Explore the Northern Wilds
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Kids can go farther than you think, but you have to keep them interested or a fun family hike can turn into a miserable slog. Luckily, the North Shore has day trips with attention-getting views and lots of “wow” per mile. So grab your kids and head for the hills.
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If you have never been to a historical reenactment or powwow, here are a few things to know. You are encouraged to watch and participate in both events. Know your terminology. The elaborate, colorful outfits worn at the powwow are not “costumes,” explains Dana Logan, Grand Portage powwow chair. The outfits are called regalia, and each piece and part has a meaning and a story.
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Dan Ashe was wearing his game face when he met with writers for a roundtable lunch at the recent Utah conference of the Outdoor Writers of America. Cloaked in a shroud of bad news, Ashe, who was recently appointed director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, explained the GOP-controlled House Subcommittee on Interior and Environment Appropriations passed an appropriations bill that not only fiscally hamstrings his agency, but wages financial blitzkrieg on programs and policies intended to protect and restore the nation's fish and wildlife habitat.
Despite its importance to a wide swath of everyday Americans, fish and wildlife conservation is just a flyspeck on the national budget, amounting to less than one percent of federal spending. Nevertheless, the House has slashed fish and wildlife program funding from 60 to 100 percent in the name of deficit reduction. While these cuts will devastate conservation efforts across the United States, they'll do little to address the federal deficit. Ashe contends--and there is plenty of data to back him up--wildlife conservation actually stimulates the economy with spending on recreational activities such as hunting, fishing and wildlife watching.
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Utah's Watsatch Range is known as a skiing mecca, where a winter's accumulation of snow may measure 500 inches or more. With major ski areas conveniently located less than an hour from the Salt Lake City Airport, skiing makes a significant contribution to the economy. But in the spring, when the snow melts, the mountain range makes a vital contribution to the people who live there. The runoff feeds seven creeks that are the water supply for the Salt Lake City metropolitanarea.
Recently, I spent several days attending the Outdoor Writers of America conference at Snowbird Lodge, high up the Little Cottonwod Canyon. Although the massive ski resort is nestled in the valley, protection of the water quality in Little Cottonwod Creek remains a primary concern. For instance, dogs are not allowed in the valley, because--literally--no one wants to drink doggie doo. However, development pressures, largely driven by the recreation industry, threaten the quality of the water supply and the desires of many people who want accessible places where they can escape from the trappings of civilization. Not everyone wants to take a chairlift or ride a snowmobile to reach the mountaintops. What they want is a wilderness experience.
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On June 30, hours before the state government shut down, three Minnesota loggers went before a judge in International Falls to sue the state for breach of contract regarding existing timber sales. The Minnesota DNR had ordered loggers to quit working on state timber sales for the duration of the shutdown. The loggers argued the DNR did not have legal authority to do so, because they'd already bought and paid for the timber under the terms of state contracts. The judge agreed, issuing a temporary restraining order against the state allowing all loggers to continue working on their state sales during the shutdown.
Wayne Brandt, executive director of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association, which worked with the loggers but was not part of the suit, explains that even though state foresters are furloughed during the shutdown and cannot monitor logging sites, sale contracts require loggers to follow forest management guidelines and best management practices intended to protect the environment. Sales will remain open until the shutdown ends and a state forester can visit the site, verify the timber harvest meets the terms of the contract and then "close out" the sale.
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Sometimes, you just know the time is right. Last week, cold, wet weather gave way to a couple of days of sunshine and North Shore streams were running fresh and full. The conditions were prime for brook trout fishing. After munching antibiotics for a week to beat back a nasty sinus infection, I was ready to exercise my casting arm.
Parked beside the bridge of a Cook County creek, I went through the familiar rituals. First, before opening the truck door, I daubed on insect repellant. Getting out, I slid into my chest waders and pulled a favorite five-weight fly rod from its case. Peering at a box of flies, I selected a dark-bodied wet fly with a white wing—potent medicine for midsummer brookies.
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The past decade has brought sweeping changes to the high plains—the Big Empty sweeping westward from the Dakotas to the Rocky Mountains. Energy production has driven much of the change as drilling for gas and oil, and coal mining have been ramped up to meet the nation’s insatiable demand for fuel. Development in the form of roads, pipelines and drilling rigs has become part of a landscape once dominated by sagebrush and grazing cattle.
Recently, energy activity on the high plains has been among the few bright spots in the national economy, attracting workers to small towns ill-prepared for a population surge. The flip side is that some folks are concerned the boom is too much of a good thing. A recent issue of Dakota Country magazine notes North Dakota lacks both the community infrastructure and environmental regulations necessary to address the growth occurring in its western counties.
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Last week, Outdoor News columnist Rob Kimm pointed out that Governor Dayton's recent veto of the Omnibus Game and Fish Bill was an echo of then Governor Pawlenty's veto of the 2010 game and fish bill. As Kimm succinctly explained, "...both vetoed bills share a common and troublesome theme: far-reaching policy changes pushed forward by legislators too often willfully deaf to constituent concerns, and openly contemptuous of recommendations made not only by significant numbers of hunters and anglers, but the state's management professionals as well."
The game and fish omnibus bill is a legislative catch-all for everything related to wildlife, fisheries and related resource management. Always colorful and occasionally controversial, the
omnibus bill may make the news for anything from arcane rules for turtle trapping or mainstream deer hunting regulations. Despite raucous debate, usually when the omnibus bill reaches the Governor's desk it represents the best effort to reach middle ground on contentious issues and respects the scientific tenets of fish and wildlife management.
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Gardening on the North Shore is a perpetual test of endurance. Last weekend, while squadrons of black flies circled around me, I dug through the dirt in our gardens to pull out twine-like quack grass roots and give my seeds and seedlings a headstart on the weeds. This time-consuming task must be completed before we can plant the gardens, though the battle against weeds is never won. Quack grass and black flies endure.
Our growing season is short. We never plant our vegetable gardens before Memorial Day, following the tradition of my father, who gardened for decades in Duluth. In most years, cold soils and the likeliehood of late frost makes earlier planting risky. On the other end of the season, the risk of frost returns after Labor Day. Bugs, weeds and old Jack Frost never deterred Dad. I endure them, too. As with most outdoor activities, physical discomfort and weather-related challenges are just part of the game.
Since I was always enlisted to help pout in Dad’s garden, I am programmed to go fishing in April and May, then trade my fishing rod for a garden tiller for a couple of weeks around Memorial Day. To some of my angling friends, this is nothing short of heresy. So be it. They may get in a few extra days of fishing, but they never have garden-fresh vegetables and greens to serve with their catch. Growing up, the line between fishing and gardening was blurred. Our home and most others had a boat and a big garden in the backyard.
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Imagine nearly 200 volunteers teaming up with the USDA Forest Service to construct new trails and improve existing sections of recreational trails on the Superior National Forest!
That’s exactly what’s happening this June 21 to June 25 in northeast Minnesota. The Boy Scouts of America’s honor society – called the Order of the Arrow – will be bringing approximately 200 Scouts and Adult Scouters to Grand Marais.
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You can only go so far on a couple of chocolate chip cookies. Tossing two cookies in your pocket, skipping breakfast and then hiking and fishing along a remote north country trout stream until 4 p.m. is too far. We contemplated this hungry truth as we wolfed down sandwiches upon returning to the truck after a long, hard fish.
Even if we had eaten breakfast before heading up river that morning, we’d still be as hungry, sweaty and dead-tired as we were now. But starting with breakfast beats nibbling on chocolate chip cookies hands down. Carrying a sandwich is better still.
The trout fishing was good enough to hold your interest. Several hours of daylight remained. Refueled, we were ready to get back on the water. So we climbed into the truck and went exploring.
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Why do crickets chirp? Why do stars die? Why can’t the wind wall of a hurricane be zapped with lasers, disrupting the airflow and degrading these monsters to just simple passing storms?
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The Isis Melbourne Skirt pairs function and classic style. An A-line wrap skirt with a tie on the left hip and flattering vertical and diagonal seaming, it should hit you between knee and mid-calf, depending on your height.
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My favorite feature of the Montrail Mountain Masochist Mid GTX – sturdy yet surprisingly lightweight trail running shoes – was the snug-fitting ankle openings, which kept out every dirt clod and stray pebble.
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What do you do if the woods is so wet even birch bark is difficult to ignite? That’s when you strike the UCO Stormproof Match by Industrial Revolution. Even when soaked with snow, rain or spilled water, these matches easily ignite and then burn for a lengthy 15 seconds.
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Ever want to plant something in your garden, but were unsure if it will grow in our northern climate? This book can help you answer that question for garden perennials. The authors are experienced gardening professionals from the Twin Cities.
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I sniffed around my garden today and was pleasantly surprised. The ground has been unfrozen for a few weeks and I used my soil thermometer to check the temps. 55 degrees. Perfect. Spinach, peas, lettuce, onions and potatoes will germinate just fine.
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Quit your job, sell your house and set out on a yearlong sailing adventure with your two young kids. It might sound crazy, but Mark and Katya Gordon highly recommend it. So do their daughters, Cedar and Lamar. In 2006 the family pared down their lives and fit everything onto a 34-foot sailboat before setting off for Bermuda via the Great Lakes and the Eastern Seaboard.
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Duluth: Park Point Beach House
The Park Point Beach House offers access to miles of soft, sandy beach dunes. This swimming beach has every amenity short of monkey butlers: pavilions with picnic tables, a playground, permanent restrooms, a sand volleyball court, a soccer field, concessions, cook-out grills, trash cans, a lifeguard (during the summer months), lots of parking (including handicapped and “large vehicle” parking), and, of course, the beach house (which can be rented for wedding receptions and other events). Lake Superior stays cold during the summer, so be prepared for an invigorating swim. Cross the Aerial Bridge and keep driving until you reach the beach.
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