WXPR The Stream

Before the ice moved in, the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Community and Wisconsin DNR staff spread more than 400 pounds of wild rice seed on Spur Lake in Oneida County. Part of the strategy with this year's seeding was how to best protect against waterfowl.

Phytoremediation is the process of using plants to clean up waste.It's been used across the U.S. on sites like landfills, mines, and urban brownfields.The U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Lab in Rhinelander has become a leader in a specific phytoremediation method. It's been working to share that method with Forest Service partners around the world.

The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe will begin growing medicinal and culturally significant plants at the J. W. Toumey Nursery in the Ottawa National Forest.It's a first-of-its-kind partnership in the U.S.

The Ojibwe have long looked to Lake Lac Vieux Desert for its food sources.But there's been major declines in wild rice and walleye in recent years that impact the Lac Vieux Desert Tribe's food sovereignty.The tribe is now working with the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest on a project to help improve the two species populations.

Dozens of wildfires burning hundreds of thousands of acres are currently burning out west in both the U.S. and Canada.The last few summers brought smoke from fires just like them to the Northwoods, dropping air quality to some of the worst levels seen in the region in years.

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules that will force American coal plants to either close or cut back 90 percent of their carbon emissions.

Just a few years ago, the very existence of Town Line Lake Park was in jeopardy.

Habitat destruction is the driving force behind pollinator population decline.In response, the No Mow May movement started about five years ago to encourage people to leave some flowers for the bees in early spring.

Nearly 70,000 acres in Oneida, Forest, and Langlade Counties are under conservation easements to be protected in perpetuity.The Pelican River Forest is praised by conservationists for protecting increasingly rare contiguous forestland in the state.

The time of year - spring - is but one important factor playing into the intensity of frog calls.

Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River has several invasive species it's working to remove from its campus.The work happened to align with a new program Blackwell Job Corps in Forest County is piloting.

In northern Iron County sits more than 3,000 acres of a largely undeveloped flowage along the west branch of the Montreal River.The Gile Flowage will remain that way after the county is set to receive more than $4 million in federal funding to conserve it.

For WXPR's The Stream, Hannah Davis-Reid spoke with environmental experts about how the USDA's land management plan revisions impacts the Chequamegon- Nicolet National Forest.

Emerald Ash Borer has decimated ash tree population in the U.S. since the early 2000s.The invasive species has slowly been making its way north in Wisconsin and Michigan.Researchers with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station are working to get the species under control while also trying to restore ecosystems that have been destroy by them.

The upper Midwest rarely sees the type of high-intensity, destructive wildfires that the west coast sees, but that doesn't mean it can't happen here.The Ottawa National Forest works to make sure if such a fire happened in the U.P., people and homes have the best chance of surviving.

For more than a decade now, the Lac du Flambeau School District has brought back a piece of Ojibwe culture that had been missing for nearly two centuries. The Winter Games give students a chance to learn about their culture while having some fun. But a growing concern is how climate change may impact the games.

while the higher than average temperatures we've been experiencing this winter are because of El Niño, Vavrus says Wisconsin has also been experiencing warmer winters due to climate change, with the last 25 years generally well above normal compared with previous years.

A group of college students from Milwaukee are spending this week at Kemp Natural Resources Station at Woodruff.They're collecting data and testing their hypotheses.The catch? They're not science students.

For decades, the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. was home to more than 100 copper mines.One of the byproducts of that is stamp sands, the practice of crushing rock and extracting heavy metals.Remnants of it are still found throughout the peninsula.

There are numerous insects that threaten the health of forests.One of the greatest challenges is finding them fast enough to stop the pests before they do irreversible damage.For WXPR's The Stream, Katie Thoresen spoke with a Rhinelander-based scientist leading a project to try and meet this challenge.It's part two of our series highlighting local researchers who have received Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.

As the Earth's climate changes, scientists are figuring out how to best protect and preserve our natural resources.In Northwoods, that means how to make our forests more resilient.A local researcher has been awarded more than 1 million dollars in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to help solve that problem.

Aquatic Invasive Species are some of the greatest threats to lake health in the Northwoods.Once an invasive establishes itself in a water body, it can cost thousands of dollars to remove it, if removing it is even possible at all.Rusty crayfish has been one such invasive species.First introduced to Trout Lake in Vilas County in the late 70s and 80s, the crayfish quickly settled in with population estimates in the thousands by the late 2000s.But now it seems nature is correcting course.

Further testing for PFAS in eastern Oneida County has revealed contamination in some lakes in the area.WXPR's Katie Thoresen attended Tuesday's town hall meeting with DNR staff. She gives us an update as part of WXPR's The Stream.

Many people often split the sciences and arts as using two different halves of their brains.But a group of scientists and artists working in Vilas County argue there's a lot of overlap between the two disciplines.

A major lakes study in the Northwoods will be used as a baseline for research in the decades to come.Last year, 250 lakes across northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota were sampled.WXPR's Katie Thoresen spoke with some of the scientists involved about what this project will mean for air and water quality in the Northwoods.

Anglers are always hoping to reel in that big musky or walleye in the Northwoods.To create a healthy habitat for those fish to grow, the Wisconsin DNR needs to know how fish populations are doing.

A 2021 storm took down hundreds of trees in the Eagle River area.Some of those damaged areas are still being repaired.

A lot of focus surrounding PFAS has been on how it contaminated drinking water, but a new study is focused on how we may be consuming it in our food.

Slick ice has covered roads and sidewalks across much of the Northwoods in recent days. This also means more salt is being used to melt that ice.That salt has been making its way into lakes in southern Wisconsin for decades. The City of Madison says the chloride levels in Lake Mendota have been increasing by about one milligram per liter a year since 1962.While chloride level data is lacking on many Northwoods lakes, data collected from one local lake makes it clear that water bodies here are not immune.

State Senator Mary Felzkowski spoke with WXPR about her concerns with the Pelican River Forest and why she held up funding for conservation easements on the property.

The 70,000 acres of woods, wetlands, and rivers meant to be a crown jewel of conservation in Wisconsin are now in limbo because of an anonymous lawmaker on the state's Joint Finance Committee.

PFAS levels hundreds of times higher than what is considered safe for drinking water has been found in private wells in eastern Oneida County. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that have been linked to adverse health effects like high cholesterol, infertility, and lower immune response to vaccines. The news of contaminated wells in the Starks and Stella area, which is about 10 miles east of Rhinelander, has left many residents angry, worried, and with more questions than answers at this moment.

Forest County Potawatomi tribal leaders are trying to revive traditional practices like brain tanning, the process of making leather by using a deer's brain to tan its hide. The practice has been around for centuries, but some worry environmental concerns could put a stop to it for future generations.

This October marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act — a federal law that promised to restore fishable, swimmable water to shores across the country. What's changed since then? And what's in store for the future?

A local conservation group is a step closer to opening its second community forest in the Northwoods. If it's successful, the Headwaters Cedar Community Forest will open 200 acres of land to the public and preserve it for future generations.

The growing season may be on the short side in northern Wisconsin, but that doesn't mean it can't be bountiful.Whether you're growing your own food or buying from local farmers, there's plenty of benefits of eating locally grown food.

One third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten.Instead, it often winds up in landfills where it produces methane gas and contributes to climate change.

Typically, when you hear about research projects being done, it's scientists trying to figure out what went wrong.A new study in Vilas County is flipping the script. It's looking at a healthy watershed in an effort to keep it healthy.

Hodag Solar Park is capable of producing 7.5 megawatts. It's enough to power more than 2,000 homes according to Wisconsin Public Service who has now taken ownership of the solar farm built by One Energy.

Senate Bill 802 would allow owners to sell the land to a potential developer so as long as the sale is approved by the DNR and the DNR is reimbursed for the grant money, plus interest.

Looking at a map, the land is located just north of Pelican Lake. The Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest is to its northwest and Oneida County Forest Land sits to its southeast.

The 50-acre project will help Wisconsin move toward energy independence.

Where has all of the wild rice gone? Researchers seek clues for the drastic drop in crop acreage over the last several years.

The tribal fish hatchery in Mole Lake raised an released 65,000 walleye this fall. The fish it raised are healthier than ever.

Filming in the Northwoods started this fall for the next edition of the popular documentary series Wisconsin's Scenic Treasures. Hundreds of hours of field work go into making the hour-long show.