage. A blue line on a map is not a river. Stand still at any point on the river’s bank and watch. The flow of water comes from around the bend, from the future, from somewhere upriver, into the present, and leaves around the next bend, for somewhere else downriver, into the past. Because the essence of a river is its flow, a river becomes a living metaphor for time. It’s a puzzling thing. Fascinating. We sit by rivers and watch them pass by. The flow of a river never starts and never ends. Time does not stop. From morning to night, day to day, season to season, in times of rain and times of drought, we give the river a name, the Pine, the Popple, or the Pike River, it’s always the same name but it’s never the same river. Ever flowing is also ever changing. “No one ever steps in the same river twice” (Heraclitus).
The flowing of water, we call it a river. It is ceaseless. It is also nearly boundless. The last time I was at this very point on the Pine River was two months ago, in January. On the surface, liquid water had changed to solid ice. A blanket of snow covered the ice. Tracks wandered over the surface of the river, as if it were no longer river but land, a treeless path of land through the forest. Under the ice, muffled sounds of moving water could still be heard. The river was still flowing under the treeless path through the forest. In winter we do not see it flowing under the solid ice but we know it does. In summer we see the flow of water in the river, but whether we see it or not, it flows nearly everywhere. It flows through the ground, surfacing as springs, ponds, marshes, and swamps. It flows through animals that drink. The water of the river becomes animal and it moves across the land as animal. It flows up through herb, and shrub, and tree to leaf. The water of the river becomes plant and every green thing, every plant, every fungus, and every lichen, become alive because of the nearly boundless flow of water. All this is the flow of a river. In the flow of water is the magic of rivers. It is ceaseless and boundless. This the source of our fascination with rivers. It is what is special about rivers – that they are able to expand our perception of beauty, of awe, and of connection to animal and plant, to land, to everything above, below, and beyond, and to time, the present, past, and future – this is the fullest meaning of natural and of Wild!
I had hiked in, a mile or so, to the river. There was no real trail, just open forest, bedrock outcrops, and remnant pockets of snow. I know the place well. I had arrived at the river after dark. The warmth of hiking helped to warm my sleeping bag. Then I slept. Now, early, early morning, with one eye open, I peer out not wanting to miss any part of the arrival of light. Sleeping bag still on, I sit up and watch. Upriver is still iced over. Downriver, mostly out of sight, I can hear the sounds of ice pushing against ice. In front of me the river drops over 5-ledges of bedrock. Always beautiful beyond belief, it is a place where the water moves smoothly but swiftly from ledge-drop to ledge-drop with determination and enough energy to crack open the ice cover and send it downriver as large and small floating ice islands. Before me the water is open. It looks dark. It looks heavy and deep – opacity on the move.
Water as invisible vapor constantly rises into the air above all rivers, but this morning, in the cooler air, it condenses into the droplets and becomes visible. As mist, the water of the river floated upon the air. It lies densely in the river valley following its turnings, right and left. Air and river dance as one.
I sit enveloped in the cross-mingling of everything river – as solid land, as animal, as plant, as the mist in air, as time, and now too, as temperature, rising in synch with the coming of sunlight. The river and the warmth mingle. Moods change rapidly from the dark, thick, chilly shades of grey. The rising sun brings red, orange, and warmth. The mist stirs and thins into columns of convection then disappears. The show is over.
The rapid fading of such visible connections leaves me feeling alone until, coming from afar, I see two hooded mergansers swimming upriver. They too are early arrivers to a river’s opening. As divers, floaters, swimmers and flyers, they move easily between what we assume are boundaries. They are river birds returning to the flow of open water. Emerging from my winter sleeping bag, I go to that open water and dip my hands in. I too have returned.
– John Roberts
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post The Wildness of a River is Flow – a wild rivers essay by John Roberts appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/wildness-of-a-river/
You had to be there. At the wild rivers anniversary celebration on June 28, we gathered at the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center in Florence, WI to recognize the extraordinary leadership and foresight of Wisconsin state legislators, including Republican Representative Dave Martin, who led the effort to protect our state’s five wild rivers from destruction.
One of our speakers was John Roberts, a passionate expert in wild rivers. John was our last speaker who led us on a meditation of how one can experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers with all of our senses. It was the perfect way for us to get ready to visit Breakwater Falls and Meyers Falls on the wild Pine River after the celebration.
Several of the event attendees asked us to share John’s reflections, so here’s what he told us. We hope you get to experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers, including the 60-foot, “secret” Breakwater Falls.
It is early morning. In the dark dawning of twilight, there is no color yet, only the beginning of shapes in shades of grey. Still snuggly tucked in my winter sleeping bag under a simple low tarp, ice has formed on the overhang of my tarp and on the ground around me. It is early spring. For months the river has been blanketed below ice, but now, ahead, lies my version of opening day. I am wide awake, waiting for the return of light, anxious for all that it will bring. After months below seemingly solid ice, I have come to the riverbank to see the surfacing, that moment of magical transformation of solid ice into flowing water – the return of river.
I love rivers! I love how uniquely rivers express their version of being self-willed, of being wild. Their magic is in the flow. As long as a river remains a river, the flow of water is the river. It is ceaseless. I can look at a map that is 20 years old, 50, 100, 200, 400 years old, and the river has always been there. This is true, but it is also a mirage. A blue line on a map is not a river. Stand still at any point on the river’s bank and watch. The flow of water comes from around the bend, from the future, from somewhere upriver, into the present, and leaves around the next bend, for somewhere else downriver, into the past. Because the essence of a river is its flow, a river becomes a living metaphor for time. It’s a puzzling thing. Fascinating. We sit by rivers and watch them pass by. The flow of a river never starts and never ends. Time does not stop. From morning to night, day to day, season to season, in times of rain and times of drought, we give the river a name, the Pine, the Popple, or the Pike River, it’s always the same name but it’s never the same river. Ever flowing is also ever changing. “No one ever steps in the same river twice” (Heraclitus).
The flowing of water, we call it a river. It is ceaseless. It is also nearly boundless. The last time I was at this very point on the Pine River was two months ago, in January. On the surface, liquid water had changed to solid ice. A blanket of snow covered the ice. Tracks wandered over the surface of the river, as if it were no longer river but land, a treeless path of land through the forest. Under the ice, muffled sounds of moving water could still be heard. The river was still flowing under the treeless path through the forest. In winter we do not see it flowing under the solid ice but we know it does. In summer we see the flow of water in the river, but whether we see it or not, it flows nearly everywhere. It flows through the ground, surfacing as springs, ponds, marshes, and swamps. It flows through animals that drink. The water of the river becomes animal and it moves across the land as animal. It flows up through herb, and shrub, and tree to leaf. The water of the river becomes plant and every green thing, every plant, every fungus, and every lichen, become alive because of the nearly boundless flow of water. All this is the flow of a river. In the flow of water is the magic of rivers. It is ceaseless and boundless. This the source of our fascination with rivers. It is what is special about rivers – that they are able to expand our perception of beauty, of awe, and of connection to animal and plant, to land, to everything above, below, and beyond, and to time, the present, past, and future – this is the fullest meaning of natural and of Wild!
I had hiked in, a mile or so, to the river. There was no real trail, just open forest, bedrock outcrops, and remnant pockets of snow. I know the place well. I had arrived at the river after dark. The warmth of hiking helped to warm my sleeping bag. Then I slept. Now, early, early morning, with one eye open, I peer out not wanting to miss any part of the arrival of light. Sleeping bag still on, I sit up and watch. Upriver is still iced over. Downriver, mostly out of sight, I can hear the sounds of ice pushing against ice. In front of me the river drops over 5-ledges of bedrock. Always beautiful beyond belief, it is a place where the water moves smoothly but swiftly from ledge-drop to ledge-drop with determination and enough energy to crack open the ice cover and send it downriver as large and small floating ice islands. Before me the water is open. It looks dark. It looks heavy and deep – opacity on the move.
Water as invisible vapor constantly rises into the air above all rivers, but this morning, in the cooler air, it condenses into the droplets and becomes visible. As mist, the water of the river floated upon the air. It lies densely in the river valley following its turnings, right and left. Air and river dance as one.
I sit enveloped in the cross-mingling of everything river – as solid land, as animal, as plant, as the mist in air, as time, and now too, as temperature, rising in synch with the coming of sunlight. The river and the warmth mingle. Moods change rapidly from the dark, thick, chilly shades of grey. The rising sun brings red, orange, and warmth. The mist stirs and thins into columns of convection then disappears. The show is over.
The rapid fading of such visible connections leaves me feeling alone until, coming from afar, I see two hooded mergansers swimming upriver. They too are early arrivers to a river’s opening. As divers, floaters, swimmers and flyers, they move easily between what we assume are boundaries. They are river birds returning to the flow of open water. Emerging from my winter sleeping bag, I go to that open water and dip my hands in. I too have returned.
– John Roberts
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post The Wildness of a River is Flow – a wild rivers essay by John Roberts appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/wildness-of-a-river/
You had to be there. At the wild rivers anniversary celebration on June 28, we gathered at the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center in Florence, WI to recognize the extraordinary leadership and foresight of Wisconsin state legislators, including Republican Representative Dave Martin, who led the effort to protect our state’s five wild rivers from destruction.
One of our speakers was John Roberts, a passionate expert in wild rivers. John was our last speaker who led us on a meditation of how one can experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers with all of our senses. It was the perfect way for us to get ready to visit Breakwater Falls and Meyers Falls on the wild Pine River after the celebration.
Several of the event attendees asked us to share John’s reflections, so here’s what he told us. We hope you get to experience Wisconsin’s wild rivers, including the 60-foot, “secret” Breakwater Falls.
It is early morning. In the dark dawning of twilight, there is no color yet, only the beginning of shapes in shades of grey. Still snuggly tucked in my winter sleeping bag under a simple low tarp, ice has formed on the overhang of my tarp and on the ground around me. It is early spring. For months the river has been blanketed below ice, but now, ahead, lies my version of opening day. I am wide awake, waiting for the return of light, anxious for all that it will bring. After months below seemingly solid ice, I have come to the riverbank to see the surfacing, that moment of magical transformation of solid ice into flowing water – the return of river.
I love rivers! I love how uniquely rivers express their version of being self-willed, of being wild. Their magic is in the flow. As long as a river remains a river, the flow of water is the river. It is ceaseless. I can look at a map that is 20 years old, 50, 100, 200, 400 years old, and the river has always been there. This is true, but it is also a mirage. A blue line on a map is not a river. Stand still at any point on the river’s bank and watch. The flow of water comes from around the bend, from the future, from somewhere upriver, into the present, and leaves around the next bend, for somewhere else downriver, into the past. Because the essence of a river is its flow, a river becomes a living metaphor for time. It’s a puzzling thing. Fascinating. We sit by rivers and watch them pass by. The flow of a river never starts and never ends. Time does not stop. From morning to night, day to day, season to season, in times of rain and times of drought, we give the river a name, the Pine, the Popple, or the Pike River, it’s always the same name but it’s never the same river. Ever flowing is also ever changing. “No one ever steps in the same river twice” (Heraclitus).
The flowing of water, we call it a river. It is ceaseless. It is also nearly boundless. The last time I was at this very point on the Pine River was two months ago, in January. On the surface, liquid water had changed to solid ice. A blanket of snow covered the ice. Tracks wandered over the surface of the river, as if it were no longer river but land, a treeless path of land through the forest. Under the ice, muffled sounds of moving water could still be heard. The river was still flowing under the treeless path through the forest. In winter we do not see it flowing under the solid ice but we know it does. In summer we see the flow of water in the river, but whether we see it or not, it flows nearly everywhere. It flows through the ground, surfacing as springs, ponds, marshes, and swamps. It flows through animals that drink. The water of the river becomes animal and it moves across the land as animal. It flows up through herb, and shrub, and tree to leaf. The water of the river becomes plant and every green thing, every plant, every fungus, and every lichen, become alive because of the nearly boundless flow of water. All this is the flow of a river. In the flow of water is the magic of rivers. It is ceaseless and boundless. This the source of our fascination with rivers. It is what is special about rivers – that they are able to expand our perception of beauty, of awe, and of connection to animal and plant, to land, to everything above, below, and beyond, and to time, the present, past, and future – this is the fullest meaning of natural and of Wild!
I had hiked in, a mile or so, to the river. There was no real trail, just open forest, bedrock outcrops, and remnant pockets of snow. I know the place well. I had arrived at the river after dark. The warmth of hiking helped to warm my sleeping bag. Then I slept. Now, early, early morning, with one eye open, I peer out not wanting to miss any part of the arrival of light. Sleeping bag still on, I sit up and watch. Upriver is still iced over. Downriver, mostly out of sight, I can hear the sounds of ice pushing against ice. In front of me the river drops over 5-ledges of bedrock. Always beautiful beyond belief, it is a place where the water moves smoothly but swiftly from ledge-drop to ledge-drop with determination and enough energy to crack open the ice cover and send it downriver as large and small floating ice islands. Before me the water is open. It looks dark. It looks heavy and deep – opacity on the move.
Water as invisible vapor constantly rises into the air above all rivers, but this morning, in the cooler air, it condenses into the droplets and becomes visible. As mist, the water of the river floated upon the air. It lies densely in the river valley following its turnings, right and left. Air and river dance as one.
I sit enveloped in the cross-mingling of everything river – as solid land, as animal, as plant, as the mist in air, as time, and now too, as temperature, rising in synch with the coming of sunlight. The river and the warmth mingle. Moods change rapidly from the dark, thick, chilly shades of grey. The rising sun brings red, orange, and warmth. The mist stirs and thins into columns of convection then disappears. The show is over.
The rapid fading of such visible connections leaves me feeling alone until, coming from afar, I see two hooded mergansers swimming upriver. They too are early arrivers to a river’s opening. As divers, floaters, swimmers and flyers, they move easily between what we assume are boundaries. They are river birds returning to the flow of open water. Emerging from my winter sleeping bag, I go to that open water and dip my hands in. I too have returned.
– John Roberts
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post The Wildness of a River is Flow – a wild rivers essay by John Roberts appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/wildness-of-a-river/
Great Lakes Landing Blitz, June 30 – July 13 Original Story: WI DNR Help stop the spread of aquatic invasive plants and animals this July 4th weekend as part of the Great Lakes Landing Blitz, June 30th - July 13th, 2025. Thousands of boaters and anglers will be out enjoying Wisconsin’s waters during the Independence [...]
The post Great Lakes Landing Blitz: Help Stop The Spread Of Aquatic Invasive Species appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2025/06/30/great-lakes-landing-blitz-help-stop-the-spread-of-aquatic-invasive-species/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=great-lakes-landing-blitz-help-stop-the-spread-of-aquatic-invasive-species
This is a part of “A Year in the Wild Kitchen of the Great Lakes,” a series in partnership with expert forager Lisa M. Rose, with the mission of nurturing a deeper connection with the natural world through foraging. To get started with your foraging journey, begin here with our “Framework to Sustainable and Safe Practices.”
As Michigan’s fields burst into berry-laden glory, summer invites us to celebrate nature’s sweet, sun-ripened gifts.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/06/easy-summer-foraging-adventures-the-whole-family-will-remember/
The advice of “Clean-Drain-Dry” isn’t just for BIG boats. Paddlers should clean their canoes and kayaks to prevent the spread of invasive plants and critters too!
Before you paddle this summer, get the decon 101 scoop from our own Climate Resilience Director Ellen Voss.
Thanks to the Rock River Coalition, Inc. for partnering with us on this video.
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post Paddle Responsibly: Clean, Drain, Dry your boat appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/paddle-responsibly/
Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, are responsible for harmful algal blooms. This is because some cyanobacteria can produce toxins that cause adverse health effects for both humans and their pets. While not all blue-green algae produce harmful toxins, those that do can cause rashes, diarrhea, and respiratory problems. Some common toxins produced by [...]
The post Is it safe to swim? Blue-green algae: How to reduce the risks to humans and pets appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2025/06/14/is-it-safe-to-swim-blue-green-algae-and-the-risks-to-humans-and-pets/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-it-safe-to-swim-blue-green-algae-and-the-risks-to-humans-and-pets
2025 Pine River paddlers. Front row: Paul Janda, Paul Woods, Steve Corsi, Nelly the dog. Back row: Lynn and Larry Zibell, Julie Ollmann, Rich Krieg, Tom Moriearty, Katy Golden, Connie Lane, Gregg Riemer
This year, Wisconsin celebrates the 60th anniversary of our Wild Rivers law. On the Pine River, there was another noteworthy anniversary that took place this spring. For fifty years, dedicated paddlers returned to the wild Pine River to experience its wilderness.
On May 10, 1975, the Wisconsin Sierra Club’s recreational wing, called the River Touring Section, launched its first group paddling trip on the Pine River in Northern Wisconsin. The trip was led by Bill Beverly of rural Sheboygan County, one of River Alliance’s founding members. Bill was a passionate advocate for rivers and advised Wisconsin Public Intervenor Tom Dawson on administrative rules for our wild rivers law.
In a 2012 edition of River Alliance of Wisconsin’s newsletter, Bill wrote about his recollections of the journey from State Highway 55 to Chipmunk Rapids. “The first time we tried that section, the water was so low we got only three or four miles in three quarters of a day. After that, we learned to gauge that section of the river by a rock near the Highway 55 bridge – if there’s more than three or four inches of that rock showing, you’d better go somewhere else. That section’s going to be too low to paddle.”
Joining Bill were Larry and Lynn Zibell among the group of about 20 paddlers that joined the outing’s maiden voyage. Since then, dedicated paddlers have returned to the Pine every spring to navigate its rapids and enjoy its pristine scenery.
On May 3, 2025, Larry Zibell led a dozen paddlers on the 50th voyage down the Pine River.
Larry joined the Sierra Club in 1974, and after paddling the Pine River with the River Touring Section in 1975, he knew he wanted to enjoy this river as much as he could.
Before they launched this spring, Larry reflected, “As I drifted this first section of the Pine River in 1975, it was very narrow, very intimate and beautiful. I looked around and asked myself, ‘How am I going to ensure that I can be on this river at least once a year?’ I figured the only way to do that is to lead those trips.”
Larry has now been on this trip in this section of the Pine River 40 of the 50 times the group has paddled together. Others in the group have joined this trip between 5-20 times, and for one paddler this year, it was his very first trip with this group.
Gregg came across the Pine River paddlers in 1993 by accident. He was planning to paddle the Pine alone, including a bike shuttle he wasn’t looking forward to. Instead, he came upon a group of 20 paddlers about to take their 18th annual trip down the river. After vetting Gregg to make sure he was up for this trip, they welcomed him, and he has been paddling and even leading this trip ever since. Gregg joins this trip as often as he can because, “I like it’s pretty and I like the long class 1 and 2 rapids.”
Gregg Reimer has not only participated in this trip 20 times, he has kept track of all of his river days, which total about two years of his life!
Milestones on the Pine have been honored with special logos. Over the years, the images on t-shirts, coffee cups, and bandanas have featured a map of the trip. These have become keepsakes for the paddlers over the years. Bringing a mug from a past milestone trip to drink from around the campfire is a sign of their dedication and commitment to returning to the river.
The Pine River is one of the three initial Wisconsin Wild Rivers that were designated in 1965. The Pike River and Popple River are the other two inaugural rivers. The Totogatic and Brunsweiler were added in 2010.
“I admire these dedicated paddlers who return to the wild Pine River year after year,” said River Alliance Executive Director Allison Werner. “Meeting them on the shore this year reminded me that this river is truly a protected wilderness, and it takes all of us to be vigilant against efforts to encroach on these shores with development, aggressive logging, or dams. What Wisconsin has in our wild rivers is truly special.”
We will help the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center celebrate the 60th anniversary of our wild rivers law on June 28 as we gather in Florence, Wisconsin. The free event at the interpretive center will include educational talks, lunch, and guided tours of area waterfalls.
Find more information and registration on our website.
There’s more to explore. River historian and writer John Roberts created a Facebook page in honor of visiting the Pine, Pike and Popple Rivers, which is full of tributes, photos, memories and testimonials of River Touring Section trips. Peruse the page for a treasure trove of stories about these wild river trips (and some excellent, vintage 90’s fashion!).
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Subscribe to our Word on the Stream email newsletter to receive stories, action alerts and event invitations in your inbox. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post Decades of paddling and protecting Wisconsin’s Wild Rivers appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/50-years-on-the-wild-pine/
Join Fox-Wolf, WI-DNR, and More Partners Statewide To Protect Your Lakes Story Written In Partnership with WI DNR The annual Drain Campaign, June 6th-8th, focuses on the importance for boaters and anglers to always drain their livewells and fish buckets before leaving boat launches and fishing access points. Boat inspectors from Clean Boats, Clean [...]
The post Annual Drain Campaign Returns This Weekend – Reminder to Drain All Water at the Launch appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2025/06/05/annual-drain-campaign-returns-this-weekend/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=annual-drain-campaign-returns-this-weekend
Thanks to a generous donation from Eddyline and Rutabaga Paddlesports, you can win an Eddyline Caribbean 14′ sit-on-top kayak! This boat is a comfortable and practical addition to your summer recreation plans. Proceeds from benefit River Alliance of Wisconsin.
Tickets are $15 each or five for $50. NEW: tickets can now be purchased online with a credit card. See the form below to buy raffle tickets.
The drawing will take place on April 22, 2025 at 10 a.m. at Rutabaga Paddlesports at 2620 Rimrock Road in Madison. You do not have to be present to win.
From the Eddyline website:
The Caribbean 14FS features our redesigned removable Frame Seat (FS) that provides improved support and comfort. The frame seat is equally comfortable while paddling or as your camp chair.
The rear tankwell has been redesigned to maximize storage capacity and also has an additional stern hatch for added accessibility. The forward tankwell hatch behind the seat has been redesigned to better accommodate internal gear storage. The large front hatch allows for more storage options.
The Caribbean 14FS is highly stable and lightweight with an efficient hull that provides exceptional tracking, stability, and paddling efficiency.
The handles are balanced for easy transport and double up as one-handed paddle parks. The cockpit features adjustable foot braces and dual accessory tracks on the gunwales for mounting any type of gear that you want.
The Caribbean 14FS now comes standard with 2 flush mount rod holders positioned behind the seat and a 6″ accessory track on the center spine in the footwell area.
Length: 14′ / 427 cm Width/Beam: 29″ / 74 cm Weight: 50 lbs / 22.5 kg Weight Capacity: 350 lbs / 158 kg
Hatches: 3 Paddler Size: M/L
The post Win this boat: Eddyline Caribbean 14′ kayak appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/eddyline-boat-raffle/
No Matter the Time of Year, AIS Prevention Helps Your Waters Original Story: WI DNR The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and partners ask anglers to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species while fishing this winter. Even in harsh winter conditions, anglers can help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species [...]
The post Battle on Bago & Beyond – Protect Your Waters from Invasive Species appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2025/02/14/battle-on-bago-beyond-protect-your-waters-from-invasive-species/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=battle-on-bago-beyond-protect-your-waters-from-invasive-species
By Donté Smith Capital News Service With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting “warmer-than-average” temperatures for parts of the Great Lakes, Michigan’s winter festivals from Metro Detroit to the Western Upper Peninsula are preparing to adapt. Many, such as Detroit’s Noel Night, Grand Haven’s Winterfest, the Magical Christmas Parade in Zeeland and Holland’s Winter […]
The post Michigan’s winter festivals adapt as warmer winters test traditions first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/11/14/michigans-winter-festivals-adapt-as-warmer-winters-test-traditions/
By Eric Freedman Capital News Service Michigan boasts thousands of miles of trails for snowmobilers, hikers, off-road vehicle operators, dog-walkers, bicyclists, snowshoers and horseback riders, but the Department of Natural Resources needs to improve how it monitors them. That’s the conclusion of the state Auditor General’s Office, which said DNR fell short in monitoring and […]
The post Audit: Michigan must do better monitoring recreational trails first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/11/13/audit-michigan-must-do-better-monitoring-recreational-trails/
By Gabrielle Nelson Electric bicycle use is expanding, welcoming a new group of riders to the cycling community. But under current Michigan state park policies, the bikes are banned from many trails. That could soon change. The Department of Natural Resources has proposed a yearlong pilot program that would open 3,000 miles of trails to […]
The post Michigan officials mull more access for e-bikes on state trails first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/07/19/michigan-officials-mull-more-access-for-e-bikes-on-state-trails/
The most exciting part about removing a dam in a small Michigan city isn’t the demolition, but what comes after.
The Huron River Watershed Council recently estimated the 148-year-old dam In Ypsilanti could come down in 2025 or 2026.
The post Michigan dam removal could improve environment, recreation and storm protection first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/15/michigan-dam-removal-could-improve-environment-recreation-and-storm-protection/
“Place both feet on the ground and take a moment to breathe,” said Malaika Hart Gilpin, executive director of One Art Community Center. “Give ourselves a moment to feel a connection with Mama Earth.”
Chairs and floor slightly vibrate in response. After a short meditation, the reporters attending a recent Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia open their eyes.
The post Reporting on local food systems first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/04/26/reporting-on-local-food-systems/
We would like to think that Beth Fuller returned to Wisconsin simply to be one of River Alliance’s most enthusiastic volunteers. Truthfully, it was Wisconsin’s water, the beauty of the Northwoods, and delightful change of seasons that brought her home from California.
From ice skating on Lake Winnebago as a kid, to a fateful trip down the Stanislaus River, Beth’s life became more and more entwined with water as she navigated 25 years in the outdoor recreation gear industry.
Fox Valley childhood
Beth grew up in Neenah and Menasha where paper was the beating heart of the Fox Valley.
“We were all a kind of a big community whose livelihood came from that industry,” she remembers. “From founders of large companies like Kimberly-Clark to people who worked for smaller companies like Banta Publishing.”
The paper industry anchored the community, but she remembers how the influence of those businesses echoed throughout everyone’s lives. The strong industry supported local needs like having good schools.
“I remember having great teachers for Western Civilization, to chemistry, to our Thespian advisor. Many who received state and national awards. We could attract and pay really good teachers. It was quite the opportunity.”
Lake Winnebago afforded a lot of opportunity to engage in water related activities while she was growing up, from sailing to canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. Though she most loved to ice skate on Lake Winnebago in the winter, recreation on the local water had its limits.
“We had parks along the lake and you could swim in the lake, but not the river,” she said. “It was pretty polluted. I remember seeing white foam on the river. It was pollution from the paper mills. The management might not have thought about it affecting the environment at the time. But I look back and have visions of that foam. It was pretty gross.”
The Fox River has always been important to the Neenah and Menasha community traditions. After significant efforts to clean up and dredge the Fox River, there is now an abundance of recreational opportunities on the Fox.
Beth remembers attending the Venetian Festival on the 4th of July where local students were dubbed queens with their courts, and big sailboats were lit up and paraded before the fireworks. The Neenah-Menasha CommunityFest and Parade of Lights continues today.
“The whole community would come out for that,” she remembers. “Returning there and seeing the river in the condition it’s in now, you can see waterfront parks, walking paths, and boat clubs. It’s gorgeous. People are coming back to the river.”
How a bandana became a business
Except for a Girl Scout trip, Beth had never really gone camping. It wasn’t until the 80s when she literally dove in.
“I went on my first raft trip with my husband, Dale, and some people from his law firm. We did the Stanislaus River, which no longer exists because it has been dammed. But we did this river and the four of us dumped out of the boat, I swam two rapids, and we camped at night. Shortly after that, we got involved with the river protection group, Friends of the River, mainly to try to stop the dam.”
Excited to do more river trips, she and her husband bought their own rafts and explored other places. The American River became a favorite destination which sparked a creative project.
“We had the idea of making bandanas with a map of the river on them,” Beth said. “I had no art skills, but I worked with a screen printer and their art department. Using USGS information, we made and sold the bandanas. Then we made t-shirts. They caught the eye of major retailers.”
As she worked to sell bandanas and t-shirts, she came into contact with people who wrote river guide books. The small publishers asked her to help get books into the shops that sold her products.
“That’s how we became a book distributor. Eventually we would get to know manufacturers and start to rep their products. We’d rep gear, dry bags, dry boxes, wet suits, and sandals to paddlesports stores and the small places along the rivers that would sell our books and bandanas. We distributed products mostly in western states, and it just kept growing for 25 years.”
The outdoor recreation gear industry may have appeared to be male-dominated, but Beth says she didn’t think about it much at the time.
“I’m more conscious today about women in these roles, but I was raised to be whatever I wanted to be,” she said. “What I saw were paddlesports stores that were typically owned by a couple where the lead owner was recognized as the man, but truthfully the shop was run by a really smart woman.”
“In 1989 an organization called Western River Guides elected a woman president. I asked a gentleman I knew what he thought about that and he said it’s about time since women have been running this industry for so long. He was right. Canoe magazine was owned by a woman. Mad River Canoe was owned by a woman. I heard about lots of success stories of women who cracked the glass ceiling in that business.”
Returning to Wisconsin
Beth went to college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before she moved to California. Through the years, she says she always had a nagging feeling that she wanted to come back to Wisconsin. After her husband died, that feeling got stronger. Finally her friends told her to make the move.
“What drew me back were the seasons and the snow that feeds our rivers,” she said. “I’m a big Badger fan and I love the UW athletics. But I also love fish fries, cheese, supper clubs, and all those Wisconsin traditions. I really wanted to get back to the beautiful Northwoods with their abundant lakes, streams and outdoor life.”
In 2018, she attended a film screening at Fontana Sports that was hosted by River Alliance of Wisconsin. She knew then that she wanted to get involved with the statewide group that was so passionate about restoring and protecting Wisconsin’s water.
“That’s the other thing that brought me back to Wisconsin. The people here are passionate about their state. They have a love for Wisconsin and I do too.”
Community Shares of Wisconsin recognition for Beth Fuller’s River Alliance volunteerism
In March, Beth was recognized as a Community Shares of Wisconsin Backyard Hero. She was featured on the Community Shares of Wisconsin website and newsletter, Isthmus’ website and newsletter, 105.5 Radio announcements, and Madison Commons online news. She will also be recognized at the Community Shares Change-Maker Awards Celebration this fall.
– Stacy Harbaugh, Communications Director
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post How Beth Fuller turned a bandana into an outdoor rec business appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/beth-fuller-dane-county/
Precision agriculture technology has been evolving over the past decades, and farming has become more productive and efficient with the further implementation of artificial intelligence.
A 2023 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found only 27% of farms and ranches nationally used such precision agriculture practices, but the rate was around 40% in Michigan.
The post High tech, AI, boost farm productivity, earnings first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/03/19/high-tech-ai-boost-farm-productivity-earnings/
When even the slightest amount of mercury enters a fish’s body, it can begin a long cycle that ends in disaster for aquatic wildlife and health concerns for humans, experts say.
That’s because mercury, an element often produced as a byproduct of mining and fossil fuel production, never breaks down or leaves an organism’s body.
The post Michigan hasn’t updated list of dangerous toxins in nearly 20 years. That might change first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/03/12/michigan-hasnt-updated-list-of-dangerous-toxins-in-nearly-20-years-that-might-change/
As the winter progresses, food banks and other nonprofit organizations continue to tackle the increasing demand to alleviate hunger in Michigan.
One in nine people in the state faced hunger as of 2021, requiring $696 million more per year to meet their food needs
The post Food banks face crunch as demand rises first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/02/12/food-banks-face-crunch-as-demand-rises/
The founder of a company that uses drones to recover deer carcasses that hunters cannot find says that Michigan’s prohibition of the practice violates his First Amendment rights.
The suit questions one of the core principles of hunting and fishing in the United States, some experts say.
The post Lawsuit could complicate drone laws for Michigan hunters and anglers. first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/01/09/lawsuit-could-complicate-drone-laws-for-michigan-hunters-and-anglers/
For outdoor recreation enthusiasts, the colder weather heralds the arrival of snow sports.
One of the more popular winter recreation sports is skiing, with over 2 million skiers visiting Michigan slopes every year, according to Pure Michigan, the state’s tourism and information agency.
The post Michigan snowsports organization promotes outdoor recreation first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/20/michigan-snowsports-organization-promotes-outdoor-recreation/
Guinness World Records recently announced that the world’s new hottest pepper is a veggie known as Pepper X, grown by Puckerbutt Pepper Co. of Fort Mill, South Carolina.
But Ryan Karcher, a veteran pepper grower from Howell, Michigan, is contesting Pepper X’s spice and flavor with his own pepper. It will be featured in a January 22 television show called Superhot: The Spicy World of Pepper People.
The post Pepper wars: Michigan grower disputes Pepper X’s record for world’s hottest pepper; says his may be hotter first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/14/pepper-wars-michigan-grower-disputes-pepper-xs-record-for-worlds-hottest-pepper-says-his-may-be-hotter/
Residents of three agricultural counties in the Thumb have a disproportionately high rate of colorectal cancer, including a higher death rate from the disease, according to a new study.
Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
The post Thumb counties hit by high colorectal cancer rates first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/11/30/thumb-counties-hit-by-high-colorectal-cancer-rates/
The world of collegiate sports is ever-growing as new sports come into the spotlight, but one is emerging that might be a surprise – bass fishing.
“We just have all kinds of sports that are maybe off the beaten path, but have a strong following,” he said.
The post Small college uses niche sport to boost enrollment first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/10/19/small-college-uses-niche-sport-to-boost-enrollment/
Visiting the Horticulture Gardens means stepping into a different world.
The post Nature can nurture: MSU gardens help heal students first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/06/14/nature-can-nurture-msu-gardens-help-heal-students/
The heaviest thing that he has found is a full-sized safe in the Rouge River in Delray, Michigan, taking seven people with magnets and hooks to pull it out.
The post Michigan’s Magnet Man attracts river trash first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/03/09/michigans-magnet-man-attracts-river-trash/
People need access to nature, and they need access within reaching distance of their homes, whether it's a walk or a bike because that helps with mental health and connection to community.
The post Greenspace starts with grassroots first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/02/17/greenspace-starts-with-grassroots-2/
Improving green space equity means increasing the amount and accessibility of green spaces, especially in areas otherwise lacking them.
The post Greenspace starts with grassroots first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/02/15/greenspace-starts-with-grassroots/
The program offers free seven-day entry passes for state parks. The passes can be checked out from participating local libraries and eliminate the cost associated with entering state parks.
The post Free library program increases access to Minnesota state parks first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/02/14/free-library-program-increases-access-to-minnesota-state-parks/
Cities like Detroit and Flint are moving to provide more recreation facilities available to the public.
The post Outdoor equity heading in the right direction first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/02/13/outdoor-equity-heading-in-the-right-direction/
Editor’s Note: Look for coverage of Great Lakes recreation and adventure in this new monthly feature. The author, Ian Solomon, founded Amplify Outside, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing access and representation by Black people in the outdoors, starting in the Great Lakes region. Find more about him HERE.
As the age old saying goes, “you never know what you have until it’s gone.” And while winter is technically here, the season we knew as children seems long gone.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/ian-outside-winning-winter/
In addition, the pandemic sparked individual decisions to spend more time outside.
The post National park attendance, student activities, reflect outdoor habits adopted in the pandemic first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/01/24/national-park-attendance-student-activities-reflect-outdoor-habits-adopted-in-the-pandemic/
As noted in the nomination, the lighthouse represents four areas of significance: its maritime history, architecture, engineering and transportation.
The post Wisconsin lighthouse added to the National Register of Historic Places first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/01/12/wisconsin-lighthouse-added-to-the-national-register-of-historic-places/
Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but I couldn’t have felt farther from the Great ones.
The post The Great Lakes live in my soul first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/12/30/the-great-lakes-live-in-my-soul/
On Christmas Eve, up to 20-foot waves are expected on all five of the Great Lakes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns of high winds, big waves and freezing spray across all coastlines.
The post Joyous Noel: Great Lakes’ great waves give surfers a gift first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/12/23/joyous-noel-great-lakes-great-waves-give-surfers-a-gift/
Going back home is so much more than reuniting with my family – it’s reuniting with the environment I grew up in.
The post Commentary: Walking through change first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/12/21/commentary-walking-through-change/
Rock climbing might be a new tool for conserving the public land that bolsters Michigan’s annual $20 billion tourism industry. The sport is gaining traction as outdoor enthusiasts look to experience nature differently, especially after indoor climbing gyms closed during the pandemic.
The post A growing fad in the “flat” Midwest: Rock climbing. first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/11/21/a-growing-fad-in-the-flat-midwest-rock-climbing/
The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been accepted into the International Dark-Sky Association, the third dark sky park in the state. Such areas are becoming more popular in the United States as people become more interested in ecotourism experiences.
The post Northern Michigan resort promotes dark skies first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/11/18/northern-michigan-resort-promotes-dark-skies/
The National Park Foundation has given $1.7 million to 41 nonprofits across the country, including in the Great Lake Basin states, to help parks meet their current needs and become stronger and more resilient in the future.
The post National Park Foundation boosts North Country Trail hikers, Minnesota students first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/10/24/national-park-foundation-boosts-north-country-trail-hikers-minnesota-students/
Located on a strip of land that separates two of Michigan’s largest lakes, Elk and Torch, Maplehurst Natural Area is an unexpected delight to anybody who stumbles across it. The former summer camp is now a protected area of land thanks to a collaboration between Milton Township and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.
The post Camp Maplehurst’s enduring legacy first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/09/30/camp-maplehursts-enduring-legacy/
Two Great Lakes cities are among “The World’s 50 Greatest Places of 2022” as compiled by Time magazine.
Detroit and Toronto made the list along with destinations on all the continents and in outer space. The magazine said the list came from its “international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those (destinations) offering new and exciting experiences.”
What puts these key Great Lakes cities in such company?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/detroit-toronto-time-50-greatest-places/
By Harm Venhuizen, Associated Press/Report for America
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled June 30 that a conservation group couldn’t challenge an agency’s decision to sell state park land for the construction of a high-end golf course along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Opponents said the ruling will make it much harder for the public to challenge decisions of state agencies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/ap-wisconsin-court-kohler-golf-course/
Starting this year, hunters in Michigan will have to report their deer harvest online. Wildlife officials presented the plan to the state Natural Resources Commission and said online reporting will provide more accurate information about what kinds of deer are being taken and provide it more quickly.
The post Deer kill count moves online first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/06/07/deer-kill-count-moves-online/
Academic research increasingly documents how interaction with green space has a positive impact on mental health. But not everybody has access to quality green space.
The post Commentary: A green outlook on mental health is a privilege not all can access first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/11/commentary-a-green-outlook-on-mental-health-is-a-privilege-not-all-can-access/
There are debates on social media about the harm of disclosing favorite hiking locations: Does sharing favorite locations on social media cause more harm than good? Turns out, there's a lot to consider.
The post Commentary: Does social media threaten our special places? first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/04/28/commentary-does-social-media-threaten-our-special-places/
Suburban ponds are experiencing ecosystem changes due to fertilizers, lawn treatments, and human waste and population. Climate change could also play a role.
The post Commentary: Suburban ponds threaten dog walkers and water quality first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/04/26/commentary-suburban-ponds-threaten-dog-walkers-and-water-quality/
