From Sandy Gillum, VCLA President

Dear Governor Doyle,

The pier legislation that passed the Senate yesterday is beyond reason, science, responsibility, and good stewardship. Gard's amendments will do more to further compromise our fisheries, beyond what they are now, and leave their ability to be sustainable or rebound in grave jeopardy. Ethics should dictate that if we continue to move in the direction he is taking, the state will pass the "tipping point" and lose one of the natural resources that make Wisconsin great.

It is obvious that Gard simply does not care about the quality of natural resources and the economic benefits they bring to the State of Wisconsin.

Sandy Gillum

Reason number six for a bike trail north of town

Scenic Tourist Activity...

There are miles and miles of quiet roads north of Boulder Junction. Thanks to Bruce Card for the pic.

Reason number five for a bike trail north of town...

Aesthetics. Boulder's gently uniform downtown is one of its best features-second only to its friendly business owners. (And all of the state forest land, of course...)

The Bike Trail south of Boulder actually helps "tie together" those businesses to the downtown in a unified whole. Why not do the same for the expanding businesses north of town?

Reason number Four for a bike trail north of town

Convenience. There are lots of folks who live or stay on all of the branches and variations of High, Oswego, and Fishtrap Lake Roads. And Airport and Dairyman's road! Paving that less-than-one mile stretch would open up all of those locations to a pleasant, paved bike ride into town.

Reason number three for a bike trail north of town.

You usually won't find real estate suggestions on this web site, but there are a number of private parcels for sale north of Boulder on the Airport road and on High-Fishtrap. A selling point would be that one could reach the Boulder Bike trail without riding on Highway M. Lots of families might be interested in that!

Reason number two for a bike trail north of Boulder

Business

It is inevitable that the stretch of M north of Boulder is going to expand. A paved bike/walking path would encourage more traffic north of town, helping the businesses that already exist, and serving as an enticement for new businesses.

Reason number one for a bike trail north of Boulder

Safety.

Highway M is too busy for kids on bikes.

Silent Sport number 6....Boat landing observation...

Quiet season....a good time to inspect the DNR boat landings and campgrounds. "Inspect" has a visual quality, I don't know what the aural equivalent would be. Is the water lapping on shore the way it should? How is the sound of the fish splashing? Distinct and clear? And the chickadees? How is the echo effect?

Go with a friend who knows how to be quiet.

Bike Trail north of Boulder....

Just the other day, I told Gina and a friend that one of my summer goals was to try to organize a fund for a bike trail north of Boulder to High-Fishtrap Dam road. I have seen one very scary near miss on that stretch. A grandfather and a grandson were biking south, and the grandson suddenly crossed the road towards the ice cream stand. A truck with a boat trailer had to swerve.

A few minutes after I said this, I saw that the owner of the business on the corner of M and High-Fishtrap (The Homestead Gift Shop) just posted a petition to have a bike trail built! I haven't talked to her yet, but I recommend that you stop by and sign the petition.

Question to ask the DNR if I get time

Were silent sports enthusiasts asked about the expanded hunting season north of highway 8? I mean, here is an opportunity for us to take the same side as snowmobilers!

artificial golf course ponds are now considered "wetlands"

From Field and Stream: Creative labelling from the Interior department solves the diminishing wetlands problem...

Do you have a local outdoors blog?

Do you have a blog about your area of the outdoors? I would be glad to link to it. I am imagining a loose network of bloggers who keep an eye out for their part of the northwoods.

The Peepers are back!

It was great to drive in at about 9 last night and hear the sound. They didn't waste any time after the ice went out (must have been in the last two or three days). In a week or two, the sound at night will be roaring! Well worth a trip to the North in the quiet season. And, of course, there are the white deer: Especially haunting when you see them in the dark. I saw 4 last night. Here is another Bruce pic:

Another pic from Bruce Card...

Quiet season in Boulder Junction...

We weren't up this weekend, but our friend Bruce Card was. Dont let anyone tell you there isn't anything to do this time of year in the Northwoods.

Anyone paddled the lower 92?

Have you paddled the lower 92 miles of the Wisconsin (Prairie du Sac to Wyalusing) in one trip? How long did it take? I am guessing from Mike Svob's book that it takes about 5 nights, 6 days of paddling. I consider myself a lazy paddler, but I do seem to go a little faster than most of his trips would suggest.

If you have any tips, let me know....

Welcome to quietnorth

Welcome, everyone, to quietnorth:

This blog is a little over a year old. I started it to be a kind of low key advocacy for quiet recreation in Vilas County. Quiet recreational types are not as "noisy" or as organized in defending their interests as snowmobilers and ATVers.

Although I am enthusiastic about silent sports, I am really an amateur and a duffer, and to me "the sport" is in service of the silence.

I will try to post every week, though as a teacher I get busy certain times of the year. My goal is to post 4-5 times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. My posts will reflect what I am reading and what I am doing.

When you have a minute, please read through my previous posts. Much of what I write about isn't particularly time sensitive, and I think there are a few interesting posts from the past.

Thanks for your interest...

Loons on Mendota!

I heard them while running along Lakeshore path this morning. I wondered if any of them would be heading to Vilas county. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow...

Sauntering? Dennis McCann follows in Muir's footsteps

According to McCann, Muir preferred the term "sauntering" to "hiking". Hmmm.....