Mornin' to everyone spending Thanksgiving with loved ones! The kayaker who faked his own death has resurfaced! 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:

🐟 Lake Superior trout recover after decline

🎄 Where to harvest your Christmas tree this year

🥾 New 12-month State Park passes on sale Dec. 2

👀 Story of the week: Wisconsin’s First Thanksgiving

🐟 Lake Superior trout recover after decline LINK

• Lake trout populations in most of Lake Superior have recovered after decades of efforts to control the invasive sea lamprey and reduce overfishing.

• Binational cooperation, including the use of lampricide, stocking adjustments, and fish refuges, played a critical role in restoring the lake's ecosystem and fisheries.

• Despite the recovery, challenges remain, such as ongoing sea lamprey control and addressing environmental issues like mining waste affecting key spawning areas.

🎄 Where to harvest your Christmas tree this year LINK

• Wisconsinites can harvest holiday trees like balsam firs and pines from select northern state forests with a $5 permit from the Wisconsin DNR.

• Tree harvesting is only allowed in designated state forests and requires adherence to specific guidelines, including avoiding roads, trails, and campgrounds.

• The Wisconsin DNR advises checking the spongy moth quarantine map to prevent transporting trees out of quarantined areas.

🥾 New 12-month State Park passes on sale Dec. 2 LINK

• The Wisconsin DNR will begin selling new 12-month vehicle admission passes on Dec. 2, 2024, offering year-round access to state parks, forests, and recreation areas, with passes valid for 12 months from the purchase month.

• The updated pass system follows 2023 Wisconsin Act 113 and features a redesigned pass with expiration dates marked clearly, while reduced-rate passes remain available for additional household vehicles.s

• Vehicle admission passes cost $28 for Wisconsin-registered vehicles and $38 for out-of-state vehicles, while senior and additional vehicle discounts apply; state trail passes, sold separately, are required for activities like biking and skiing on designated trails.

🦃 STORY OF THE WEEK: Wisconsin’s first Thanksgiving LINK

Everyone knows the story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock feasting with the Wampanoag in 1621, but did you know Wisconsin has its own version?

It’s got the same vibe: starving explorers, generous natives, and a life-saving meal.

So before you sit down for Ma’s famous stuffing and “holy smokes, Dad didn’t overcook the turkey,” let’s rewind to 1659, when things were much tougher in Wisconsin.

Freeze or starve—that was the grim reality for French traders Pierre Esprit Radisson and his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart Sieur des Groseilliers. These explorers were the first Europeans to enter Wisconsin since Jean Nicolet decades earlier, and their winter was brutal.

Running out of food, they ground up old bones, scavenged discarded guts, and even ate their dogs to survive. Dog eat dog world, eh?

Radisson wrote, “Finally, we became the very image of death. We mistook the living for the dead and the dead for the living.”

Just as they were preparing for the end, a group of exiled Ottawas stumbled upon them. Seeing their desperate state, the Ottawas quickly prepared a meal of wild rice and turkey, likely saving their lives.

The explorers were moved to tears by the Ottawas’ kindness, and the natives even performed a ceremonial blessing over them.

Grateful, the Frenchmen gave a speech of thanks and spent the winter with their saviors. Radisson and Groseilliers would later establish fur-trading posts and help form the Hudson Bay Company.

Now forward this email to a friend, have a great Thanksgiving, and get out ‘der.

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Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Well folks, weekend trip recommendations received 48% of the votes, and outdoor events of the week received 37%, so guess what? We are going to combine them both into a special section and give you the best of both worlds! You-betcha

Meme of the Week 😂

A review from the trail… We love ya’s coming out each week!