Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Privacy Policy

At Friends of the Apostle Islands, your privacy matters to us. Whether you are donating, asking a question, joining our mailing list, or signing up for an event, Friends works to honor and respect your privacy.

Personally Identifiable Information: Friends of the Apostle Islands receives your specific data only when you provide that information voluntarily through filling out a form to be added to our mailing lists, donating, signing up to volunteer, or requesting more information from us. We promise you that this information will be used only to fulfill your specific request, to keep you informed about Friends projects and events, or to make you aware of important information regarding the islands or our organization.

Friends will never sell or trade your personal information to any other company, organization, or government agency.

Donation Information: Your generous donations to our organization are vital to our success. Because we honor your donation, we often recognize gifts in such places as our Annual Report using only your name and the general category of the gift. No contact information is released through our Annual Report. You have the right to opt out of such recognition by simply requesting that your donation and your name not be made public.

Your information is collected in our database for internal use only so that we may keep you informed of such things as upcoming events, fundraising opportunities, volunteer opportunities, and special projects. Friends will never sell or trade your personal information to any other company, organization, or government agency.

Please note that with respect to on-line donations made via credit card, we receive only the name of the donor, their address (if provided), the amount of the donation and the purpose for which it was made. No credit card information, i.e., the name on the card, the number, expiration date, issuing company, etc., is provided to us. Such information is strictly a matter between the donor and our processing agent, PayPal.

Non-personal (Generic) Information: Friends of the Apostle Islands does gather some generic, non-personal information automatically from users of our website. This generic information does not reveal the identity of the visitor. It usually includes information about the number and frequency of visitors to our website, which web pages were visited, and the type of browser used to reach the site. Friends gathers this information for the limited purpose of monitoring website traffic, page usage, and determining customer service and website improvements.

Exceptions and Limitations: Notwithstanding the foregoing and in compliance with applicable laws, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (i) cooperates fully with state, local, and federal officials in any investigation relating to any content (including personal or private electronic communications transmitted to Friends) or purported unlawful activities of any user of the website, and (ii) takes reasonable measures to protect its proprietary rights. For the limited purposes of accomplishing such cooperation and measures and in compliance with applicable laws, Friends could be required to disclose personally identifiable information.

Because of our privacy policy, we hope you can enjoy our website, sign up for our newsletter, join our organization, shop, and make donations with confidence that Friends of the Apostle Islands respects and honors your privacy to the fullest extent possible. We are glad that you are here and care about the islands. We will do all we can to make your online experience safe, enjoyable, and private.

This policy may change from time to time without notice, so please check back periodically to review this information.

Your Friends at Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Bird’s-eye view: What 50 years of research reveals about waterbirds in the Apostle Islands

Jun 26, 2024 | Education, News, Science

2024 is a milestone year for the waterbirds of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and for the scientists who study them. It is also a time for concern as some waterbird populations are now significantly smaller than they’ve been over the past half century. Others are simply gone. The Apostle Islands and Chequamegon Bay have served as nesting areas for herring gulls, ring-billed gulls, common terns, black terns, cormorants and great blue herons. These birds are colonial, meaning that they typically nest in colonies or groups. As rugged and remote as most of the islands are, Wisconsin...

Thin ice: How historically low ice coverage affects Apostle Islands, Great Lakes

Jan 10, 2024 | News, Science, Top Stories of 2024

It's open water - not ice - as far as the eye can see. Not only in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore but across all of the Great Lakes. As of New Year's Day, less than 1% of Lake Superior was ice-covered - a tiny percentage but still the largest percentage of any Great Lake. Combined, ice covered roughly one-third of one percent of the surface area of all of the lakes as of the first of the year; that's the lowest level in 50 years and the percentage is growing very slowly. As you can see on the map from the US National Ice Center, ice on Lake Superior is now mostly confined to the bays...

The Big Chill: What causes dramatic changes in Lake Superior water temperatures?

Aug 1, 2022 | News, Science

After a hot, sweaty hike, there’s nothing more refreshing than a dip in the lake at Julian Bay Beach on Stockton Island. If Lake Superior stays calm enough long enough, the shallowest water, warmed by the sun, can be pleasantly refreshing. Wade out farther and you’ll find the significantly colder water just a few feet below the surface. However, if you throw in some wind and waves, the water temperature can and does drop dramatically. On a much larger scale, surface water temperatures in Lake Superior are always changing, as they are in Julian Bay. In late July surface water temperatures on...

Real-time wave information expands for paddlers and boaters in the Apostle Islands

Jun 28, 2021 | Activities, Discover the Park, Evergreen Content, Park Info, Science, Stewardship, Wave Watch

APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE, WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Sea Grant News Release) – The brains behind the SeaCavesWatch.org website have developed a new website that offers real-time wave condition information for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Lake Superior. Before venturing onto the lake, paddlers and boaters should check WISC-Watch, which stands for Water Information for a Safe Coast Watch. The WISC-Watch site provides information from seven spotter buoys recently deployed throughout the islands, plus Chequamegon Bay near Ashland and Siskiwit Bay near Cornucopia. The buoys...

Resiliency and vulnerability of Apostle Islands coastal wetlands

Apr 1, 2021 | Discover the Park, Evergreen Content, Features, Our Work, Resource Symposium Day 2, Science, Wildlife

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore supports several types of coastal and interior wetlands including lagoons, bogs, freshwater estuaries, marshes and peatlands that provide many important ecological functions. We investigated wetland hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation, macro-invertebrates, and fish to identify communities or wetland types that are most at risk of climate-related impacts. The interaction between Lake Superior water levels and hydrologic connectivity between the wetlands and the lake influence how these wetlands will respond to changing conditions. For example, the...

Emerging Water Resource Issues in the Apostle Islands

Apr 1, 2021 | Events, Evergreen Content, Features, Our Work, Resource Symposium Day 1, Science

Unique among the world’s waters, Lake Superior lays an impressive foundation for our collective experience of the Apostle Islands. The lake is big, omnipresent, and seemingly resistant to change. However, a closer look reveals a variety of emerging issues and threats. High lake levels and increasingly intense storms have caused significant coastal erosion and damage to coastal resources. Historic rainfall events have delivered excess nutrients and sediments to the lake, affecting its clarity and interacting with warming water temperatures to cause unprecedented blooms of harmful algae....

A Retrospective – Research and Resource Management at Apostle Islands NL

Apr 1, 2021 | Discover the Park, Events, Evergreen Content, Features, Resource Symposium Day 1, Science, Wildlife

The Apostle Islands are a homeland, a place of adventure, solace and beauty, afascinating natural laboratory, habitat for diverse plant and animal communities, a refuge for those that are rare, and a place of national significance. Over time there have been many who have worked tirelessly and passionately to learn, understand, and uncover secrets of this “special collection of islands.” During this presentation, I will provide an overview of the history of natural resource management and research at the national lakeshore over the past 5 decades – highlighting changing issues and needs; the...

Where in the park is Neil? The week 7 answer is North Twin Island

Jun 4, 2020 | Discover the Park, Evergreen Content, Features, Island Stories, Park Info, Science, Where's Neil

As part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, we’re going on a virtual tour with Neil Howk, a man who has spent decades exploring the islands and teaching people about what makes them special. He knows the islands like the back of his hand. This week, Neil is on one of the least-developed and least-visited islands: North Twin. The island is among the northernmost in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is located roughly midway between Outer Island to the east and Devils Island to the west. North Twin has no docks, trails, or campsites....

Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Privacy Policy

Climate Change Articles

Bird’s-eye view: What 50 years of research reveals about waterbirds in the Apostle Islands

Thin ice: How historically low ice coverage affects Apostle Islands, Great Lakes

The Big Chill: What causes dramatic changes in Lake Superior water temperatures?

Real-time wave information expands for paddlers and boaters in the Apostle Islands

Resiliency and vulnerability of Apostle Islands coastal wetlands

Emerging Water Resource Issues in the Apostle Islands

A Retrospective – Research and Resource Management at Apostle Islands NL

Where in the park is Neil? The week 7 answer is North Twin Island

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