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Discover the Park – Places

Friends volunteers tend Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, first of many gardening opportunities

Friends volunteers tend Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, first of many gardening opportunities

Prairie Alumroot - Jon Okerstrom photoThe first green shoots emerge from the warming earth as spring arrives in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Outside of park headquarters in Bayfield and on the grounds of iconic island lighthouses, the gardens will grow, with help from green-thumbed Friends of the Apostle Islands volunteers.A team of five volunteers recently worked in the Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, clearing away last year's plant debris, pulling weeds, placing signs identifying the plants and refreshing the wood chips covering the paths. The project organizer says the garden...

Government shutdown: what’s happening in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Government shutdown: what’s happening in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

As of 12:01 a.m. on October 1st, many parts of the federal government, including the National Park Service, entered a shutdown which will continue until Congress passes - and the president signs - legislation extending the funding of federal agencies. In an effort to serve park visitors, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is providing periodic informational updates. Please note that available information is limited. It is based largely on first-hand observations in the Lakeshore, unless otherwise noted. Official updates from the National Park Service are available on the...

What will happen to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during the government shutdown?

What will happen to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during the government shutdown?

After Congress and the President failed to come to an agreement on any short-term funding bill, the United States government ground to a halt at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on October 1st. This is the 22nd government shutdown since 1976. Those government lapses have varied from short one-day closures which took place several times in the 1980’s, to 35-days in 2018-2019, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.As always, there is a tangle of questions about what happens across the federal government in times of a shutdown, not the least of which is the question of what will occur in our national...

Friends volunteers prepare Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden for a vibrant summer display

Friends volunteers prepare Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden for a vibrant summer display

The Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden outside of National Park Service headquarters in Bayfield is ready to put on a vibrant show this summer, thanks to volunteers with Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.The volunteers gathered on a sunny day in late May to remove weeds, invasive species and debris from the prior growing season, to give the desired plant species the room to grow and bloom.Volunteers tend the Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden - Bob Jauch photosDuring last fall's garden clean-up, volunteer Erica Peterson said, “We started a nursery in the garden so that next year we...

Badges of honor: Celebrating Junior Rangers

Badges of honor: Celebrating Junior Rangers

Raise your right hand and repeat after the ranger: “I am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national park places. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals, and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.” With that oath, and a completed Junior Ranger booklet, you too can join the millions of people, the young and the young-at-heart, who have become Junior Rangers with the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS Junior Ranger program is an activity-based...

Volunteers prep Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden for a long winter’s nap and vibrant spring

Volunteers prep Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden for a long winter’s nap and vibrant spring

Bayfield-area volunteers and native garden advocates met at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Headquarters in Bayfield for their annual fall cleanup in the Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden. “It’s really a chance to get the garden ready for next Spring,” says Erica Peterson, one of the organizers. The group deadheaded spent flower heads but left the ones with seeds for dispersal. Flower stalks up to 14” were also left for native pollinators who make homes in the hollow stems. The group is always pleased to see the before and after. Together they put in a combined 20 hours of work, and it...

Now showing! You’re invited to a online film festival, featuring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Now showing! You’re invited to a online film festival, featuring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

The beauty and history of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and many other national parks will be showcased in an online film festival starting June 12th, thanks to the National Park Service. We hope you'll join the Friends in the virtual audience for this online event as we celebrate 50 years of the park we love. "On the Edge of Gichigami - Voices of the Apostle Islands" will run from June 12 through June 25. This 20-minute film features the voices of those who live, work and play in the islands. You'll enjoy hearing stories of the region, as images of lighthouses, beaches, sandstone...