Whether staff or volunteer, we are frequently called upon to explain our involvement in the Discovery Center. I am often asked if the Discovery Center truly achieves its mission of encouraging stewardship of our natural and cultural resources. I love to be asked that question because it allows me to sing the praises of the Center.

I read recently that when you believe in small miracles, it becomes possible to imagine large ones. For those of us who spend a lot of time here by the shores of Statehouse Lake, we regularly witness small miracles. A young girl who overcomes her fear of water through participation in a kids' kayak class; an adult who becomes a volunteer wolf steward after attending a wolf tracking class; a grandparent with little in the way of outdoor skills who takes a grandchild on a guided snowshoe hike; a young boy who spends two hours in the outdoors instead of at the console of his video game; all are examples of how we change lives.

I know that my sons' chances of identifying a Marten in the woods and wanting to look after it are so much greater, simply because the Discovery Center exists. That my son is able to witness and identify an American marten may not seem particularly miraculous. That 20 years from now his children will enjoy a similar experience, very well may be!

So if ever anyone asks you why you support the Discovery Center, I hope you can answer as confidently as I do "because we regularly deliver miracles, small and large".

...what is that critter with the cute face and the pretty tail?

It's another American Marten (martes americana). As many readers know, Discovery Center senior naturalist Zach Wilson regularly takes groups of Hurley and Mercer high school students out into the woods as part of an ongoing school project. Through use of radio collars and telemetry equipment, Zach and "his" Woods & Waters (W&W) students monitor the movement of a number of american marten in nearby Iron County forest lands.

I used the word "another" to describe the marten in the preceding paragraph because this year we've trapped and collared seven (7) marten. One of those was a recapture of an animal that was released last fall in the Chequamegon National Forest near Winter - part of a reintroduction effort. That marten travelled at least 27 miles to get to northern Iron County - one of many important findings of the research project. It underlines the critical importance of wildlife travel corridors and their role in ensuring genetic diversity.

The regular forays into the woods provide a context within which students explore forest management techniques and policies, along with wildlife management practices. It also provides a basis for studies of soils, water, flora and fauna. As members of The Center, you can be proud to support such a great project - one that attracts quite a lot of interest.

Among the guests on a recent W&W outing was Jeremy Solin, the Director of the K-12 Forestry Education Program at the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education on the UW Stevens Point campus. Jeremy and his colleagues were highly impressed by the project - as well they should be!

As a result of their being so impressed by the project, our own Zach Wilson was invited to present the keynote address to the forthcoming Wisconsin Governor's High School Environment Conference.

As we would say in the old country - "goodonya Zach"!

Citizen Science Monitoring or CSM as you will often see it abbreviated, is becoming increasingly important to us here at The Center. As winter comes to a close, our monitoring activities really start to pick up. Read on to learn about several research opportunities in which community members may become involved.

Birds Birds Birds For all those bird enthusiasts out there, spring is a very exciting time, as we are sure you well know. It is the time for the DC Woods and Waters Loon Project to begin. Local students construct loon platforms and distribute them to lakes in the area. Students also test for lake water quality as well as monitor the success of loon chicks. As ubiquitous and much-loved as Loons are to we locals and summer residents, they are not the only feathered friends we care about. Monitoring activities in which you can become involved include the Shoreline Restoration Breeding Bird Survey (May-June) and the International Crane Count (April 18th). Zach Wilson is coordinating both activities, so please contact him for more information.
Read more about Cranes
Click here to contact Zach

Slimy Critters For those monitors interested in the less "huggable" of our Northwoods critters, we are involved in two very interesting monitoring projects. Late April- early May brings on the monitoring of Salamanders (see photo, above) in our ephemeral ponds. Naturalist Licia Johnson spends six days monitoring for these critters at the Discovery Center.
Read more about Salamanders
Click here to contact Licia

Ribbit! On April 22, you will have a chance to be involved with the WI Frog and Toad Survey through our community programs. Join us as we go out into the night and listen for the wonderful call of the frogs.
Read more about Frog surveys

How Deep is Your... No, "lake", not "love"! A new endeavor the Discovery Center has taken on this spring is a lake water level monitoring project. Working with the UW's Trout Lake Limnology lab we will be recording the changing water level of Statehouse Lake, AND LOOKING FOR TWO OR THREE VOLUNTEERS TO REGULARLY MEASURE WATER LEVELS ON YOUR LAKE. We'll provide the equipment and training, but we need you to contact us to express your interest in participating.
Email your interest to Anna

Yes a very cool boat and one that is sure to become a well-used and much loved addition to the Center's program resources. With room for 8- 10 adults, it offers all sorts of programming options.

Tom (L) and Margie (C) are a couple of members of the small but dedicated group of volunteers who got together once a week throughout last summer, fall and winter to work on restoration of a 25 foot, 1926 vintage Old Town, wood and canvas war canoe. Under the watchful eye, steady hand and caring instruction of restoration expert Dave Osborn (R), the "canoe crew" have done an outstanding job and we can't wait to see the finished product in late May.

A huge thank-you to Dave, and to regulars: Margie Blankenheim, Tom Frandy, and Jack King. An equally hear-felt, though perhaps less voluminous thank-you to occasional contributors John Rossmiller, Mark Charon, and Rolf Ethun. During the warmer months the group met under a tent here on campus,but as the weather cooled, we had to find somewhere warmer to work. So we also wish to acknowledge Charlie Spencer who continues to provide heated workshop space throughout the winter months. Finally, on behalf of all those involved in the project, a big thank-you to Beth Meyer for providing vittles each Tuesday evening. We have it on good authority that for at least two participants, it was their interest in Beth's snacks that initially kept them coming back!

An official launch event and maiden voyage of the canoe is planned for mid June. Please watch out for details of that event and come along to cheer the group and applaud their efforts. In the meantime, if you would like to join the crew as they wrap up the project, give us a call here at the Center.

If anybody feels so inclined, we would certainly welcome any donations to help defray our materials costs. And as a little incentive - anybody donating to the canoe project will have the opportunity to be among the first paddlers on launch day.

...name might smell as sweet, but when it comes to a very special canoe we think its worth investing some thought into an appropriate moniker.

As you read in the article above, we are on the home straight, headed towards completion of restoration of our wood and canvas war canoe. It has been stripped, sanded, had broken ribs and planks replaced, stained, re-canvassed and sealed. The next step will be painting.

We'd like to give the canoe a name, and we invite you to offer suggestions. Something that evokes a positive emotional response, or reflects history, or shared labor or community spirit. Or all of the above!

Should your suggestion be selected, you will be invited to participate in the official launch of the restored beauty. So put on your thinking caps and send us your idea.
Bruce, here's my suggestion

...you can help at the Center.

Regular readers know about the many exciting ways to get involved in the activities of the Center. There's a complete list of Volunteer opportunities listed on our website.
Read all about it

A new volunteer opportunity is now available thanks to the recent completion of our Nature Nook. The Nook is a modest, yet really cool nature activity center complete with displays, activities, wildlife mounts and live critters - including "Flash" the ferret, our resident mascot and mustelid teaching aid.

The wonderful thing about the Nook is it provides a vehicle for additional "drop-in" kiddies' activities. And that's where (we hope) you come in. In addition to posting regular open hours, we are planning a weekly "Little Naturalist" program. These will be on Fridays at 10 am. A reading of a nature story or two followed by a related craft activity. We think it would be great to have a volunteer do the story reading then stay to help our staff with the craft activity. If you love to read to little ones 3,4,5 & 6 years old and can commit to one, two, three or more Friday mornings throughout the summer, Licia would love to hear from you.
Click to contact Licia

email: bruce@discoverycenter.net

phone: 715 543 2085

web: http://www.discoverycenter.net