Celebrate National Estuaries Day with NERR*
By Daniel Fanning
The community is invited to celebrate National Estuaries Day on Saturday, September 26th by planting trees to protect the banks of the Pokegama River in Superior’s Municipal Forest.
Join Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) staff at 10 a.m. on Barkers Island in Superior on Saturday for a short training, then carpool to the Superior Municipal forest for boat ride and tree planting before wrapping up at 3:30 p.m. Lunch is free and included, and snacks are provided by the City of Superior.
Trees are being planted in response to the discovery of invasive beetles, Emerald Ash Borers, in the City of Superior. Ash trees, which are killed by the beetles, line the banks of many regional rivers and wetlands. Because these trees grow in wet areas, they stabilize stream banks, keeping sand and clay out of our waterways and improving habitat for fish and other animals.
If ash trees die off due to Emerald Ash Borer, Superior’s waterways risk losing this important protection. In response, the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve is collaborating with researchers from Michigan Tech to plant trees underneath stands of ash, allowing the forest to sustain itself in the face of this invasive pest.
Participants should register for the event to ensure there is space. Please call Deanna Erickson at (715) 392-3141 or email deanna.erickson@uwex.edu
The public can also sign-up by finding the Reserve on Facebook by searching “Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve” and register via the link provided. The address of the Reserve and the meeting location on Sept 26th is 14 Marina Drive, Superior WI. The Lake Superior NERR website can be found here: http://lsnerr.uwex.edu/
Daniel Fanning is the Director of Communications & Government Affairs at UW-Superior
*The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve is a research and education program based at UW-Superior and jointly operated by UW-Extension and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a federal reserve encompassing over 16,000 acres along the St. Louis River freshwater estuary. Lake Superior NERR is one of four research centers located at UW-Superior.
