- Wisconsin Trapper Magazine entry
- Published August 2015
On a warm, muggy afternoon a few weeks ago, I was questioning some of my recent life choices. I was in the middle of vast cattail marsh, sharp blades reaching well over my head and slicing at my arms with every step as I managed to pull my wader-clad feet out of the sucking mud. I was only half-way to my destination, I was sweating, and tired, and had been at it all day. But, I reminded myself that I had gotten myself into this mess for a good reason, and pushed on.
Getting to the precise location on my GPS unit is always a sense of triumph, and a little thrill of excitement – Will I find my station intact? What may have happened here over the last month? Have any of the animals I’m hoping to find sign of stopped by to visit…?
I’m a graduate student with the Forest and Wildlife Ecology department out of Madison, Wisconsin, and I spend hot summer days (and freezing winter days) checking the trail cameras I have set for river otters, beavers, mink and muskrats. While I’ve used this technology before, I had never applied it to these species especially until last fall, and it’s been a fascinating experience. Though these semi-aquatic furbearers are all doing well in the majority of the Midwest, there are still areas where their status is uncertain. I’m focused on the St Louis Estuary, a complex system of flowing river, muddy channels and dense marshes that were damaged beyond recognition by the booming industrialization of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. Now, after years of restoration work by numerous agencies, wildlife species are recovering, and the work I’m part of aims to document that success.
The St Louis River Estuary was designated as an Area of Concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1987. Like the other areas chosen, the St Louis and surrounding watershed had been highly damaged by human activity such that the system was not providing clean swimming waters, edible fish or good habitat for aquatic species. Several remediation projects have been completed, with continued efforts underway, but so far there is no clear picture of the recovery of furbearers in the area.
By using a combination of motion-triggered cameras and small plane surveys, we are quantifying populations of otter, beaver, mink and muskrat in St Louis as well as in two reference sites - Boulder Lake Reservoir in eastern Minnesota and the St Croix River near the town of Danbury in Wisconsin. These sites are included to give us baseline knowledge about what furbearer populations should look like in different habitats and watersheds with lower historic human impact.
We deployed our first trail cameras this past winter, and thanks to those initial data we got back in the field full strength this summer. Those first camera stations dealt with snowy and icy conditions, and now they’re being over-run by abundant summer vegetation, but all the while they are recording valuable detection of our “target species”, along with numerous others!
It’s why I’m more than happy to hike through steaming bogs, canoe upwind all day, and chip cameras out of 4 inch ice (true story!). I look forward to every day “in the field” and hope the data I collect will be valuable to managers, recreationists and the animals we all care about themselves. If you are interested in hearing more about this project or seeing some of the images, please feel free to contact me at the at the email or physical address provided below.
SPECIAL ATTENTION WISCONSIN TRAPPERS!
If you trap along the St Croix, the St Louis, or the Nemadji Rivers, I would be especially interested to hear from you. I’m hoping that with your collaboration, I’ll be able to obtain livers from trapped animals near my study areas to test for mercury and other chemicals that may still be present in the environment.
Interested in helping a research project aimed at restoring wildlife habitat in the St Louis River Estuary?
We are conducting surveys for these species at several sites in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, and need carcasses to analyze the levels of toxins they may have been exposed to.
Our study areas are:
1) The St Louis River Estuary – Encompassing shoreline around the harbor, in Pokegama bay and up to the state line at the Fond du Lac Dam
2) The Nemadji River as it approaches the mouth into Lake Superior
3) Allouez Bay
4) St Croix River – Near the confluence of the Namekagon and past the HWY 77 bridge in the portions near the town of Danbury, WI.
5) Boulder Lake Reservoir in northeaster Minnesota
Throughout the Fall 2015 season, I or other collaborators will be able to work with interested trappers to obtain carcasses after skinning, with no impact on trapping activity other than location information.
Please contact Bryn Evans if you trap in the study areas and are able to assist, or if you have any questions about the project.
Thank you!
Getting to the precise location on my GPS unit is always a sense of triumph, and a little thrill of excitement – Will I find my station intact? What may have happened here over the last month? Have any of the animals I’m hoping to find sign of stopped by to visit…?
I’m a graduate student with the Forest and Wildlife Ecology department out of Madison, Wisconsin, and I spend hot summer days (and freezing winter days) checking the trail cameras I have set for river otters, beavers, mink and muskrats. While I’ve used this technology before, I had never applied it to these species especially until last fall, and it’s been a fascinating experience. Though these semi-aquatic furbearers are all doing well in the majority of the Midwest, there are still areas where their status is uncertain. I’m focused on the St Louis Estuary, a complex system of flowing river, muddy channels and dense marshes that were damaged beyond recognition by the booming industrialization of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. Now, after years of restoration work by numerous agencies, wildlife species are recovering, and the work I’m part of aims to document that success.
The St Louis River Estuary was designated as an Area of Concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1987. Like the other areas chosen, the St Louis and surrounding watershed had been highly damaged by human activity such that the system was not providing clean swimming waters, edible fish or good habitat for aquatic species. Several remediation projects have been completed, with continued efforts underway, but so far there is no clear picture of the recovery of furbearers in the area.
By using a combination of motion-triggered cameras and small plane surveys, we are quantifying populations of otter, beaver, mink and muskrat in St Louis as well as in two reference sites - Boulder Lake Reservoir in eastern Minnesota and the St Croix River near the town of Danbury in Wisconsin. These sites are included to give us baseline knowledge about what furbearer populations should look like in different habitats and watersheds with lower historic human impact.
We deployed our first trail cameras this past winter, and thanks to those initial data we got back in the field full strength this summer. Those first camera stations dealt with snowy and icy conditions, and now they’re being over-run by abundant summer vegetation, but all the while they are recording valuable detection of our “target species”, along with numerous others!
It’s why I’m more than happy to hike through steaming bogs, canoe upwind all day, and chip cameras out of 4 inch ice (true story!). I look forward to every day “in the field” and hope the data I collect will be valuable to managers, recreationists and the animals we all care about themselves. If you are interested in hearing more about this project or seeing some of the images, please feel free to contact me at the at the email or physical address provided below.
SPECIAL ATTENTION WISCONSIN TRAPPERS!
If you trap along the St Croix, the St Louis, or the Nemadji Rivers, I would be especially interested to hear from you. I’m hoping that with your collaboration, I’ll be able to obtain livers from trapped animals near my study areas to test for mercury and other chemicals that may still be present in the environment.
Interested in helping a research project aimed at restoring wildlife habitat in the St Louis River Estuary?
We are conducting surveys for these species at several sites in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, and need carcasses to analyze the levels of toxins they may have been exposed to.
Our study areas are:
1) The St Louis River Estuary – Encompassing shoreline around the harbor, in Pokegama bay and up to the state line at the Fond du Lac Dam
2) The Nemadji River as it approaches the mouth into Lake Superior
3) Allouez Bay
4) St Croix River – Near the confluence of the Namekagon and past the HWY 77 bridge in the portions near the town of Danbury, WI.
5) Boulder Lake Reservoir in northeaster Minnesota
Throughout the Fall 2015 season, I or other collaborators will be able to work with interested trappers to obtain carcasses after skinning, with no impact on trapping activity other than location information.
Please contact Bryn Evans if you trap in the study areas and are able to assist, or if you have any questions about the project.
Thank you!
