UpNorthica

Necky has begun to produce several lengths of their ‘08 Manitou kayaks, using 100% post-industrial plastic. Better still, according to their site, these materials have stronger properties than their standard Manitou models. Awesome!
I also like that 1% of their gross sales are donated to the Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit that works to preserve our [...]

I recently got a taste of Canada’s beautiful wilderness, from the presentations at the Far North Symposium. I’ve never been in those parts, so I found it incredibly inspiring. One of the presenters in particular urged us all to visit these vast waterways and woods soon. His reasoning: Many of the rivers had radically been [...]

I’ve seen this kind of work cropping up a bit lately on the Innertubes, and I want to see lots more! Using clods of transplanted moss and a handful of household tools, artists like Edina Tokodi, Helen Nodding and Jesse Graves use public spaces as canvases for their art. Using organic materials (Graves’ preferred medium [...]

When I recently learned of the Department of Agriculture’s plan to treat 85,000 acres along the North Shore this year to fight gypsy moth infestation, I had two questions.
The first was, “Whoa, just how big an area is that?” It certainly sounded alarming. I really wanted to see a visual; some way to better understand [...]

It’s the perfect getaway plan: Simultaneously a way to give back to the BWCAW, and a valid excuse to squeeze in one more trip up north this summer. The American Hiking Society has posted their 2008 Volunteer Vacations schedule. Join a small crew to help maintain trails for about a week in August, paddling and [...]

Well, not quite. But I’d choose this over High School Musical any day: An original drama portraying events leading to the passage of the BWCAW Act, was a noted entry at a History Day competition held at UMD last weekend. “An Environmental Conflict: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Compromise.” was produced and performed by [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Most of us have enjoyed assembling crude rock sculptures in idle moments on the trail, or along the North Shore. And while we may not dedicate much thought to the activity once it’s done, we feel gratified because it’s yet another connection point we’ve made to the beauty around us.
Sculptor and land artist Andy Goldsworthy [...]

A researcher’s computer simulations have predicted how global warming may affect the makeup of our boreal forests, and what—if anything— should be done to manage the changes.
Personally, while the forests as I’ve known them in my life are different than the ones of centuries (even decades) past, I found this article a bit disturbing. I [...]

You may not have known who Bill Rom was. But if, when in the BWCA, you’ve ever appreciated the absence of noisy planes overhead, or felt thankful that campsites weren’t littered with bottles and cans; if you’ve ever enjoyed traveling the Kekakabec Trail that joins the Ely region to the Gunflint…then you have known his [...]