Dinosaurs beneath your canoe

By Drew Lockwood

You are paddling a canoe in a shallow river when you see what looks like a large log. As you get closer the log darts away like a torpedo. This was no ordinary log, in fact you saw a sturgeon!

Photo by: American Fisheries Society – UWSP Student Subunit

Last week, I paddled in my kayak with the Center for Conservation Leadership group of high school students from the Chicago area as they canoed the Manitowish River. Like Captain Ahab, suddenly Peter, one of the counselors, yelled STURGEON!! We had come across a Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), holding onto the bottom in shallow flowing water. I paddled as fast as I could to catch up and see it for myself but just barely got a glimpse of the elusive beast darting away.

Sturgeon are incredibly interesting fish. They are living fossils that first appeared nearly 150 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth! With a heterocercal caudal fin (the backbone extends past the base of the tail), and sharp plate like “scutes” on their sides, sturgeon resemble a prehistoric shark. However, sturgeon are classified in the class Actinopterygii (boney fishes), which is the same as common game fish are today. Incredible!
Sturgeon do not spawn every year like typical fish. Females spawn once every 3-6 years and do not reach sexual maturity until they are between 24-26 years old! Males spawn more often, about every 1-2 years and reach maturity around 14-16 years old. Sturgeon are bottom feeders that eat mostly bugs, snails, crayfish, and other invertebrates on the bottom of streams and lakes.  Catching them is much like catfishing, by just casting out a hook with a glob, worm, cheese, or chunk of meat on the bottom. I, personally, have never caught one. However, if I am ever lucky to, it will be a day I will never forget.
So grab a rod and reel, wet a line, and patiently wait, because if a sturgeon finds its way to your hook, you are in for the fight of a lifetime! 

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

by Leah Dittberner

As warmer temperatures confirm the promise of summer, I have been riding my bike to nearby boat landings where I conduct Clean Boats, Clean Waters surveys. The phenomenal new bike path has allowed me get out of the mundane routine of driving. Upon slowing down, I am able to smell the fragrant pines, spy wildflowers off the bike path, and hear birds singing from their far off perches. While I am absolutely delighted to be able to experience this along my commute, I am becoming increasingly aware of one of the tragedies of modern times. As we carry out our fast-paced lives, our impacts on the environment simultaneously occur at a rapid pace.  While we continue to lose plant and animal species across all biomes due to habitat fragmentation, water diversion, climate change, etc, my concern here is for one particularly slow-moving group. Turtles are known to take their time, making roads a dangerous place for our little shelled friends.

Relatives of turtles have been on the planet since the late Triassic Period of the Mesozoic era. Continents have shifted, mountains have formed, and the turtle has witnessed it all. They are remarkable creatures; regulating their own body temperature as cold-blooded creatures do, fully adapted to life within a shell. These are but a few of the reasons that I am troubled upon seeing so many turtles reduced to rubble on the roadside. Turtles have been here far longer than modern man and his automobile, yet we run over these relics of ancient history, these clues to the evolution of life on earth, without thinking twice about that which we are destroying.

Of course, these turtle strikes are unintentional, a product of our fast-paced world dependent on automobiles for transportation.  Regardless, I encourage everyone to remember the message of the popular children’s story. Slow and steady wins the race, and Turtle’s millions of years of life on this planet suggest there might be truth to this fable.

Who knows, cautious driving might even be rewarded with a glimpse like the one pictured below, a reminder of the miracle of life.

A female painted turtle lays her eggs along County Highway K

Did you Know about Mosquitoes?

by,  Anne Kretschmann, North Lakeland Discovery Center

First published in the “Turtle Rock Rag”, Turtle Lakes Chain Association Spring 2014 newsletter

Wisconsin has 56 species of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are in the order Diptera, members of which have 4-stages of development: egg, larvae, pupae, and adults. It takes mosquitoes 10-14 days to go from eggs to adults, so you can expect 1-2 weeks after a rain to get inundated!

Mosquitoes are as diverse as any family with great variability in food preferences, habitat preferences, and breeding areas. There are many species of mosquitoes that never bite people, preferring birds or amphibians instead (believe it or not!)  Only females bite, as they need the proteins in blood to lay their eggs successfully. Male mosquitoes are harmless, sustaining themselves on only nectar, and are distinguished from females by large fuzzy antennas (similar to a male bird’s fancy plumage.) 

Tree-hole Mosquito by Azael Meza

The first three stages of mosquito development are in water. There are some species that are cavity breeders, laying their eggs in the nooks and crannies that hold water in trees. Other species prefer containers such as old tires or boggy areas as breeding sites. Temporary water sources that fill with rain water are generally the source of most mosquitoes with rainfall often triggering a hatch. In some species of mosquitoes, eggs can lay dormant ‘high and dry’ for years, only hatching when water comes. Researchers determined that this dry dormancy is one way that West Nile Virus moved so quickly across the United States, with mosquito eggs hitching rides on the inside of tractor trailer tires! Waters containing fish or higher flows of water are not usually good mosquito breeding areas as the larvae are eaten by minnows, dragonflies, and damselfly nymphs. Other mosquito-eating predators include crane flies (very large 1-2 inch mosquito-look-alike insect) and bats.

Adult mosquitoes are not active when wind speeds exceed 10mph, at temperatures below 55 degrees, or during mid-day (with a few exceptions.) Adults rest during the day in sheltered, shady areas with lush vegetation. Unfortunately for us in the Northwoods, they often rest in tall grass and other low vegetation, becoming active during low light, especially on warm humid nights with calm winds. They do not breed in this tall grass, but simply rest in a protected area. 

Tree-hole Mosquito by Azael Meza

There are many old-wives methods for keeping mosquitoes at bay. Female mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide given off during cellular respiration as well as through breathing. Things that mask the ‘scent’ of carbon dioxide are the source of many home-remedies such as eating garlic and rubbing orange peels or cedar on your skin. You should avoid flowery and fruity perfumes and detergents, opt for eucalyptus or lemon-scented instead. To deter mosquitoes, you can plant highly aromatic plants around your porch, such as rosemary, mint, lemongrass, marigolds, and citronella. They also prefer cooler skin temperatures and are visually attracted to dark-colored clothing, so warm yourself up and wear white!

Tree-hole Mosquito by Azael Meza

The best thing that you can do to decrease mosquito populations is to make sure that you don’t have any standing water in containers around your home such as tires, rain gutters clogged with leaves, boats, buckets, barrels, tarps, garbage cans, wading pools, wheel barrows, and flower pot planter dishes. You should be especially vigilant about containers holding decaying organic material such as leaves or grass clippings as the common northern house mosquito seeks these breeding areas out. Mosquito larvae eat algae and microorganisms, so you should keep clean water (flush twice a week) in bird baths and outdoor dog dishes to discourage mosquito young’ins. Mosquitoes will travel up to 10-20 miles from their breeding site to find a human meal, so spread the word to your neighbors and beyond! 

Paddling on Statehouse Lake

 by Brent Moore

It is another wonderful season to get outdoors and enjoy the limitless gifts that the north woods offers us.  A couple of my favorite outdoor silent sport activities are canoeing and kayaking. The Statehouse Lake that the North Lakeland Discovery Center rests on provides an exquisite setting to experience the beauty of nature by water.  By placing on a life-jacket and pushing off the shore in a canoe or kayak, one has just initiated the beginning of a rewarding adventure. 

Paddling on Statehouse Lake allows one to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature.  Traveling by canoe or kayak makes it possible to see unique habitats and animal activity that may not be accessible by foot.  The tranquility surrounding the lake makes it easy to hear the sounds of birds that call North Lakeland Discovery Center their home.  Bull head pond lily pads are beginning to appear and add to the already immaculate aesthetics of the lake.

In addition to connecting with nature, canoeing and kayaking are fun and physically active ways to spend time with family and friends.  The placid water of Statehouse Lake makes it a great place to learn the basics of paddling or to improve existing skills. Better yet, visitors do not need to bring anything because North Lakeland Discovery Center has canoes, kayaks, and all the equipment needed for a safe and enjoyable paddle.  Going for a paddle elicits positive feelings towards the gifts from nature and our place within it.  A fitting quote is by Brent Kelly that reads, “to canoe is to be moved”, and being moved is precisely what it does. 

Listening-It’s for the birds!

by Leah Dittberner

The most valuable wilderness skill that I have picked up in the last six months, is that of listening, specifically from my time spent birding. The ability to hear and place the melodic calls of birds has opened an entire world to me, and has given me a greater appreciation for all living things. Listening to the birds has helped me to realize that everything in nature has a place, has a home, and a unique set of behaviors that make it special and significant. This skill is especially important at this time of year when the trees are beginning to leaf out, making wood warblers hard to spot!

In my brief time at area boat landings conducting Clean Boats, Clean Waters surveys, my ears have helped me observe where the Baltimore Orioles like to hang out at Van Vliet Lake, where the Brown Thrasher at the Big Lake landing likes to forage in the brush, and has even allowed me to catch a few snippets of the Brown Creeper’s tinkling song when I am lucky.

In our fast paced, motor-run world that often drowns out the sounds of nature, it is easy to forget about the rest of the creatures, plants, and organisms that also call this planet home. However, delighting in the mysterious language of birds can help remind us that we are but one species in a vast sea of biodiversity on this planet.

Chestnut-sided Warbler in the Maples by Leah Dittberner 5/30/2014