We are lost in the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It’s mid-summer and a small group of staff and supporters from The Nature Conservancy can’t find their way out of the dark woods of the McCormick Wilderness. I’m annoyed. We’re not trapped in the dense spruce and fir forest along the Peshekee River: I can … Continue reading Conservation for Climate: A Trip to the Michigamme Highlands
Tag: Lake Superior Watershed
Tracks, Trails, and the Value of Nature
Get outside! This winter has been long, cold, and stormy, but rather than admit defeat I headed to the Upper Peninsula for a few days of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. And while making my own tracks, I discovered the tracks of the others who enjoy the outdoors, both animal and human. Following a trail got … Continue reading Tracks, Trails, and the Value of Nature
Winter Like it Used to Be
"In my day, the winters were so much more . . . snowy, or colder, or predictable" seems to be a frequent complaint I hear from mid-Michigan residents over the age of 30 (climate data shows that anyone under the age of 27 has never experienced a colder than average month, anytime of year). I … Continue reading Winter Like it Used to Be
The UP: Use It, Don’t Lose It
In 2005, Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the UP) began a new relationship with the natural resources that so define it as a place. Recently, I revisited the site that memorializes that moment, returned to a Lake Superior beach that shaped my relationship to the Great Lakes several decades ago, and thought a lot about the future … Continue reading The UP: Use It, Don’t Lose It
Two Superior Preserves
Michigan author Jim Harrison writes about places which "impart an uncommon sense of well-being," and tries, elusively, to define what characteristics they have which make them so. There is no particular scientific or historical definition, though we often search for one. Eventually, he decides that these uniquely personal places are "simply the soul's best habitat." … Continue reading Two Superior Preserves
Walks with Tom 