The State Fair is canceled. Fisherman’s Picnic is canceled. Bay Days is canceled. Bayfront Blues Festival is canceled. But, spring 2020 is still on, and it is noisy outside right now. Authors who write books about the “silent woods” or “hushed stillness” have never been in the north woods in spring. In the morning, a dawn chorus of birds – white throated sparrows sing plaintively about “Old Sam Peabody,” chestnut sided warblers are “pleased to meet you,” while goldfinches tweet about “potato chips.”
Providing a bass line for the chorus is the almost subsonic drumming of the grouse. Later in morning, the chorus dies down, but an occasional rowdy flight of ravens may pass overhead, yelling something at one another, or a gull wheeling by may cry out because gulls just can’t help it. Evening comes, and with it whippoorwills sing their name over and over and over and over. Spring peepers and chorus frogs in ponds and wetlands are so loud they can drown out your friend sitting in the front of the canoe. Spring is not a silent season.
You can even almost hear the leaves emerging on the trees. Green up is moving right along, and it brings with it a view of the end of the spring wildfire season. We aren’t there yet though, so wildfire remains a concern, and some people still aren’t listening to Smokey. Our fire people on the east side of the Forest found four abandoned campfires this past weekend, and that is really unforgiveable.
Fire danger is based on many factors beyond our control: wind, temperature, humidity, but we can control the single most important factor in a fire: how it starts. So, put your fire out, make sure trailer chains don’t drag, watch where your exhaust pipe is, and put your fire out again. You can do it.
One of those fire danger factors you can’t change is dry air. We sometimes say “don’t have a campfire if it is very dry,” but what does that mean? We measure dryness with relative humidity. At 40 percent to 50 percent relative humidity, fires may start, but are unlikely to spread aggressively. But if the relative humidity is at 20 percent or less, fires will start very easily and spread rapidly under all wind conditions. If you are headed out for a multiday camping or canoeing trip where you won’t see fire danger warnings, you can plan ahead by looking at the forecast.
If you see predicted relative humidity of 20 percent or less, campfires are not a good idea on those days. It is too easy for a fire to spread rapidly. On days in 20-40 percent range, be extra careful and make doubly sure your fire is out. Above 50 percent… pack an extra lighter and some of those fire starters, because you’re going to need them – but still make sure your fire is out when you leave it.
Roads are in good shape, though watch for potholes. Also, time to start watching for logging vehicles again. The Greenwood road is open again, and log trucks are carrying timber out of the woods.
Boundary Waters camping, backcountry camping, and dispersed camping are all available for campers now, but our rustic and fee-developed campgrounds are still closed as of May 26th. This could change in the near future, so keep checking our website or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates.
The same is true for outhouses on the Forest – closed now, but keep checking. As before, boat launches are open for use, but docks are not in at several locations. Regardless of what you are doing for recreation on the Forest, please remember to review current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and focus on recreating safely while protecting yourself, Forest Service employees and our volunteers.
Black flies are numerous this year, which is great news if you are a frog, or an insect eating bird. It’s not great news if you are a human. These little flies eat nectar most of the time, but the females require one blood meal before they lay their eggs. They get this blood from you. They use sharp mouth parts to make a cut in your skin, and then drink up the flowing blood. This feeding method is why, unlike mosquito bites, fly bites tend to bleed after the fly leaves.
Luckily for us, the adults will only live for a few weeks, so this outbreak should only last a short time – right up until mosquito season. DEET based repellents aren’t as effective on black flies as they are on mosquitoes, and while there are many other types of repellents to try, the best solution might be that ultimate in north woods fashion statements: long sleeves and a head net.
But, don’t let the bugs keep you away. Listening to that noisy spring woods is worth the bug bites or the strange looks you get in your head net. Get out and enjoy the un-canceled spring in your National Forest!
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