What’s new at the Reserve? July 2024 Update
Wisconsin Conservation Corps crew for 2024 tree planting in the St. Louis River Estuary
As we enter the beautiful summer months here in the St. Louis River Estuary, Reserve staff have been hard at work on projects to improve habitat, conduct research, and connect people to the water in countless ways. The office has been fuller than ever before as summer staff join us to provide some extra helping hands. Here are just a few of the things the Reserve has been working on!
In June, a crew from Wisconsin Conservation Corps along with Reserve staff were able to plant 7,500 tree seedlings in the St. Louis River Estuary’s ash wetlands over the course of two weeks. The crew dodged wind and storms, evaded ticks, and had fun while doing it.
This effort is part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a Great Lakes-wide initiative involving 16 federal organizations working to ensure clean, safe water, invasive species control, and protected and sustained native species throughout our shores. This is year two out of three for this tree planting project. To prepare, Reserve staff monitor groundwater levels and seedling plots at all of the planting sites to ensure the trees will thrive.
June 26, 2024 River Walk - Pickle Paddle at Pickle Pond
‘Tis the season to get moving! The Reserve is leading the charge on events like Lake Superior Day (July 21) and a series of River Walks. For the kiddos, the Reserve offers River Rovers - a FREE nature playgroup for children ages 3-7 with a different theme each week. At River Rovers, you can expect caring educators, story time, snacks, outdoor activities, and more. Check out the Reserve’s event page and Facebook for updates on River Rovers’ weekly themes.
A motivated group of summer staff and students are helping the Reserve with a wide variety of projects this summer. Since 2021, the Reserve’s staff has grown from 5 to an anticipated 12 members by late 2024. Meanwhile, 9 seasonal/student staff are serving the lands, waters and people of Wisconsin. This autumn, the Reserve will be welcoming a new FOLSR/Reserve AmeriCorps Community Outreach Coordinator, a Climate Resilience Specialist, and a Margaret A. Davidson Fellow. The Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship provides funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to students in a master’s or Ph.D. program to conduct research on estuaries within the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. The office won’t be cramped … just tight-knit!
A crayfish found by a middle schooler during macroinvertebrate sampling on the St. Louis River
The Reserve education team have been hard at work as always, engaging local communities and classrooms in learning on the estuary! 7th graders from Cloquet Middle got to participate in Rivers2Lake this spring and get knee-deep in the St. Louis River, sampling macroinvertebrates as well as water chemistry. We had heaps of fun teaching them about water quality and organisms affected by pollution, and they seemed to enjoy it too! Check out a news feature here on Fox21 about one of the outings.
Graduate students and staff in the UW-Madison Center for Limnology field course
National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRS) around the country collect tons of water quality data, but staff rarely have time for analysis! Research Coordinator Kait Reinl created a graduate class with UW-Madison Center for Limnology using this data to answer key questions NERRS staff had about sites around the country via student projects. Lake Superior staff coordinated with partners to provide a weeklong field learning experience for the students, grounding their learning and expanding networks. Students came away professionally and personally enriched. Through this, the Reserve team catalyzed relationships between UW-Madison, the Division of Extension, and the NERRS simultaneously, and received some great feedback from students who participated!
There are so many things the Reserve does well that we can’t help but reiterate them - Luciana Ranelli was an invited facilitator for Extension’s Learning Community for Inclusive Organizational Citizenship. Kirsten Rhude sits on the committee working to establish stewardship as a formal program across all 30 NERRS. Karina Heim sits on the NERRS coastal training strategic committee. Director Deanna Erickson was appointed to serve on NOAA's Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Federal Advisory Committee, advising coastal conservation under America the Beautiful, the ambitious effort to conserve 30% of land and water by 2030. Deanna Erickson and Ryan Feldbrugge sit on the NERRS DEIJA working group while Deanna leads the Indigenous Knowledge workgroup, which revised national guiding documents to include the perspectives of Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. Kait Reinl is co-leading a national NERRS water quality synthesis. Hannah Ramage was awarded the 2023 NERRS Technical Service Award, honoring individuals who ensure that monitoring data is high quality and relevant to coastal communities and recognizing superior technical and data management skills.
Listen to Deanna discuss the Reserve and all its awesomeness on The North 103.3 FM here: Community Connection: Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve with Deanna Erickson