Kakabika Falls receives increased interest after debut in US postage stamp series

By BRYAN HELLIOS

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Marenisco — A dozen nature lovers joined an Ottawa National Forest hosted hike to Kakabika Falls on Saturday.

The falls is gaining popularity after being selected by the U.S. Postal Service as one of 2019’s ‘Wild and Scenic River’ postage stamps.

Ian Shackleford, botanist for the forest service, led a tour down a short trail to where photographer Tim Palmer stood to take his picture of the river back in June of 2013.

“I found the very spot,” he said.

While walking to the falls, the guide pointed out numerous plants in a variety of stages of growth.

“I did kinda scope this out beforehand to see what was blooming,” he said.

Bethany Thomas, Wisconsin Master Naturalist and vice president of the Heritage Chapter of the North Country Trail, joined the hike because she likes to find out about interesting places in the area.

“I’ve never seen this falls and I like to be a resource for people visiting our area,” she said, adding that having a local river on a stamp is good for the U.P.

“The U.P. isn’t frequently recognized for things,” she said.

Shackleford said Government led preservation efforts were needed to retain the natural beauty and flow of scenic rivers.

In 1958 Congress authorized an Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission to inventory recreation sites within the country.

“They sort of recognized with dams and development, wild rivers were becoming fewer and fewer,” Shackleford said.

Michigan has 16 “wild and scenic” rivers and the Ottawa Forest is home to 6 of them, he added.

Shackleford is proud the Cisco Branch of the Ontonagon River is receiving recognition.

“They (the stamps) just came out a couple weeks ago,” he said. “I believe you can find them in most post offices.”

The Kakabika Falls trail-head is located on County Road 527, a half a mile off of U. S. 2. just 12.4 miles east of Marenisco.