W. J. McCabe Chapter
Defenders of soil, air, woods, water and wildlife
Our next monthly program will be a talk by retired UMD geology professor Dr. John Green, a renowned local expert. He will be speaking about the geology of the Superior Hiking Trail.
John and his wife Jan are long-time members of our chapter. Join us as John shares his extensive knowledge and firsthand experience about Minnesota's most famous hiking trail.
November 2nd at The West Theater, 319 N Central Avenue, Duluth
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show starts at 7:30 pm
This is a multi-media concert celebrating the legacy of Sigurd Olson, one of America's greatest conservationists of the 20th century. The show features writings of Olson put to music by Warren Nelson and back-dropped by projected photos of Olson and his beloved canoe country wilderness. See https://thewesttheatre.com/calendar/song-for-the-wild/ for more details.
We are hosting the Song for the Wild concert in association with American Heritage Productions.
Seating is limited to 250 seats available, so don't delay in ordering tickets.
Climate Change and Minnesota's Forests
A report prepared for the Minnesota Forest Resources Council by the Research Advisory Committee
September 16, 2020
Climate_Change_and_Minnesota's_Forests_2020.pdfCarbon_in Minnesota_10_June_2022_tcm1162-531123.pdfCarbon in Minnesota’s Forests: Current Status and Future Opportunities
A report prepared for the Minnesota Forest Resources Council
June 10, 2022
The Izaak Walton League's Upper Mississippi River Initiative (UMRI)
The Upper Mississippi River Initiative (UMRI) is a collaborative, grassroots effort to listen and learn from each other and pursue actions to improve water quality.
The Izaak Walton League’s Upper Mississippi River Initiative
6601 Auto Club Road, Bloomington, MN 55438
Email: umri.info@gmail.com Phone: (651) 221-0215
Summary
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was among the first landscapes protected under the 1964 Federal Wilderness Act and played a key role in the development of the field of fire ecology through the foundational work of Miron “Bud” Heinselman. Heinselman applied the concept of a shifting forest mosaic created by large, high-severity fires that fundamentally shaped understanding of northern forest fire regimes and successional dynamics. A new 500-year record of tree-ring-based fire history, contextualized with historical, archaeological, and traditional ecological knowledge, adds nuance to the work of Heinselman by describing a surface fire component to the BWCAW fire regime. Patterns of fire activity, fire–climate relationships, and forest development indicate Indigenous Fire Stewardship increased rates of local surface fire and influenced forest development. Ironically, the open grown stands of red pine that played an important role in justifying wilderness designation were likely the product of an anthropogenic fire regime and will diminish in the absence of human-augmented ignition frequencies in the future. Our findings highlight tension within the notion of wilderness as “untrammeled” and identify an opportunity for co-management among federal and tribal groups to re-engage with traditional cultural practices to maintain the wilderness character of the BWCAW.
Fires past and fires future in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
A presentation on February 22, 2022 for the Minnesota Izaak Walton League.
Co-Presenters:
Evan R. Larson: Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. larsonev@uwplatt.edu
Kurt Kipfmueller: Asc. Professor of Geography, Environment & Society at the Univ. of Minnesota. kurt@umn.edu
Lane Johnson: Research Forester with the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center. lbj@umn.edu
Izaak Walton League - A Century of Conservation Leadership
Over the past 100 years, the Izaak Walton League of America has been an extraordinary champion and defender of the nation's soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife. In this short video, learn about our history of conservation leadership and how you can join us in our second century of success.
Check out the new billboard put up by Prove It First Coalition. It's on I-35 heading south from Hinckley.
Prove It First Coalition seeks commonsense protection for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Lake Superior.
is a multi-use waterway enabling the public to experience the St. Louis River Estuary amidst the urban landscape of the Twin Ports. The SLRE National Water Trail map includes 11 routes for paddlers of all skill levels and abilities and is intended for various watercraft use. By providing access to wild space in an urban area, the National Water Trail enables more people an opportunity to build their own memories and relationships to the St. Louis River.
Ike's Concerns Re: Excessive Timber Harvest on Wildlife Management Areas
The Izaak Walton League is very concerned that the management of our Minnesota State Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) is now driven more by financial considerations than sound biological/ecological science that protects the broad spectrum of wildlife distributed across Minnesota.
Check out our discussion Here.
The W.J. McCabe Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is a grassroots environmental organization that has worked for decades to protect the natural resources of Duluth and greater Minnesota.
The Izaak Walton League was founded in 1922 to conserve outdoor America for future generations, and remains one of the nation's oldest and most respected conservation organizations.
The League's 54 founders, who were avid anglers, named the organization after Izaak Walton, the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler, a classic book about the art and spirit of fishing. We are one of the earliest conservation organizations to set an aggressive course to defend wild America by changing public policy. Almost every major, successful conservation program that America has in place today can be traced directly to a League activity or initiative.
You can join us in protecting America's outdoors by becoming a member. You will help to support the important conservation and advocacy work of the League and receive additional member benefits.
Minnesota Birding Update - Here is a link to a bunch of information and beautiful pictures on winter birding opportunities provided by Explore Minnesota:
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNEXPLORE/bulletins/2ad5952.
Sparky Stensaas
218-341-3350 thesparkygroup@gmail.comIzaak Walton League Member Pledge
To strive for the purity of water, the clarity of air, and the wise stewardship of the land and its resources; to know the beauty and understanding of nature and the value of wildlife, woodlands, and open space; to the preservation of this heritage and to man's sharing in it.
I pledge myself as a member of the Izaak Walton League of America.
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." Teddy Roosevelt