Years of Low Acorn Production Can Boost Lyme Risk

white oak acorns (photo by jhy)

based on a news article in the New York Times

The Northeast is experiencing a year of low acorn production, in contrast to Michigan, where I found the forest floor layered with sweet acorns. But I was not aware that the variations in acorn production can have an influence on the prevalence of Lyme Disease the next year. Here's how it works.

Acorn production normally runs in a series of high and low production years. That's a given. It's what happens when a good year is followed by a lean year that things get interesting for the humans who spend time in the woods. When acorn production is up, the wildlife that depends on the nuts for food flourish, and their populations rise. If a good year is followed by a year of few acorns the large populations of squirrels, mice, and ground-nesting birds will crash, as they will have a hard time finding enough food.

Of course, when the wildlife increases, so do the tick populations. And when the wildlife dies off, all those ticks will be looking for fresh blood. Humans in the woods make them very happy.

So, if you live in the Northeast, be sure to take your DEET to the woods next spring!

Watch the NCT's Newest Bears Be Born

Lily in her den (captured from the Bear Cam)

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
from the North American Bear Center

Near Ely, Minnesota, a bear named Lily is about to give birth to cubs. The expected arrival date is today, January 22. And you may be able to watch it all! Click the link below to watch Lily, live.

The North American Bear Center, in Ely, Minnesota, has fitted this den with an infrared web cam. Actually, Lily is only 3 years old, so she is quite young, and it's impossible to tell if she is truly expecting. But her activity seems to indicate it. She is not in deep hibernation. Today, she seems to be quite active. She had plenty of fat stored when she first entered the den in fall. And she is bringing in cedar and fir boughs, to create clean bedding.

The exact location of the den is being kept secret, to protect Lily. But we can probably assume that any hikers of the Kekekabic Trail portion of the NCT might encounter Lily and her cubs this next summer!

Lily is a wild, female bear. She is part of a long-term study of black bears being conducted by the North American Bear Center. She is the 3-year-old daughter of a bear named June who is now 9 years old. June is the daughter of a bear named Shadow who is now 20. Shadow is the local matriarch of the bear clan in the Ely area.

When passing through Ely, which an NCT hiker is sure to do sooner or later, be sure to stop at the North American Bear Center. The facility opened to the public in 2007, and has acres of displays and trails to educate people about bears.

Two links are provided because the Bear Center's feed has been overwhelmed with visitors. Lily seems restless and uncomfortable at 10:30 am EST!

Lily gave birth to one cub around noon. You can see the segment caught from the web cam here.



See Lily's Den Cam
Or Lily's Den Cam

Might You Meet Bigfoot on the NCT

captured by a motion sensor camera near Remer, MN (photo by Tim Kedrowski)

based on a news article in the Pioneer Press

This image was captured October 24, 2009 by Tim Kedrowski and his sons, Peter and Casey, near Remer, Minnesota, near the Chippewa National Forest. Kedrowski says that he is skeptical, but has not been able to account for anyone who was in the area of the camera on the night the picture was taken.

The Northern Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team was called, and they are taking the image quite seriously. Don Sherman of the Research Team, went with the Kedrowskis to the camera site and compared the photo with the tree. He was able to estimate that the being in the picture is about 7 feet tall.

The Kedrowski brothers said that no one else knew where the camera was located, and that they polled all their neighbors for anyone who might have been in the woods there at the time the photo was recorded. For the first few hours after retrieving the image the family members each blamed the other for playing a prank. They finally determined that not one of them had set up the scene.

Two elderly neighbors reported hearing strange squealing noises when they went to use the outhouse at about 2 am, near the time of the image capture.

Minnesota sightings of Bigfoot have been reported annually since 2006, including four reports this year. Footprint casts were taken from one of the sites. In another incident, a truck driver swears that the creature ran across the road in front of his truck.

Others, naturally believe this is a hoax.

But, just in case you see Bigfoot or his spoor while hiking the North Country Trail, contact Don Sherman at 218-308-1451 or Bob Olson at 218-246-8493.

This segment is on NCTA map MN-09

NCT Minnesota Region in Proposed Lynx Habitat

Canada lynx (photo from Fish & Wildlife Service)

based on a news article at MinnPost.com

This plan would expand the national habitat range for the Canada Lynx to more than 23 times its current size — to 42,754 square miles across the northern states, including 8,226 square miles in Cook, Lake, Koochiching and St. Louis counties in Minnesota. The plan was published in late February in the Federal Register. Adult cats weigh between 18 and 23 pounds, and feed primarily on snowshoe hares.

The Canada lynx was named as a threatened species (a notch below endangered) in the continental U.S. in 2000 after conservation groups filed suit to protect it. Under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, as a threatened species, critical habitat must be designated for the animal. That listing provides another layer of bureaucratic protection in the animal's range, although private landowners are not affected unless they receive federal funds or permits.

Much of northern Minnesota has already been managed with the lynx in mind, so officials expect little change from the habitat do-over. About 52 percent of the proposed Minnesota critical habitat is on federal lands, 19 percent on private lands, and the remaining under state, tribal or other ownership. The report said that the Minnesota area is essential because it was the only land in the Great Lakes region where evidence of lynx reproduction occurred. The government lists logging as the most threatening human activity in the cat's habitat.

Between 100 and 300 lynx live in Minnesota at least part of the year. Other states where lynx are known to live include Maine, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. It is estimated that about 1000 lynx live in the Continental United States.

Fewer Northeastern Minnesota Moose

moose on the edge of a small island in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area near the Kekekabic/ NC Trail (photo by J Young)

a news release of Minnesota DNR

Northeastern Minnesota’s 2008 moose survey estimates a population of 7,600 animals. This is similar to last year’s count, but related factors suggest that the population is continuing to decline.

“The raw survey numbers were similar,” said Mark Lenarz, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife researcher overseeing moose research. “But a historically low calf survival rate, a steadily declining hunter-success ratio, and a higher than normal non-hunting mortality rate all continue to suggest a downward trend in the moose population.”

Minnesota’s 2008 non-hunting mortality moose rate was 17 percent, down 3 percent from the 20 percent average rate reported during the past seven years. Elsewhere in North America, between 8 and 12 percent of moose generally die from causes other than hunting.

Moose remain abundant enough in the state to support a bulls-only hunt for a limited number of Minnesotans. But the percentage of hunters who successfully harvested a bull moose has steadily declined from 61 percent in 2001 to 45 percent in 2008.

Members of the DNR’s moose advisory committee are identifying management practices and research opportunities that may forestall the decline of Minnesota’s moose population. The committee will make recommendations to the DNR later this year.

Aerial moose surveys have been conducted each year since 1960 in the northeast. The Fond du Lac band and 1854 Treaty Authority contributed funding and provided personnel for the survey.

See the aerial survey report and additional information about Minnesota’s moose population

Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail

portion of Wisconsin birding trail map and approximate route of the NCT

based on a news article from Wisconsin Radio Network

Six years ago the Wisconsin Birding Trail was just an idea. Now, the mapped auto trail links together various nature locations, and reaches into every area of Wisconsin.

"Essentially the project links the very best places to view birds and wildlife in general throughout the state," said Susan Foote-Martin of the Wisconsin DNR.

Citizens nominated their favorite National forest sites, State Natural Areas, county, city and State Parks, private museums, and nature centers for inclusion in the project. A number of the sites are close to the route of the North Country Trail.

"You can see all kinds of things from the best geology to the best birds to the best big game viewing and see all the beautiful Great Lakes beaches and all the smaller lakes in-between and the rivers. It's quite comprehensive," Foote-Martin added.

Full-color viewing guides with maps and descriptions will lead you to old growth timber, great gray owls, bald eagles, timber wolves, shorebirds, deer, loons, cranes and a variety of animal life and nature.

The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail is based on major highways, and then allows nature travelers to veer off onto county and town roads. Hikers would add, "and then onto trails," to that sentence.

To get your complimentary guide, call your local Wisconsin DNR office, Wisconsin welcome center, or visit TravelWisconsin.com

So You Think Your Food is Safe?

This photo essay is making the email rounds, but it seems really appropriate for hikers to see. Lest you think that bears are not smart or agile, this will give you something to think about next time you hang your food in the woods. And this is why I much prefer to be far away from areas where the bears have become accustomed to people. Meanwhile, have a good chuckle!

Plants Take A Hike

by Joan H. Young

Even Plants Use Wildlife Corridors (Trails)

It’s been known for quite some time that natural corridors, trails being an example, can help wildlife move safely from one area to another. Even seed dispersal of some types is aided by corridors.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis wanted to know more about how plant movement in corridors happens. They got some predicted results, and one big surprise.

Three common means of seed dispersal include ingestion and defecation by birds, wind dispersal, and unassisted dispersal. In unassisted dispersal the seeds fall near the parent plant. The unassisted seeds are not encased in appetizing fruit or possessing fine hairs or wings which allow the wind to move them.

The study accurately predicted the movement of seeds by the birds along the corridors. Researches did not fare so well with their notions of what would happen to the wind-dispersed seeds. The corridors enhanced the effects of the wind much more than what they expected. "In hindsight, this makes a lot of sense,” said researcher Ellen Damschen. “Wind can be channeled between physical structures. For example, think of when wind speeds up as you walk between tall buildings in a city. Corridors may similarly funnel wind and carry seeds down them.”

But the big surprise was that plants with unassisted seeds also moved along the corridors. The prediction was that the corridors would have no effect at all on certain kinds of plants.

However, "we found a really strong response to corridors, contrary to what we expected," Damschen said. ""We think these plants must be being assisted in some way, and we think it's possibly from mammals. Unassisted plants exceeded our expectations by a long shot."

Their next theory is that mammals are inadvertently eating some of the seeds while foraging. To check this out students are now planting various kinds of mammal scat to see if they sprout.

(Do I dare suggest that higher education sometimes takes some strange turns?)

See the original news release fromWashington University in St. Louis