Local Features

Do you have a special holiday tradition that includes the outdoors? The Masked Biologist shares the history of the side hunt, and the Christmas Bird Count, in this week’s wildlife matters.

For decades, families in southern Wisconsin have enjoyed Christmas trees and wreaths produced on a farm in Langlade County. Many of those families know their decorations come from a different family—one of four generations held together by boughs, traditions, and laughter.

People in Rhinelander and across the Northwoods want to know their water is clean, drinkable, and safe. But that expectation has been muddied in the past year, with the discovery of elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Rhinelander’s municipal water supply. The finding of PFAS, which has been linked to risk cancer, thyroid disease, and higher cholesterol, led Rhinelander to shut down two of its five city wells. That’s left some people confused about where their water

World War II scrap metal drives were an integral part of how people on the home front experienced the war. Much of the metal came from old automobiles, but where some of those old automobiles came from turned out to be quite a surprise.

With wide eyes and anticipation, many stare to the skies on the night of December 24 th to watch for the outline of a tiny sleigh and eight flying reindeer. But, how did Santa first come about?

On Tuesday, high school junior Mariah Freeman watched water drip through a filter she designed and constructed. “We’re going to take the filter we’ve made, and we’re going to pour that water through it, and then retest the water in the new bottle,” Freeman explained. Freeman and her classmates in Cheryl Esslinger’s Earth and Environmental Systems class at Rhinelander High School were simply trying to filter vinegar out of the water and balance its acidity. The students wanted to know whether

In the early twentieth century, it was a risky undertaking to dream of a greenhouse and flower business in a northern logging and lumbering town like Rhinelander. Peter Philipp not only dreamed about it, he successfully built one of Rhinelander’s oldest downtown businesses.

Perhaps more than any other fish, northern Wisconsin identifies with the walleye. But walleye populations in many local lakes have been struggling. Some are even at risk of disappearing completely, as the populations are no longer naturally reproducing. Fisheries biologists have had to get creative to try to address the problem, and they’re doing it in different ways in different parts of the Northwoods. The Minocqua chain is a prime example. “The walleye population in the entire chain was very,

Another gun deer season has come and gone, and hunters are talking about the fall harvest. Harvest is a pastoral term that sounds odd when used in reference to hunting, so in this week’s Northwoods Moment in History, local historian Gary Entz explores usage of the term and where it comes from.

When you stay at a hotel, you can reuse dirty towels and sheets to help the hotel save water. In this week’s Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist ponders the value or need to voluntarily help hotels save water.