January

Ringing Out the Old, Bringing in the New: Snowshoe Hikes to Celebrate Beauty

12/31/07 - Border Lakes State Natural Area, Presque Isle, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Border Lakes SNA, also knows as the Catherine Wolter Wilderness Area, encompasses 2,383 acres, and features 15 undeveloped lakes and large ponds. This Wisconsin Nature Conservancy land borders onto the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan, and while ranging from young aspen to near-mature stands of maple, hemlock, and yellow birch, it has quite a wild feel to it.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

1/1/08 - Germain Hemlocks State Natural Area, McNaughton area, 1 - 3:30 p.m
While only 88 acres, the Germain Hemlocks SNA supports a beautiful old-growth hemlock/sugar maple forest punctuated with supercanopy white and red pines. The steep-sided site runs between Long Lake and Corner and Tyler Lakes, and offers a host of exploration possibilities.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

1/12/08 - Tenderfoot Preserve Snowshoe and Old-Growth Hike, 10 a.m - 1:30 p.m.
Half of the nearly 1,000 acres within The Nature Conservancy's Guido Rahr, Sr. Tenderfoot Forest Reserve is comprised of old-growth hemlock, sugar maple, and yellow birch, with a smattering of old pines and basswoods. The site is accessible in the summer only by water, but we have secured permission from private landowners to access the reserve by land for one snowshoe hike this winter. We'll snowshoe a 2-mile loop trail within the preserve, stopping briefly for lunch at one of the pristine wilderness lakes on the property. We'll go slow, and stop frequently to discuss the unique characteristics of one of the largest remaining expanses of old-growth left in Wisconsin.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates, Mary Burns, and Matt Dallman (TNC northern Wisconsin director of conservation)

1/19/08 - Snowshoeing in the Sylvania Wilderness Area, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Sylvania's 21,000 acres of crystal clear lakes and old-growth forests in the Ottawa National Forest provide exceptional exploratory opportunities for snowshoers. A summer paradise for canoeists and kayakers, Sylvania's extensive virgin hemlock-hardwood forests also offer some of the most beautiful hiking in the Midwest.
Silence may be one of Sylvania's most precious commodities. No motorized vehicles are permitted within Sylvania's borders at any time.
We'll snowshoe approximately 3 miles, taking our time and stopping frequently to discuss the many adaptations of animals and plants to five months of winter.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

February

2/16/08 - Bell Natural History Museum, Minneapolis, MN, 7 - 9 p.m.
Opening of the Paradise Lost? global climate change exhibit. John Bates and Mary Burns are presenters at the opening.

2/19-23/08 - San Diego County Birding Adventure
In cooperation with the nationally known San Diego Natural History Museum, Nicolet College invites you to leave the winter behind and experience the extraordinary variety of landscapes of southern California, from ocean shorelines and tidal marshes to inland mountains, deserts, and lakes. San Diego County supports the highest number of recorded bird species anywhere in the United States. Similar trips sponsored by the San Diego Natural History Museum have recorded 160 to 200 species of birds in these diverse habitat types.
Our birding begins along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and in tidal marshes where we expect to see species like American avocet, brown pelican, black oystercatcher, and long-billed curlew in the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, La Jolla Cove, and San Elijo Lagoon.
We then bird into the 6,000-foot-high Peninsular Range and drop sharply into the Sonoran Desert of eastern San Diego County where we hope to see species like ferruginous hawk, oak titmouse, Gila woodpecker, greater roadrunner, burrowing owl, and cactus wren in the Ramona Grasslands, Cuyamaca Lake, Montezuma Grade and Anza-Borrego Desert State park.
From there we head to the fertile agricultural areas of the Imperial Valley and the vast Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge at 230 feet below sea level with the second highest number of recorded bird species (375 species) for any national wildlife refuge. Here we should see huge flocks of wintering waterfowl like snow and Ross' geese, as well as sensitive species such as white-faced ibis, black-necked stilt and a host of shorebirds. (Please contact us for a complete list of birds that have been seen on similar trips, as well as additional information of the many areas we will explore).
We hope to do all of this in a balanced trip that stresses quality over quantity, a trip that will leave you gasping over the beauty of the birds, and not for breath.
Our guide will be Bob Miller, one of the area's best known birders, and a leader of birding trips for the San Diego Natural History Museum for many years. John Bates and Mary Burns, naturalists in Wisconsin's Northwoods, will be your chaperones.
This trip is limited to 15 people to maintain the quality of the experience. Registration closes January 20. Cost includes hotel accommodations, comfortable van transportation, the majority of your meals including some excellent dinners, and experienced guides. Cost does not include some meals and transportation to San Diego. Register for either double or single occupancy with the class numbers shown below.
$895 per person double occupancy

April

4/19/08 - International Sandhill Crane Count - Vilas and Iron Counties

4/25/08 - Evening Talk at the Marywood Spirituality Center, 7 - 9 p.m. "The Four Historical Eras of the Northwoods"

4/26/08 - Spring Hike on the Ice Age Trail in the Harrison Hills, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30
Late April hikes in Wisconsin's Northwoods may take place in a snowstorm or in 70-degree sunshine. Spring flowers may be flowering in profusion with birds chorusing in the trees, or sleet may be flying. What we can guarantee is a hike in a beautiful place - a segment of Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail within the Harrison Hills - but we won't guarantee the weather. We can also guarantee that we will hike and explore at a moderate pace, stopping frequently to enjoy what nature is willing to provide that day. Come join us.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

May

5/3/08 - A Mindfulness Hike, 10 a.m. - noon, Marywood Spirituality Center

5/4/08 - Spring Wildflowers. Two sessions: 9 a.m. - noon and 1 - 4 p.m
Hepatica, bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, wood anemone, trilliums, wild leeks, trout lily, spring beauties - need we say anymore? Spring flowers proliferate in the short window that occurs between snow-melt and leaf-out of the overhead canopy. Catch them while you can. We'll meet in a rich maple forest owned by Nicolet College just north of Elcho, and hike at a very moderate pace - we're after flowers, not distance records.
Two sections, each limited to 15 people.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

5/9–11/08 - Hawks and Hikes, Brockway Mountain, Copper Harbor, MI
The farthest northern point on the mainland of Michigan is the Keweenaw Peninsula, a 45-mile-long rugged strip of rock and forest that juts into Lake Superior. Near its tip is Copper Harbor, and here on a following wind in May, migrating raptors often pass through in large numbers as they try to find a route to cross Lake Superior into Canada. Brockway Mountain Drive, an eight mile ridge of rock, offers the perfect site for hawks to ride the thermals on their way north.
Advertised as the highest road between the Allegheny Mountains and the Rockies, the scenic vistas from Brockway are spectacular. There are wonderful rock-walled turnouts for hawk-watching, though sometimes birders have to look down into the valleys below to see hawks passing by. Frequently, the hawks are at eye level or just overhead, making observations very personal and exciting.
Early in the day we'll explore some of the lower woodland areas for migrating songbirds, then focus our efforts on raptors. We'll also take time to hike a few of the local trails, including the Estivant Pines, a site celebrated for its virgin stand of white pines.
Transportation provided. Includes two nights lodging at the beautiful Keewenaw Mountain Lodge - double occupancy.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

5/16/08 - Botany, Birds, and Bikes, 9 a.m - 2 p.m.
Mid-May in the Northwoods offers a marvelous cornucopia of wildflowers and singing birds. We'll cycle along the very popular bike trail from Boulder Junction to the Crystal Lake Campground, stopping along the way to hike into sites like the North Trout Lake Nature Trail as well as into a bog. We'll stop for lunch next to a lake along the trail, and go slow enough to enjoy whatever the day presents.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

5/16/08 - Talk on the "Spirit of Place", 7 - 8 p.m.
Birding Festival at the North Lakeland Discovery Center, Manitowish Waters, WI. Contact NLDC at 715-543-2085. www.discoverycenter.net

5/17/08 - Tenderfoot Forest Preserve Paddle and Hike, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sponsor: The Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
Free: Limited to 15 canoes or kayaks
Contact TNC: 608-608-251-8140. www.nature.org/wisconsin

June

6/5/08 - Bog Ecology Walk, 9:30 a.m. - noon
Northern bogs are utterly unique places, with remarkably specialized plants that have adapted to the inhospitable conditions that bogs present. We will walk out onto a floating bog mat and look closely at the plants that survive there, including several species of carnivorous plants and orchids, as well as discuss the wildlife that utilizes bogs. While the walk will be short, the footing can be tricky, so good balance is necessary for participants.
Sponsor: North Lakeland Community Education, 715-543-2159. www.nles.us

6/7/08 - Little Turtle Flowage Birding by Kayak, 7 - 11 a.m.
One of the stops on the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail, the Little Turtle Flowage encompasses nearly 640 acres of wetlands and supports a remarkable array of nesting bird species including trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, ospreys, eagles, black terns, sora rails, marsh wrens, and, on occasion, yellow-headed blackbirds. The uplands surrounding the Flowage are burned and planted in tall prairie grasses.
The Flowage is an exceptional place to listen to a marsh chorus of birds coming alive at sunrise. However, in deference to later risers, we'll start after the sun is well-up, paddle slowly, and stop frequently to search and listen for the many birds that are still active in later morning.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

6/20/08 - Summer Solstice Bear River Paddle, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m
The Bear is a shallow, slow, meandering river that is quite wild and beautiful. While the Bear possesses no rapids and coils and turns for only about 18 miles until it flows into the Manitowish River, the Bear served as one of the main fur trade arteries for the French Voyageurs for several hundred years, and very likely served Native Americans for thousands of years prior to that. We'll explore the cultural and the natural history of the Bear starting from a tiny dam that raises water levels on the Flambeau chain of lakes.
This long trip concludes with a half hour of paddling through a very large and dense stand of wild rice. There is no development whatsoever on this portion of the river, and the river almost certainly looks just like it has for hundreds of years.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Bob Konops

6/28/08 - Hiking in the Bittersweet Lakes State Natural Area, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Four wilderness lakes - Bittersweet, Oberlin, Smith, and Prong - set within the Northern Highlands State Forest distinguish this beautiful 1,070-acre state natural area that was designated in 1958. An old-growth hemlock/northern hardwoods forest graces the northwest section of the site, and that's where we'll focus our hike. We'll cover about six miles over the course of the day, walking at a moderate pace, and stopping frequently to observe and discuss ecological features of the area including a bog and the shorelines of Smith and Oberlin lakes.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

July

7/9/08 - Gile Flowage Paddle, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Located just south of Hurley in northern Iron County, the 3,384-acre Gile Flowage is largely undeveloped with 26 miles of shoreline characterized by numerous protected bays and large outcroppings of exposed bedrock. The flowage was created in 1940 on the West Fork of the Montreal River, contains several islands, and has a wild feel to it.
We'll explore portions of the shoreline and many of the bays, stopping occasionally to discuss the natural and cultural history of the area. The famous fur trade era Flambeau Trail once passed directly through the area where the flowage is now.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Dan Clausen

7/19/08 - Hiking the Rock Lake National Recreational Trail, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Located in the Chequamegon National Forest just east of Cable, the Rock Lake National Recreational Trail is well known to hikers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers for its beautiful trail system. With nearly 14 miles of hiking loops through hilly topography, and skirting several wilderness lakes, the Rock Lake trail offers beautiful scenery through mostly older stands of hardwoods with occasional super-canopy white pines.
We'll hike 6-7 miles at a moderate pace, stopping often to talk and simply enjoy the beauty. Van transportation is available leaving from Nicolet's Minocqua campus.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

6/25/08 - Manitowish River Paddle, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The Manitowish River flows rather quietly for 42 miles from High Lake to the Flambeau Flowage. The river served as a major fur trade route for the French Voyageurs, and archeologists have found Native American sites on the Manitowish chain of lakes that date back 8,000 years. Portions of the river are designated by the WDNR as an "exceptional" water resource. We'll paddle the section that is rated as having the highest quality, and that also flows through the Manitowish River Wilderness Area.
This long, meandering trip from Hwy. 47 to the Flambeau Flowage offers great wilderness values on all quiet water. We'll paddle at a moderate pace stopping occasionally to discuss various ecological features of the river and its cultural history.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

7/28/08 - Hiking the Hidden Lakes Trail, Nicolet National Forest, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Hidden Lakes Trail meanders 15 miles through the Nicolet National Forest just east of Eagle River. We've hiked two different portions of it in previous years, and this year we'll hike another beautiful stretch beginning at FR 2179 and ending at the Franklin Lake Boat Landing, covering about six miles. The hilly trail passes through the Pat Shay Lake State Natural Area, which features Pat Shay Lake, a high quality, 120-acre wild lake, surrounded by beautiful old-growth hemlocks and northern hardwoods and a few super-canopy white pines. We'll hike at a moderate pace, stopping now and again to observe whatever the natural world offers, and to eat lunch along the shores of Pat Shay Lake.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

August

8/8/08 - Tenderfoot Forest Reserve, Paddle and Hike, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Half of the nearly 1,000 acres within the Nature Conservancy's Tenderfoot Forest Preserve are comprised of old-growth hemlock, sugar maple, basswood, and yellow birds, with a smattering of super-canopy white pines. The only trick to seeing this magnificent forest is that one must first paddle across Palmer Lake, through a portion of the Ontonagon River, and then across Tenderfoot Lake to get there - a relatively easy three-mile paddle.
We'll hike at a moderate pace, pausing frequently along a two-mile loop within the preserve to discuss the old-growth, and stopping for lunch at one of the wilderness lakes on the property. This site is arguably one of the three best old-growth stands left in Wisconsin.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Micky Wurl-Koth

8/9/08 - Talk for the Yawkey Lake Association, Hazelhurst, WI

8/10/08 - Hiking the Raven Nature Trail, 1 - 4 p.m.
The rolling 2-mile long Raven Nature Trail offers a great introduction to many of the plant communities commonly found in the Northwoods. With large white and red pines, old-growth hemlocks, a bog accessible by a boardwalk, and a path along the edge of Hemlock Lake, a lovely wild lake, the trail is one of the gems of the Northwoods.
We will hike the trail at an easygoing pace with numerous stops to enjoy the beauty of the trail and to discuss the natural history of many of the species along it.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

8/25/08 - Rhinelander District Library Talk, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Graced by the Seasons: Fall and Winter in the Northwoods
New Book Signing

8/30/08 - Wild Rice/Wild Lakes, 9 a.m.-noon
Canoeing or kayaking through a dense stand of wild rice feels very much like walking through a tall grass prairie. The grasses (wild rice is a grass, too) may reach so high that one can become lost among them. We'll show you how the Ojibwe gathered rice (though this is not a collecting trip), and we'll likely kick-up a host of birds that know a free lunch when they see one.
We'll paddle Aurora Lake, a 94-acre, 4-feet-deep, undeveloped lake designated as a state natural area. The lake is wild rice literally from end-to-end, and appears from the boat landing more like a grassland than a lake.
Sponsor: North Lakeland Discovery Center, 715-543-2085. www.discoverycenter.net

September

9/13-14/08 - Hawk Ridge Hawk Migration
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: John Bates and Mary Burns

9/18-21 - Inn to Inn Walking on the North Country Trail
Four days of hiking the North Country National Scenic Trail within the Chequamegon National Forest and staying at cozy bed and breakfasts.
Sponsor: Nicolet College. Call 800-585-9304 for registration information, or go to Nicolet's Web site: www.nicoletcollege.edu
Instructors: Dave Phillips/John Bates/Martha Schouweiler

9/28/08 - Fall Colors/Old Growth Hike - 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Autumn in the Northwoods means cool temperatures, north winds, migrating birds, no mosquitoes, and glorious trees that "all but cry with color" (Edna St. Vincent Millay). We'll hike a trail through the 561-acre Plum Lake/Star Lake State Natural Area to a peninsula jutting into Plum Lake. Along the way, we'll view hemlocks, sugar maples, and yellow birch that are over 200 years old. Round-trip is about 6 miles - we'll eat lunch along the trail.
Sponsor: North Lakeland Discovery Center, 715-543-2085. www.discoverycenter.net

October

To contact John Bates and Mary Burns:

Call: (715)476-2828

Fax: (715)476-2818

Email: manitowish@centurytel.net

Write: Trails North, 4245N Hwy. 47, Mercer, WI 54547