Explore the Northern Wilds
It’s pretty hard to have a bad visit to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), but every year I hear stories of people who managed to do just that.
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Fresh fish never tastes better than it does at this time of year, which is reason enough to try ice-fishing. Coming from cold water, all species are at their prime in terms of both freshness and flavor. The fish you catch are about the freshest food available in midwinter.
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Ethanol May Cause Boat Fuel Problems
Recreational boaters in most parts of the country have been introduced to gasoline containing higher concentrations of ethanol, a corn-based additive that replaced a known carcinogen, MTBE. The new fuel, dubbed "E-10" for its 10 percent ethanol content, unfortunately has the ability to attract greater amounts of water and "phase separate," or form two separate solutions in the gas tank, usually over a long period of time. Once this happens, the engine won't run and internal damage could occur.
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Recreational boaters in most parts of the country have been introduced to gasoline containing higher concentrations of ethanol, a corn-based additive that replaced a known carcinogen, MTBE. The new fuel, dubbed "E-10" for its 10 percent ethanol content, unfortunately has the ability to attract greater amounts of water and "phase separate," or form two separate solutions in the gas tank, usually over a long period of time. Once this happens, the engine won't run and internal damage could occur.
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If a Lake Superior Kamloops rainbow trout could talk, it still might not care to reveal what Minnesota Sea Grant-funded graduate student Ben Thwaits has painstakingly discovered: the smell of certain compounds found in fish excrement help adults of this strain of migratory trout find their way home.
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Keep Homes Safe During Heating Season
Clean fireplaces and chimneys annually to prevent fires during winter. Furnaces and other heating equipment are the number one cause of home fires in the U.S. So safety should be top priority when heating your home or cabin.
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Clean fireplaces and chimneys annually to prevent fires during winter. Furnaces and other heating equipment are the number one cause of home fires in the U.S. So safety should be top priority when heating your home or cabin.
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Cold and stormy Lake Superior is a legendary graveyard for vessels large and small, but the 1975 wreck of the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald is the best known, perhaps due to the popular song by Gordon Lightfoot. All 29 men onboard were lost when the ship went down in the heavy seas of a November storm.
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Why Leave No Trace?
If you want to feel awestruck, step outside on a clear, cold winter’s night in the Northern Wilds and look up. Behold a glorious multitude of stars set in a sky that’s as black as the one somebody had in mind when the phrase "black as night" was first spoken. It’s enough to make anyone think deep thoughts: maybe about ones’ place in the universe. Maybe about how much it means to you to be breathing crystal clear air in a place free of light pollution. Maybe you’ll ask yourself whether your children will have the same experience.
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If you want to feel awestruck, step outside on a clear, cold winter’s night in the Northern Wilds and look up. Behold a glorious multitude of stars set in a sky that’s as black as the one somebody had in mind when the phrase "black as night" was first spoken. It’s enough to make anyone think deep thoughts: maybe about ones’ place in the universe. Maybe about how much it means to you to be breathing crystal clear air in a place free of light pollution. Maybe you’ll ask yourself whether your children will have the same experience.
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In recent months, Mel Winter, 76, of Minneota has had quite the ride. Diagnosed with lung cancer in July, he was given one month to live and started chemotherapy treatments. Then he received the notice that he’d been drawn for his once-in-a-lifetime Minnesota moose hunting permit.
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At Korkki, old-fashioned, informal ski culture remains the focus of its philosophy. The trails still are narrow single-tracks, the workers all volunteer their help and skiers donate money to use the trails.
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The North Shore’s Wild Whitewater
When the rivers break free of winter’s icy embrace, it’s time for the spring migration of whitewater kayakers. During April and May, advanced whitewater kayakers travel from all over the country to be baptized in the roaring cascades of North Shore rivers.
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When the rivers break free of winter’s icy embrace, it’s time for the spring migration of whitewater kayakers. During April and May, advanced whitewater kayakers travel from all over the country to be baptized in the roaring cascades of North Shore rivers.
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Next time, please muzzle the eggheads
Driving to St. Cloud on the outmoded and dangerous State Highway 23 to attend the DNR Roundtable, I mused how it was unlikely that anything of consequence would occur at the annual event. All aspects of Minnesota¹s infrastructure and services are in a long-term decline that has accelerated in recent years like a toboggan plummeting down an ever-steeper hill. Two days of ³citizen input² was unlikely to bring trigger significant change.
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Driving to St. Cloud on the outmoded and dangerous State Highway 23 to attend the DNR Roundtable, I mused how it was unlikely that anything of consequence would occur at the annual event. All aspects of Minnesota¹s infrastructure and services are in a long-term decline that has accelerated in recent years like a toboggan plummeting down an ever-steeper hill. Two days of ³citizen input² was unlikely to bring trigger significant change.
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Local scientists and organizations are working to solve an economic and environmental dilemma: steel pilings in North Shore harbors corroding as quickly as they would in saltwater.
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Northern Wilds recently received a phone call from Bart Smith, the man featured in our last issue who is hiking all of the National Scenic Trails. He passed through Grand Marais last summer as he hiked the Superior Hiking Trail, which will soon be part of the national North Country Trail. At the time, some local trails were closed due to fire danger, so Bart had to return in the fall to complete his Minnesota hike.
When he returned, he hiked the Border Route Trail and Kekekabic Trail. He called to ask Northern Wilds to warn other hikers that both trails were in poor condition and very difficult to follow.
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Effects of Climate Change on Forests
Research at the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center began fifty years ago, initiated by the husband-and-wife team of Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren. Now the work the Ahlgrens began promises to yield insights into how forests respond to climate change.
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Research at the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center began fifty years ago, initiated by the husband-and-wife team of Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren. Now the work the Ahlgrens began promises to yield insights into how forests respond to climate change.
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Lake Superior Bird Survey
The Trout Lake Learning Center has launched the 2007-2008 Bird Survey for the Lake Superior Basin, taking place through March 31. You can learn more about this project at http://tllc.ca
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The Trout Lake Learning Center has launched the 2007-2008 Bird Survey for the Lake Superior Basin, taking place through March 31. You can learn more about this project at http://tllc.ca
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Superior Radio
Minnesota Sea Grant and KUWS Radio are producing Superior Science News which will air on KUWS (91.3 FM or http://kuws.fm/) on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. every two weeks throughout the winter. Audio files and transcripts will be offered on www.seagrant.umn.edu.
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Minnesota Sea Grant and KUWS Radio are producing Superior Science News which will air on KUWS (91.3 FM or http://kuws.fm/) on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. every two weeks throughout the winter. Audio files and transcripts will be offered on www.seagrant.umn.edu.
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Fewer Folks Outdoors?
Being Minnesotan means hunting, fishing, boating, camping, exploring the great outdoors, right? Well, maybe not so much anymore. Recent surveys conducted by the Minnesota DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service show declines in recreational activities that once defined Minnesotans.
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Being Minnesotan means hunting, fishing, boating, camping, exploring the great outdoors, right? Well, maybe not so much anymore. Recent surveys conducted by the Minnesota DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service show declines in recreational activities that once defined Minnesotans.
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Ironworld Exhibits War Photos
Ironworld presents moving and powerful images of the Vietnam War in a memorial titled Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina January 26 through April 20 This exhibit features 290 images taken by photojournalists who were killed or reported missing while covering the conflict. This is the first time the collection has been exhibited in Minnesota.
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Ironworld presents moving and powerful images of the Vietnam War in a memorial titled Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina January 26 through April 20 This exhibit features 290 images taken by photojournalists who were killed or reported missing while covering the conflict. This is the first time the collection has been exhibited in Minnesota.
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If you surf the nearly endless channels of satellite television, you can tune into some unusual programs. Recently, we watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. Mr. Zimmern travels to far corners of the planet to sample local delicacies. From what we saw on the show, it is fair to say not everyone on this green Earth shares the same palate.
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Ammunition Offers Choices, But Few Are Cheap
Recently, I went to an outdoor “box” store in search of nontoxic shot shells.
What better place to find a wide selection in shotgun ammunition? Several rows
of shells offered such an assortment that it took a few minutes of perusing
just to get a handle on what was available. Still, without an exact brand or
load in mind, I was unable to find just what I was looking for—an affordable,
lethal round for public land pheasants made of a material heavier than steel.
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Recently, I went to an outdoor “box” store in search of nontoxic shot shells.
What better place to find a wide selection in shotgun ammunition? Several rows
of shells offered such an assortment that it took a few minutes of perusing
just to get a handle on what was available. Still, without an exact brand or
load in mind, I was unable to find just what I was looking for—an affordable,
lethal round for public land pheasants made of a material heavier than steel.
more...
