Saltwater Arrivals: Looking through the Vessel Finder website, it appears that the Federal Biscay may be the Twin Ports' first incoming saltie. Its current estimated time of arrival appears to be 4 p.m. Sunday (though this is a very early estimate). This morning the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was just entering Lake St. Clair, that "pretty good lake" that's part of the Great Lakes waterway between Lakes Erie and Huron. The vessel frequently visits this region on grain runs.This photo is from the Duluth Harbor cam video showing its 2018 arrival in August. The first saltie that visited the Port of Thunder Bay on April 4 was also a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel – the Federal Cedar – a sister ship to the Biscay.
Climate Not-Too-Hot Spot: Trending on CNN's headline page this week was a story titled "This Midwest city is becoming a safe haven for climate refugees," and that city is none other than Duluth. Duluth has gotten national attention recently as being in a region projected to be more resilient within the changing climate. The reporting by John Sutter is interesting because he interviews a researcher at Tulane University who names Duluth as a good refuge, a "climate refugee" who resettled here after fleeing California wildfires as well as Mayor Emily Larson and Karen Diver, former chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, who cautions that "new colonization" can adversely affect the indigenous people and the environment. "You can't stop individuals from doing it," Karen says, "but you can plan for it." Mayor Emily Larson says people choosing to relocate based on changing climate conditions is "much more common now. It feels really sad to me that we are at a place and a stage that people are actually considering abandoning the history of who they've been, of who their family has been of where they've lived and actually choosing to leave that and at the same time, if that means that people can find and build that narrative here for themselves in Duluth, it's an extraordinary place and we do want to be that for people."
Wolf Angler: The Voyageur Wolf Project has a couple of videos worth checking out. One is a wolf's-angle view of, well, angling … which is to say catching suckers in a river. The video came from May 2020 when Wolf VO89, seen here, was released with a collar camera. The short video shows the wolf catching a white sucker in the Ash River (though it's a little hard to see through the wolf "beard"). Gary Rinne of tbnewswatch.com interviewed some of the project researchers. Another great video posted by the project on its Facebook page shows wolves chasing a black bear away from their den where shortly after a tiny pup head pops up on the right of the video. The confrontation is over in a blurry flash, but makes you proud of such fierce parents.
Spring Pitchers: The Minnesota DNR sent out its monthly Trailblazer newsletter, this month feature Native Roots. It shows off the blossoms to expect in the coming months for each of four bionomes, including our region's coniferous forests. For May to August, it offers up the bug-eating pitcher plants. "Leaves form a pitcher-like tube with short, downward-pointing hairs at the top. At the bottom of the 'pitcher,' there's a pool with rainwater and insect-dissolving chemicals. Grows in bogs, where the soil is not very rich in nutrients that plants need to thrive. Instead, this and other carnivorous plants obtain their nutrients from insects." This picture of the pitcher comes from northern Minnesota, taken by Joanna Gilkeson of the U.S. Forest & Wildlife Service.
Storied Picture: A photo by Ivy Vainio, who is on the staff of the American Indian Community Housing Organization in Duluth, got special recognition last month. It earned the People's Choice Award in the Minnesota Indigenous Business Association's Artist Showcase, themed "Sap is Running: Life is Stirring." Says Ivy of the image: "I submitted my photograph 'Sharing Stories' and it depicts my husband Arne Vainio (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe tribal member) and the late Jim Northrup (Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe tribal member), who was an author, playwright and my father figure. It was taken at Jim’s last sugar bush before he died. Jim was sharing stories with us as he always did about his time in Vietnam, family stories, and such around the boiling maple sap that he and his family collected. With the call of action, viewers were able to vote for their favorite image depicting “Sap is Running.” Mine was chosen and I feel honored. After a year of not taking photographs due to the pandemic, it was nice to receive some added love for my art form. My photograph will be on the cover of MNIBA’s next artist catalogue and I also will be receiving a gift for my first place placement. I am thankful to MNIBA for their support of Indigenous artists."
Farewell, Captain: A familiar figure for those in Bayfield or visitors on Superior Charters recently died. Capt. David Haynes Skoro died April 3 after a short illness in Minneapolis. After his retirement, Captain Dave was deemed "Captain Emeritus" at Superior Charters in Bayfield, where he had worked as captain and teacher for 25 years. During his lifetime, he mastered everything from mechanical tinkering, photography, printmaking, use of typography, to outstanding skills as a sailor and teacher. According to his obituary, he reached the official pinnacle of his seamanship by acquiring the USCG 100-Ton Master's License. "People who knew Dave remember him as helping whenever he could, never a bad word to others and giving his sage advice. Dave was a great storyteller and wanted the best for everyone." Memorials may be sent to The Bayfield Area Food Pantry.
A Guardian on the Way: The U.S. EPA recently announced that its Lake Guardian research vessel has set sail for the season after a year of lockdown due to COVID. "Eleven scientists supported by a 15-member crew will live and work aboard the ship this month," the announcement noted. The Guardian's usual annual data-gathering spots, including those on Lake Superior, are noted on this map. "During these surveys, water, plankton and benthos samples are taken at designated stations throughout each lake. These monitoring surveys have been ongoing in the lakes since 1983, resulting in an exceptional long-term monitoring dataset for evaluating the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem through time." The Guardian is 180 feet long and can berth up to 41 people.
Photo & graphic credits: DuluthHarborCam.com; CNN; Voyageur Wolf Project; Joanna Gilkeson / U.S. Forest & Wildlife Service; Ivy Vainio; Superior Charters; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency