Community Outreach Articles

Our Work – Articles about Friends’ community outreach initiatives.

A conversation with Ojibwe Education Park Ranger Peyton Martinson

A conversation with Ojibwe Education Park Ranger Peyton Martinson

In August, 2023, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, in partnership with Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, announced Peyton Martinson as the newly appointed park ranger cultural educator for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. “In her new role, Peyton will work with the park’s visitor service and education team to enhance public and staff understanding of Ojibwe culture and help integrate Ojibwe language, traditional knowledge, and Ojibwe perspectives into park operations,” said Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Superintendent Lynne Dominy. “She will continue to work with Ojibwe...

You did it! Access for All campaign goal reached for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

You did it! Access for All campaign goal reached for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

One more stroke of the paddle and the bow touches the shore. You did it. The long journey is complete. With your help, Friends of the Apostle Islands has reached its fundraising goal of $325,000 for its Access for All initiative. “It takes all of us to make a difference,” Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke said in announcing the achievement, “and with the help of nearly 200 individual donors and more than a dozen caring, supportive corporate sponsors, we did it together.” The Access for All campaign is to date the largest effort of its kind in the history of Friends of the Apostle...

DOUBLE your impact during the Access for All Matching Grant Challenge!

DOUBLE your impact during the Access for All Matching Grant Challenge!

Double is better: If you give right now to the Access for All initiative of Friends of the Apostle Islands, your impact will be doubled by the Matching Grant Challenge offered through the support of the Black Spruce Fund. Double your efforts to create access to the beauty and adventure of the Apostle Islands. Double your efforts to help the one-in-five Americans with mobility concerns, vision, hearing, even cognitive issues that make a national park adventure difficult without your help. Double your donation today with the Matching Challenge Grant and double the difference you can make, for...

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provides $57 million in economic benefits for northern Wisconsin

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provides $57 million in economic benefits for northern Wisconsin

When you visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, your spending has a positive economic ripple effect in nearby northern Wisconsin communities. A new report says that in 2022, more than a quarter-million park visitors generated nearly $57 million in economic benefits for the region. Nationallly, park visits grew 5% in 2022, to 312 million recreation visits. Researchers say visitation has now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Those visitors spent a record high $50.3 billion, benefitting the nation’s economy and supporting 378,400 jobs. Lodging and restaurants saw the greatest economic...

Annual cruise connects Friends supporters with the islands, accomplishments and what’s next

Annual cruise connects Friends supporters with the islands, accomplishments and what’s next

"This was a trip of imagination. It was a trip of gratitude." That's how Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Executive Director Jeff Rennicke summed up the 2023 annual cruise.60 Friends supporters boarded the Superior Princess in Bayfield for the catered cruise to Stockton Island, where they enjoyed some inspiring conversation and gained first-hand exposure to ongoing efforts to make the park more accessible for people of all abilities, as well as the natural beauty of the island.Rennicke chose the accessible amphitheater at Presque Isle to thank supporters for the progress...

Supporters urged to “dream of what the Apostle Islands could become” during Madison Access for All event

Supporters urged to “dream of what the Apostle Islands could become” during Madison Access for All event

Dreams of a more accessible Apostle Islands National Lakeshore met reality as dozens gathered at Rutabaga Paddlesports in Madison for an Access for All event. The gathering brought together donors, potential donors, Friends members and anyone interested in the Apostle Islands for an evening of food and conversation. Representatives from Senator Tammy Baldwin and the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation attended the event to learn more about the Access for All campaign. Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Executive Director Jeff Rennicke told the supporters to celebrate the...

Access for All special event! Join us in Madison on June 27th

Access for All special event! Join us in Madison on June 27th

National parks belong to all of us. Friends of the Apostle Islands is working with. a growing list of supporters and partners to support the accessibility projects of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore through the Access for All initiative. Join us at the new Rutabaga Paddlesports store, just off the Beltline in Madison for a free gathering on Tuesday, June 27th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. We will celebrate what's already been accomplished and let you know how you can add your support to major new accessibility features within the park, including a 520-foot wheelchair-accessible ramp at...

Friends hosts “A Taste of the Apostles” fundraiser for Access for All

Friends hosts “A Taste of the Apostles” fundraiser for Access for All

What better evening than enjoying a place you love with good people for a good cause and topping it off with fine food? On Saturday, June 3rd, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore teamed with Wilderness Inquiry to host a fundraising event called “A Taste of the Apostles.”Held at the Wilderness Inquiry Outpost near Little Sand Bay, the event featured a tour of Meyers Beach, the site of the proposed accessible ramp project replacing the 45-step stairway that now impedes easy access to the beach. “Of all the places we run trips, this project at Meyers Beach would go the furthest...

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

It is the highlight of the season at Friends of the Apostle Islands: a time to gather with friends, members, supporters, new faces, and enjoy the very place we all work so hard to protect. This year, our Annual Cruise is slated for Thursday, August 10th. We will board the Superior Princess of the Apostle Island Cruise Service at the Bayfield City Dock at 5pm and cruise Lake Superior passing Basswood Island, Hermit, Oak, and others. Along the way we will enjoy a buffet and drinks, stories of the islands, watch the scenery slip by and our destination – Stockton Island – looming on the...

Access for All: National Park Service wants your comments on plans for accessible ramp at Meyers Beach, Little Sand Bay trails

Access for All: National Park Service wants your comments on plans for accessible ramp at Meyers Beach, Little Sand Bay trails

Plans for an accessible ramp at the popular Meyers Beach kayak launch take a significant step forward in April, as the National Park Service publishes a draft Environmental Assessment and asks for public comment for the next 30 days. The 54-page document says, "Providing an Architectural Barriers Act-compliant ramp would provide long-term, beneficial impacts to visitor experience via access to the beach and primary kayak launching location to the mainland sea caves, increase safety and improve capacity for visitors of all abilities. " "This is an important step in achieving Access for All,...