S7 E11: Moosewatch, Wilderness Learning and the Lasting Pull of Isle Royale — with Karen Bacula

Isle Royale is one of the least visited of America’s National Parks. Located in the northwest corner of Lake Superior, it’s a tough place to get to.  Access is only by seaplane, ferry or private boat. But once visitors do come, they are likely to return. Karen Bacula has been coming to this remote island since 1997. As a teacher, she also brought students to explore this unique archipelago of islands. Now, retired, she volunteers as director of Michigan Tech’s Isle Royale Institute and coordinates Moosewatch volunteers, helping people take part in fieldwork that supports the world’s longest-running predator-prey study. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Karen about citizen science, wilderness learning and the lasting pull of Isle Royale.Quotes:“What connected me and made me want to just keep coming back was the beauty, the quiet, the simplicity, but yet incredibly complex whole area of what was there being surrounded by the lake. And many of the people I met were just absolutely wonderful.”“The power of the island, the power of the lake, the serenity, but also realizing that at the drop of a hat, the weather can change. So there's predictability and uncertainty in every step that you take. And I like that feeling.”“There's something special and new about it each time and getting to see the changes.”“We’re looking for dead moose and looking for the condition of the skeleton to see what the moose age-wise, health-wise was like, potentially how it died.”“It becomes very cross-curricular at all different grade levels. But they all come out with the big excitement being to learn how the study's done and to learn the field techniques for collecting data for this study.”“Two things I tell them to pack that are not necessarily on the gear list is their patience and sense of humor.”“Work to bring some of what you just felt right now with the people you met and living as close to the earth as you can live, bring some of that back with you and hold on to that.”Helpful links:Learn more about the Wolf-Moose Project:isleroyalewolf.orgLearn more about joining a Moosewatch expedition:isleroyalewolf.org/volunteer-moosewatchLearn more about Moosewatch for Educators:isleroyalewolf.org/moosewatch-for-educatorsLearn more about Isle Royale wolf-moose population dynamics:isleroyalewolf.org/population-dynamicsLearn more about supporting the research through the Wolf-Moose Foundation:wolfmoosefoundation.orgLearn more about the Northern Moose Alliance: moosealliance.org Plan a visit to Isle Royale National Park:nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/index.htmConnect with us:Lake Superior Podcast Page: https://nplsf.org/podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalParksOfLakeSuperiorFoundationSponsors:Cafe Imports – Minneapolis-based importers of specialty green coffees since 1993, focused on sustainability. Learn more: cafeimports.comNational Parks of Lake Superior Foundation – Donate to protect Lake Superior’s five national parks: nplsf.org/donate