Mornin’ to all the duck hunters disappointed about the discovery of PFAS in Wisconsin ducks. 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.

This week’s weekly:

🏃🏻 $8,380 grant awarded for Ironbull races at Rib Mountain

😓 REPORT: Growing demand from data centers could stress Great Lakes

🔥 Prescribed burning returns to Wisconsin Point

⛵️ STORY OF THE WEEK: Door County “The Cape Cod of the Midwest”

🏃🏻 $8,380 grant awarded for Ironbull races at Rib Mountain LINK

• Ironbull’s Rib Mountain Trail Races just scored an $8,380 tourism grant, fueling marketing muscle to draw runners from across Wisconsin and beyond to Wausau’s rugged trails.

• Now in its seventh year, the event challenges trail lovers with 15K, 25K, and 50K courses winding through Rib Mountain State Park’s steep climbs and scenic overlooks.

• With new video ads, social media pushes, and outreach in Chicago and Minneapolis, organizers aim to put Wausau on every ultra-runner’s race calendar while boosting the local economy.

😓 REPORT: Growing demand from data centerscould stress Great Lakes  LINK

• Data centers could guzzle up to 150 billion gallons of water nationally in five years, and with 45 centers already in Wisconsin, watchdogs say the Great Lakes region isn’t prepared for the rising demand.

• The Alliance for the Great Lakes report warns that evaporative cooling alone can drain millions of gallons a day, with much of it lost to the air instead of returning to watersheds.

• Recommendations include mapping aquifers, setting conservation standards, and tightening reporting rules, so the world’s largest freshwater system doesn’t get tapped dry while powering the digital economy.

🔥 Prescribed burning returns to Wisconsin Point for conservation + historical reasons LINK

• For the first time in a century, Ojibwe “good fire” (Ishkode) will return to Wisconsin Point, as the Fond du Lac Band leads a cultural prescribed burn with support from Superior Fire Department and partners.

• The burn will clear invasives, restore nutrients, and renew native plants in a mosaic pattern that mirrors traditional Ojibwe land stewardship.

• Though the point will be closed during the burn, the public can watch from the Bunge Dock—witnessing both ecological renewal and a cultural tradition rekindled.

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WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY POLL

Woah! Only 23% of voters got last weeks poll correct! It is in fact Goldenrod that blooms in September and serves as a crucial nectar source for migrating monarch butterflies. Milkweed usually stops blooming in August.

A review from the trail… Look at that, perfect score!