Mornin' to the two women who were rescued after their kayaks capsized on the Rock River. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

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This week’s weekly:

• Why Loons are disappearing 🐦

• Muskies are thriving in Green Bay 🙌 

• Saving mussels on the Wisconsin River 🦪 

The Common Loon And Its Decline

Question: What’s a symbol that embodies the true spirit of Up North Wisconsin and Lake Life like none other?

Dad drinking a beer mowing the law—” What? No!

It’s the Common Loon, one of the most primitive—and pristine—bird species on Earth.

Unfortunately for this iconic critter (and us), its populations are declining.

Loony for loons

• Haven’t changed in close to 1 million years

• Indicator species of the ecological health of Wisconsin lakes

• Loon populations have declined 22% in the last quarter-century

Swoon over the Loon

Crackling fire. Waves lapping the shore. A Loon crying out in the distance.

This is the true soundtrack of Up North Wisconsin, a place that the Loon likes to call home.

In fact, if you want to know where “Up North” starts, just look at the distribution of Loon breeding in Wisconsin (the line sits right on top of Wausau).

Why are they so far north? Mainly degradation of breeding grounds in the south.

Loons require undeveloped shoreline to build nests and lay eggs, usually in the floating sphagnum of acidic lakes.

Just like Grandpa Joe, Loons are expert fishermen, diving as deep as 200 feet and staying under for minutes at a time.

How can they do this? Unlike most birds, they have solid bones, helping them sink. True olympic-level swimmers, an average Loon will eat up to 2 pounds of fish each day (hope they have plenty of tartar sauce)!

Don’t be fooled—they’re also great aviators, flying up to speeds of 70mph.

And don’t forget their iconic calls! Loons can be heard as far as 600 feet away, announcing territory, locating others, or sounding the alarm.

Loon declines

Unfortunately, Loon populations up nort’ have declined ~22% in the last quarter of a century.

What’s the culprit? Poor water quality and mercury poisoning.

Researchers began to discover Loon chicks had lower body masses and higher mortality rates, which all point to one thing: Food.

As visual predators, they rely on eyesight to hunt fish in the water. If they can’t see their prey, they can’t feed their chicks.

So researchers asked for help from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, who studied satellite imagery going back 40 years.

The researchers found a strong correlation between WI lake water clarity levels worsening and Loon chicks’ mass declining, indicating a potential cause.

Though it’s not for certain, researchers think that clarity levels could be affected by sediment or lawn fertilizer.

If it is as simple as lawn fertilizer, the solution is fairly straightforward—ensure property owners around the lake stop using it!

How to get out ‘der

If you wan to sink your beak into more Loon lore, check out the Loon Project and its efforts to study (and protect) the Loon.

Or, on July 15th, you could attend a FREE Loon event at UW-Madison with Dr. Walter Piper, one of the researchers who raised the alarm in 2019.

Finally, check out All About Birds to learn about migration patterns and sighting maps, so you too can witness these beauts!

Now forward this email to friend, and get out ‘der!

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Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

In last week’s poll, 45% of you guessed Wisconsin was ranked 5th for fishing licenses sold per capita. Actually, Wisconsin comes in 9th place in the US. The top 5 states are all out West, with Alaska taking the #1 spot.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🐟 Muskies thrive in Green Bay: With the muskie opener in full swing (pops caught a 44-incher last week on a Bucktail!) anglers are optimistic—and grateful—for the rebound of muskies in Green Bay. Famous fishing guide Bret Alexander gives credit to a 17-year cleanup of the Lower Fox River. The efforts removed 6.5 million cubic yards of sediment and placed 275 yards of caps to contain pollutants, restoring 10 billion gallons of river water. Learn more here.

🦪 Saving thousands of mussels from drought: That was the accomplishment of a few good samaritans last fall on the Wisconsin River. Wisconsin’s lasting droughts, plus a series of dams, caused low water levels which stranded (and killed) mussels by the thousands. But a few volunteers helped as best they could, literally hurling stranded mussels back into the water by the thousands. Why does it matter? Mussels filter as much as 10 gallons per day, per mussel. That’s a lot of water. Learn how volunteers are prepping to help these mussels, should it happen again…

🦃 50,000 turkeys in ‘da freezer: Spring turkey hunters registered 49,759 wild turkeys this spring, the highest # in 15 years, per the DNR. This beat last year’s harvest by 17%. Why was it so good? Mild winters and a warm, dry spring led to more turkey activity and successful hunts. Our sustainable turkey conservation model is also leading to increasing turkey populations, unlike other states who unfortunately are seeing declining #’s (Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia).

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Meme of the Week 😂

A review from the trail… Just like my family’s weekly tick check…