Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Students learn land, water conservation

By TOM LAVENTURE

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MERCER, Wis. - The Hurley School's field biology class was in Mercer Thursday for a day of land and water conservation at Little Turtle Flowage and MECCA Trailhead.

Diane O'Krongly, who teaches field biology at Hurley High School, said this class spends three hours a week helping clear the school property of buckthorn. It's an active class and that is why she requested the field trip to learn more about the importance of a diverse woodlands.

"This is great because they are really seeing that these professionals do this stuff that I've been doing with them," she said. "We got to spend the entire day with them instead of 40 minutes in class."

Jenna Malinowski, a wildlife biologist and habitat manager with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for Iron County and southern Ashland County, talked about the work to build and maintain biological diversity in this unique habitat of northern Wisconsin.

"This was just to have them identify the issues that are out there and maybe bring some truth or some light on how to manage or fix those issues," Malinowski said. "We definitely went through a lot of information."

She said her role Friday was to engage youth in conservation management and education so they can bring this knowledge home. They can talk to parents and will know who to reach out to someday when they have questions about their own own land, she said.

"The most important thing was to show students that what they learn in the classroom is actually being done on the ground," she said. "These are real life issues."

To help maintain waterfowl the DNR harvested timber and flooded a lowland property using two water control structures to create the Little Turtle Flowage waterfowl management ecosystem, a prime habitat for migrating birds, fish and other wildlife, she said. The water levels are an average of 4 feet to keep the depth clear enough for wild rice germination, she said.

To demonstrate how fragile the ecosystem can be she said a broken board in the dyke allowed water levels to drain so low that 75% of this year's wild rice crop did not survive, Malinowski said. A Ring-neck duck population, which is not known to northern Wisconsin but return to the Little Turtle Flowage each year, didn't stay this year which was likely due to the lack of wild rice as a food source, she said.

"One bad year isn't a disaster but ducks know where there is a good spot for food," Malinowski said.

Birds species in the state are not increasing in population and some varieties are starting to disappear from areas they have frequented for decades, she said. A goal to increase the amount of wild rice in northern Wisconsin lakes in collaboration with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission is one way to attract birds back, she said.

"We are trying to develop local sources of wild rice to diversify the Wisconsin wild rice in the north," Malinowski said.

The topics moved on to tree cutting and burning by sections to ensure new growth trees mix with old growth forests to provide food for foraging birds and animals all year. It is also to burn away invasive species and create appropriate habitats for area species, she said.

A mixture of tree species will produce food for animals at all parts of the year, Malinowski said. The grasslands are also important and some grasses benefit while others hurt bird movement, she said.

The best prevention of invasive vegetation is by cleaning boats, all terrain vehicles, mowers and other vehicles and equipment that travel from one area to another, she said.

"It's kind of one-of-a-kind here in Iron County and we are slowly losing it because of that encroaching vegetation, unfortunately," Malinowski said.

When the right kinds of plants disappear the biomass of insects also decreases and affects the amphibian and reptile populations that rely on those insects as a food source, she said.

"That is all the base of the food chain so things are going to dramatically change," she said.

Hunter Fink, a Hurley High School junior, said the day in the field was a good experience. He said he didn't realize that pheasants are actually an invasive species.

"I learned quite a bit," Fink said. "I can see how managing invasive species gets hard because you don't know where a lot of it is and you've got to manage all that to kill it off. I think that is kind of a big deal."

Katelyn Binz, junior, said she enjoyed the discussions on environmental stewardship, forest and wildlife management, recreation and hunting. She particularly liked hearing about the work to maintain deer populations by ensuring correct gender equations and ensuring does and bucks are healthy to pass along health genetics to offspring.

It was all fascinating to the 18-year-old member of the Iron County Board Forestry Committee.

"Government kind of interests me," Binz said.

The discussion continued over at the MECCA Trailhead with Kelly Martinko, a forester, with the Iron County DNR Forestry Office. She helped the students identify various types of trees and then taught them to use various types of hand held measuring tools to estimate the height and width of trees and how much lumber they would produce.

It's all part of creating a good habitat for everything from amphibians to song birds, grouse, deer and coyotes, she said.

"When there is a good, healthy ecosystem, whether it's the forest or the grassland, you are going to see a bigger variety of animals on the landscape," Martinko said.

Gary Mears, the treasurer of MECCA, and a trail boss, said it's important to get these kids outdoors and with people who can show them what forestry management is all about. People who use the trails might comment with disappointment when they see logging or a controlled burn.

"But it's all part of it," Mears said. "So they are learning this."

There is old growth poplar that needs to be logged, he said. The kids are learning there is more to it than just thinking the woods will always be here.

Mike Shouldice, president of MECCA, said the trail system is an excellent example of multi-use resources that encourages collaboration and partnerships among nonprofit organizations and all levels of government. The trail system exists on state and county land along with private land easements and a trailhead with a warming cabin on city of Mercer property.

The youth program is sponsored by the MECCA Experience Fund and SISU Ski Fest, Shouldice said. Both organizations support education to promote trails, healthy lifestyles, exercise and outdoor experiences, he said.

"The idea is to encourage people to enjoy the MECCA trails year round," Shouldice said.