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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...

Kwik Trip supports Access for All with generous contribution

Kwik Trip supports Access for All with generous contribution

Friends of the Apostle Islands recently received major new support for its Access for All initiative through a partnership with Kwik Trip. “Kwik Trip is very proud to be a corporate sponsor of the Friends of the Apostle Islands and specifically the Access for All Initiative,” says John McHugh, Kwik Trip’s Vice President of External Relations. McHugh saw firsthand the progress made so far in making the park more accessible to people of all abilities during an accessibility tour of Stockton Island this summer.Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke discusses accessibility goals with John...

Meyers Beach Ramp, Little Sand Bay trail network advance through National Park Service environmental review process

Meyers Beach Ramp, Little Sand Bay trail network advance through National Park Service environmental review process

The National Park Service has issued a final environmental assessment decision endorsing plans for an accessible ramp at Meyers Beach and new trails at Little Sand Bay, which include Mashkiig (wetland) Boardwalk, Nelson Cabin Trail, and Minisi (island) Overlook Trail. The Park Service decision, which you can read here, said the project does not significantly impair cultural, historic and ethnographic resources, soils and topography, vegetation, viewsheds and visual Resources or water resources. This decision is another step toward making these projects a reality.Plans for Meyers Beach Ramp...

Wisconsin Sea Grant climate and tourism outreach specialist supports Access for All

Wisconsin Sea Grant climate and tourism outreach specialist supports Access for All

“It’s obvious that there’s a lot of thought and passion that’s gone into the work, and it was really cool to see it personally." That's how Natalie Chin, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s climate and tourism outreach specialist in Superior, Wisconsin describes her reaction to Access for All - a Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore initative to make the park more accessible to people of varying abilities. Chin attended one of four Access for All excursions to Stockton Island, where she saw first-hand the accessibility work that's been completed so far, including an accessible amphitheater...

Meyers Beach paddlers, hikers learn about Access for All ramp project during Saturday sessions

Meyers Beach paddlers, hikers learn about Access for All ramp project during Saturday sessions

If your travels bring you to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore this month, stop by the park’s Meyer Beach trailhead. If it’s a Saturday, chances are good that you might find a Friends of the Apostle Islands board member ready and eager to meet you at this popular spot.We’re talking to hikers of the Lakeshore Trail, paddlers launching their kayaks for the sea caves, outfitters and guides, and National Park Service rangers about our organization’s projects and our Access for All campaign.On summertime Saturdays, Meyers Beach is likely the busiest place in the park, because it's the...

Statewide radio audience learns about Access for All in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Statewide radio audience learns about Access for All in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

“When you fall in love with a place, you look for ways to protect it, to share and to give back.” And that's exactly what Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Executive Director Jeff Rennicke encouraged a statewide Wisconsin Public Radio audience to do, during a live segment on the Larry Meiller show. Rennicke, Park Superintendent Lynne Dominy and Accessibility Advocate Janet Badura talked about efforts to make the park more accessibile to people of all abilities and how Meiller's listening audience can get involved.Dominy said, "Supporting accessibility is investing in...

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...

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...

“Why I support the Meyers Beach accessible ramp may surprise you.” Public comment period ends May 12th

“Why I support the Meyers Beach accessible ramp may surprise you.” Public comment period ends May 12th

An unseen patch of late-winter black ice changed my life in an instant. My feet took flight as I went airborne. I landed on my side with a bone-shattering thud, a shout and a groan. In that instant, I became something I never expected. I became physically disabled. During many months of recovery, I experienced varying degrees of mobility challenges. I learned to use a wheelchair. A walker. Then a cane. I also felt what it’s like to require help from others for even the most-basic tasks. This accident taught me a valuable lesson: We are all an instant away… whether by accident, by illness or...