UpNorthica

Murat makes gorgeous custom paddles, often drawing inspiration from various traditional styles I never knew existed. He then adorns them with both photorealistic and native drawings of wildlife he encounters in his travels.
And to think that I actually feel proud of myself after assembling an Ikea bed without losing any hardware…

As today’s Duluth Tribune reports, Minnesota is among several states under consideration for more designated critical habitat lands for the Canada lynx. How much more? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is wanting as many as 8,266 square miles. This, up from 317, as proposed in 2006.
Furthermore, these areas would cover much of the [...]

From the Land of 10,000 Lochs, I give you The Bushcraft Boyz. Equipped with minimal gear, mad skills (and the occasional shot of malt,) these young Scots exemplify a simple message: Bushcrafting is Fun. And they do so, sans the “expert outdoorsman” egotism that one often tires of seeing. City slickers, take heed! Watching the [...]

When’s the last time you got to plant 150 red and white pines along the Gunflint Trail, to enjoy them decades later with your great-grandchildren? That’s right, you never have, but you’ll get that chance on May 2-4. From the organizers of the Gunflint GreenUp:
The residents, resort owners and outfitters realize that while we are [...]

A collaboration between artists, scientists and educators, “Paradise Lost: Climate Change in the North Woods” does more than spread awareness about climate change. On exhibit through April 11 at the Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis, it’s inspiring as much as it is, sobering. And in a more digestible format than Al [...]

Couldn’t believe this when I saw it: A tutorial on how to build your own portable Mongolian yurt. I’d also found a similar DIY using mostly using salvaged materials (that’s right: ‘how to green your yurt’.) However, judging from the picture on that one, I’d recommend the first tutorial.

It’s impressive to see him assemble this tool with the ease of preparing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Despite all the din of ’survival’ shows and celebs nowadays, Kochanski has quietly remained one of the true masters of bushcraft over the years. Watch and learn.

Planning your menu? This article provides some solid tips on what kinds of foot to eat—and not to eat—when you’re camping in the cold.

The Star Tribune covers a renewed effort this year to determine why the state’s moose are dying off at an alarming rate. Parasites? Global warming? So far, there are no clear culprits nor pat answers. I’ve read about these concerns before, but the numbers in this article are rather disconcerting.

In a move that’s sure to win points with everyone from Greenpeace to the Vatican (I’m pretty sure that’s an historical precedent), a UK man is giving up carbon emissions for Lent. Among other eco-friendly changes of routine, he’ll endeavor to canoe whenever he might normally use his car. You can follow this pilgrim’s progress [...]

My buddy Chris passed this along to me… Now, I don’t care if this article is set a little further afield than Northern Minnesota. Or if there are no useful recipes for your Eelpout Festival catch. You’ll still read it at least twice, and marvel at the netloads of great photos, won’tcha? That’s what I [...]

In her series, Domesticated, photographer Amy Stein creates commentaries on the tensions between mankind and wildlife, who increasingly share the same spaces. So why the “pseudo-wildlife’ label? Stein uses borrowed taxidermy as the subjects of her shots.
Within these scenes I explore our paradoxical relationship with the “wild” and how our conflicting impulses continue to evolve [...]

Inspired by my earlier post on animal tracks in the snow? On March 8th, you can catch a presentation on Tracking Winter Wildlife with Molly Thompson. It’ll be hosted at the still fairly-new Sugarloaf Cove Interpretive Center in Tofte.
ASIDE: If you’ve not yet heard of Sugarloaf Cove, it’s worth a visit along your way up/down [...]

While state economic woes seem to wither any hopes for a new state park on Lake Vermilion, perhaps we Minnesotans should count our blessings. At least our Forest Service isn’t auctioning off public land on Ebay. It sounds so laughably cheap that it couldn’t be true, but a certain parcel is under serious consideration in [...]

Here are the best of mine…sadly, the best I could get were these stills from my camcorder. How’d yours turn out? Post your links in the comments.