WTIP Outdoor News Podcast

A severe thunderstorm with heavy rain swept across northern Minnesota on Tuesday, Jun. 18, significantly damaging roads and impeding travel within the BWCA and Superior National Forest. 

On the Gunflint Trail, some motorists were trapped by fallen trees. In addition, there was extensive flooding and washouts across county roads and highways in the area. A search and rescue effort took place in the BWCA when a tree fell on a 9-year-old boy while he was inside a tent. In this week's Outdoor News Podcast, host Kalli Hawkins hears from Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak, Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen and Woody Unruh with the National Weather Service. 

Many migratory birds have returned to the Great Lakes and northern regions of Minnesota in recent weeks. 

In this week's Outdoor News Podcast, host Kalli Hawkins speaks with Steve Kolbe, an avian ecologist with the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota- Duluth about the spring migration and what researchers are noticing given the early arrival of spring along the North Shore of Lake Superior. 

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Minnesota Department of Transportation worked closely to install dual language river signage along Highway 61 stretching from Grand Marais to the Canadian border. On Thursday, May 16 a ceremonial unveiling event for one of the signs was held at the Devil Track River, east of Grand Marais. 

In this week's episode, Erik Redix, the Ojibwe and environmental education coordinator for the Grand Portage Band speaks about the significance of the dual language sign.

Superior National Forest officials recently announced an update to a forest order for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) requiring that all food, food containers and scented items be safely stored to help prevent bear-human interactions. The release of the updated BWCAW forest order created a stir in numerous media outlets and online communities. 

In this episode, podcast host Kalli Hawkins speaks with Cathy Quinn, the Superior National Forest Acting Wilderness Program Manager about the updated forest order and to provide clarification on the matter. 

In the last month, anglers have ventured to many of the North Shore rivers, to try their luck catching a Lake Superior Steelhead during the spring Steelhead run. Some have found success, while others….not so much. 

In this week's Outdoor News Podcast, host Kalli Hawkins visits a North Shore river with Cory Goldsworthy, the Lake Superior area fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for a steelhead fishing excursion, talk about the status of Lake Superior Steelhead, and how the 2024 spring run compares to previous years along the North Shore.  

The U.S. Forest Service is gearing up to launch a spruce budworm response project in Cook County this summer as the prevalence of the spruce budworm expands across northeastern Minnesota.

As a preventative mitigation effort, this summer, the Forest Service intends to implement a Blue Cascade Spruce Budworm Response and Restoration Project stretching from the Caribou Trail to County Road 14, east of Grand Marais. The entire project will encompass over 2000 acres and focus on vegetation management, reducing hazardous fuels, and minimizing the density of spruce plantations to allow for more ecologically appropriate mixed-forest types.

In this week's episode of the Outdoor News Podcast, host Kalli Hawkins speaks with Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak about the spruce budworm project. Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak also provides outdoor reminders as the busy summer season nears in the BWCA and Superior National Forest. 

Ryan Pennesi is a wildlife photographer based in Finland, Minn. and spends much of his time in the Superior National Forest tracking wildlife using camera-trap photography. In this week's episode, Ryan Pennesi, who is also a wildlife technician with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources talks about his passion for camera-trap photography, how his efforts contribute to better understanding of natural wildlife behavior and ongoing conservation efforts in northeast Minnesota.

Find Ryan Pennesi's photography and conservation efforts here: https://www.ryanpennesi.com/

There was a strong showing of Minnesotan's during the 52nd annual historic Iditarod race in Alaska this year. 

Three northern Minnesota individuals, two mushers and a photographer, participated in the 2024 Iditarod. The two mushers, Anna Hennessy and Erin Altemus have Grand Marais connections and each raced as a rookie in the historic race. Another individual, Ryan Rumpca, a landscape and outdoor lifestyle photographer based in Duluth was part of the Iditarod Insider crew. He shares a behind-the-lens look of the Iditarod in this week's Outdoor News Podcast episode.