Isle Royale

Plants Far from Home Isle Royale l ll ll l © DAVE OSTROM G R E AT LAKES GR EA T A Disjunct plant species are closely related but widely separated from each other geographically. Lake Superior a rocky archipelago rises. The cold, deep waters of one Other species, like Isle Royale’s iconic thimbleberry shrub, are western disjuncts. Thimbleberry is typically found west of the Rocky Mountains. Thimbleberry ES This shard of a continent becalmed in the green fresh-water sea is indeed royal, isolate, and supreme. From the northwest corner of Some plant species that thrive along Isle Royale’s cooler shores are not typically found this far south. Northern paintbrush and three-toothed saxifrage, both arctic disjuncts, were probably stranded when the last continental ice sheet retreated. K l Range of devil’s club T. Morris Longstreth The Lake Superior Country, 1924 Isle Royale National Park Michigan l l L National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Common loon CANADA © TONY ERNST UNITED S TAT E S Northern paintbrush of the world’s largest lakes both Devil’s club Three-toothed saxifrage © MARTHA DE JONG LANTINK isolate and protect this place. Its © MARK EGGER NPS distance from the mainland has limited the diversity of species— only those able to make the crossing can call the island home. Humans too must make the crossing, and have been doing so for at least 4,500 years. Isle Royale’s geographic separation protects it Kayaker on Lake Superior © THOMAS AND DIANNE JONES From Isolation, Novelty Island Laboratory You will see the red squirrel more often than any other mammal on Isle Royale. How did it make the crossing from the mainland? No one knows—but because of its long isolation from its relatives the Isle Royale red squirrel is now considered a subspecies. Smaller and less red than its mainland counterparts, it makes different sounds. Its subspecies name, regalis (regal) suits its self-important behavior. Other mammals on Isle Royale, like the American marten, are also genetically distinct from mainland species. Scientist Durward Allen, who founded the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Study in 1958, expressed one value of islands as laboratories when he described them as places “where the animals you are counting and studying do not wander away.” Isle Royale’s isolation shapes its ecosystem. It excludes some species. Others arrive by chance. Some that could make the trip rarely do so. As a result, less than half of the over forty mammal species on the surrounding mainland have populations on Isle Royale today. Fewer species result in fewer relationships among species—creating opportunities for research and long-term monitoring in a relatively simple ecosystem. from outside influences, but it is not impenetrable. High contaminant levels in inland lakes and reduced winter ice cover remind us that actions elsewhere connect Isle Royale with the rest of the world. However isolated, Isle Royale is not immune to humandriven change. Evolving Wilderness Early human crossings of Lake Superior to Isle Royale presented both risks and rewards. Pre-contact cultures, and later the Ojibwe, harvested copper deposits, an abundant fishery, and other resources. Commercial fishermen and copper miners, lumberjacks, and lighthouse keepers depended upon the island for their livelihood. Cool summer temperatures and wilderness pursuits enticed vacationers in the early 1900s. Today Isle Royale National Park is a designated wilderness and biosphere reserve, attracting hiking, paddling, and backpacking enthusiasts as well as boaters, divers, and others. Isle Royale red squirrel © JOHN AND ANN MAHAN Studies on the island have increased our understanding of predator-prey interactions and their cascading effects on other species. Monitoring of bird and fish populations, water levels, and water quality sheds light on the consequences of global changes. Research revealing a rainbow of colors in the island’s garter snake population rekindles our wonder for the vibrancy of the natural world. Nothing stays the same for very long on an island. A little over a hundred years ago, a survey of Isle Royale’s mammals would have resulted in a list quite different from the present one. Moose would be noticeably absent. Caribou would represent the large prey species, while coyote and lynx would serve as the predators. This ecosystem may not be as simple as it first appears. On Isle Royale, a world within our world, all life exists in a dynamic web. Moose © CARL LINDBLOOM Chippewa Harbor Isle Royale © JOHN AND ANN MAHAN ROYAL BEGINNINGS An archipelago One billion years ago, Earth’s crust ripped open here and A deep basin surrounding the rock layers trapped the gla- released lava, which hardened into a slab of basalt rock. cier’s melting ice. Meltwater filled the basin, creating one This cycle repeated more than four hundred times over of Earth’s largest lakes and immersing all but the upper millions of years, creating a giant layer cake of rock. Later, edges of some layers. These “shards of the continent” that massive geologic forces cracked and shifted the basalt lay- rise from Lake Superior form the Isle Royale archipelago. ers, tilting them upward (see illustration at right). Despite the islands’ isolation from the mainland by the is a group or chain RIDGE of islands. Isle Royale National Park is made up of Lake Superior more than 400 Blake Point at Isle Royale’s eastern end, viewed from the air. small islands. VALLEY lake’s deep, icy water, life took hold. Huge, miles-thick ice sheets advanced and retreated during the last three million years. The crushing, dragging action © E. NEIL HARRI of the ice cut deep gouges into the softer rock in between Cross-section of Isle Royale’s ridge and valley topography, formed by tilted basalt layers. the harder basalt layers. As the last major glacier retreated from the region around 11,000 years ago, it left a pattern of parallel ridges and valleys. Explore rugged, exposed shoreline. Blake Point has an overnight dock and campsite. Lookout Louise has an overnight dock and campsite. Sugar maples densely cover some upland slopes. ABOVE THE SHORELINE © VIRENS More than 600 types of lichen, grow on exposed bedrock and dangle beardlike from trees. © TOM BEAN © RAYMOND T. DUMAS As the last continental ice sheet retreated across the region, it helped create the set of conditions in which life developed. It left glacial till on the main island’s southwestern end and scoured the northeastern end. Resulting habitats range from ridges and uplands to swamps and lakes; gentle, sun-warmed slopes to steep, shaded, lichen-covered drops. Notice how the forest composition changes as you climb from the shoreline toward the Greenstone Ridge. The boreal forest Paper birch is among the first trees to colonize areas newly opened up by fire or windthrow. of spruce, balsam fir, and paper birch gives way to a deciduous forest. As you continue to move inland, temperatures rise, and trees such as sugar maple and red oak, which prefer warmer conditions, thrive. Wetlands nestled in Isle Royale’s narrow valleys hum with beaver activity. Carnivorous plants abound in floating bogs. Long-isolated inland lakes are home to native mussels, giant sponges, and species of fish not found in Lake Superior. Little Todd Harbor has a campsite. The elevation of Ishpeming Point, where there is a lookout tower, is 1,365 feet/416 meters. Floating bogs support the carnivorous pitcher plant. © MIKE WANG Mount Desor, located northeast of Sugar Mountain on the Greenstone Ridge, has an elevation of 1,394 feet/425 meters. The ferry trip by the Voyageur 2 from Grand Portage, Minnesota, to Windigo is 2 hours one way. The ferry trip by the Sea Hunter from Grand Portage, Minnesota, to Windigo is 1.5 hours one way (22 miles/35 kilometers). Sugar Mountain, located northeast of the Windigo Visitor Center on the Greenstone Ridge, has an elevation of 1,362 feet/415 meters. Southeast of Sugar Mountain is a campsite. Beaver Island, along the Sea Hunter ferry route, has a campsite and overnight dock. Wild Archipelago Off the southwestern coast are Washington Island, Johns Island, Grace Island, and the Rock of Ages Lighthouse. Cumberland Point and The Head are on the southwest coast. Grace Island, along the Voyageur 2 ferry route, has a campsite and overnight dock. The elevation of Pine Mountain is 927 feet/283 meters. The elevation of Mount Siskiwit is 1,205 feet/367 meters. NPS Windigo Visitor Center, located on Washing Harbor in the southwest part of the island, has a ranger station, marina, store, self-guiding trail, meals and lodging, showers, overnight dock, and campsite. Wendigo Mines is north of the Windigo Visitor Center. Near Five Finger Bay and Duncan Near Scoville Point is a Bay are a campsite and overnight day-use only dock. dock. Belle Isle has an overnight Rock Harbor Visitor Center, located on the northeast end dock and campsite. of the island, has a ranger station, marina, store, selfAmygdaloid has a ranger guiding trail, showers, meals and lodging, overnight station and a day-use dock, and campsite. The elevation only dock. of Mount Raspberry Island has Robinson Bay has Franklin is a day-use only dock. a campsite. Tookers Island has 1,074 feet/327 Three Mile has a an overnight dock meters. campsite and The ferry trip by Isle Royale Queen 4 Birch Island has an The elevation of Mount overnight dock. and campsite. from Copper Harbor, Michigan to overnight dock Ojibway, where there is Rock Harbor is 3 hours one way (56 and campsite. a lookout tower, is miles/90 kilometers). Mott Island, the park 1,133 feet/345 meters. headquarters, has a Edisen Fishery has a day-use day-use only dock. Near McCargoe Cove only dock. The Rock Harbor Caribou Island has an overnight are an overnight dock Lighthouse is nearby. Lake dock and campsite. Benson has an overnight and campsite. dock and campsite. The trip by seaplane from Houghton, Chickenbone Lake Michigan, to Rock Harbor or Windigo has a campsite. is 35 minutes one way. Moskey Basin has an overnight Lake Livermore dock and campsite. has a campsite. Lake LeSage has a campsite. Lake Richie has a campsite. Intermediate Lake has a campsite. At Pittsburg and Isle Royale Mine are a campsite and overnight dock. Hatchet Lake has a campsite. Lake Whittlesey has a campsite. Malone Bay, on the southern coast, has a ranger station, overnight dock and a nearby campsite. Chippewa Harbor has an overnight dock and campsite. The ferry trip by Voyageur 2 from Rock Harbor to Windigo is 4.5 hours and the reverse trip from Windigo to Rock Harbor is 5 hours. Wright Island, off of the southern coast, has a day-use only dock. Isle Royale Lighthouse is located on Menagerie Island off of the southern coast. Hay Bay, located on Siskiwit Bay, has an overnight dock and campsite. Isle Royale in Lake Superior has a linear shape of roughly 6 miles wide and 40 miles long extending from the northeast to the southwest. There are two visitor centers – Rock Harbor Visitor Center in the northeast and Windigo Visitor Center in the southwest. There are various hiking trails throughout the park, but no roads. The ferry trip by Ranger 3 from Houghton, Michigan, to Rock Harbor is 6 hours one way (73 miles/118 kilometers). Hauling a canoe ashore (right). The park’s boundary stretches 4.5 miles from the archipelago’s edges into Lake Superior. Over 75 percent of Isle Royale’s 850 square miles is underwater, and the ridge and valley topography that defines life on land continues uninterrupted. Varying water depths result in a wide range of water temperatures. These affect water currents and contribute to Isle Royale’s diverse fishery––which includes over 60 species. MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Generations of North Shore Ojibwe fished here before the American Fur Company arrived and set up commercial fishing posts in 1837. Small family-owned fisheries also once dotted these shores. Non-native species like sea lamprey threaten the diversity of the Isle Royale fishery. Other invasives too—animals, plants, diseases— challenge the survival of organisms native to these waters. The protection of native species depends upon our actions, not only in Isle Royale National Park, but around the globe. A giant lake trout from Lake Superior’s icy, oxygen-rich waters. © NORTH SHORE COMMERCIAL FISHING MUSEUM Coaster brook trout can weigh up to ten pounds. UNDER THE WATER See ridge and valley topography through the lake’s crystal-clear water. © CARL TERHAAR © U S FISH AND WILDLIFE Islands upon islands on the horizon. QT LUONG  / TERRA GALLERIA Canadian highways 11 and 17 are located to the northwest near Thunder Bay. The towns of Grand Isle Royale National Park is an island in Lake Route 28 runs east/ Portage and Grand Superior with Ontario, west to Interstate 75, Marais, Minnesota, Canada, to the north intersecting with route are located to the and east, Michigan and 26 and highway 45 west along U.S. Wisconsin to the south, that runs north/south highway 61. and Minnesota to the to Keweenaw NHP in west. Houghton, Michigan, and to U.S. highway 41 U.S. highways 53 and 2 intersect near Copper Harbor. 61 to the southwest, near Duluth, U.S. highway 2 runs east/west to Minnesota, and Superior, Interstate 75 near Sault Saint Wisconsin. Marie, Michigan. GETTING HERE The park is open April 16 through October. Public transportation is by boat or seaplane only. Reservations are always required. Passenger ship service is available from Copper Harbor and Houghton, MI, and Grand Portage, MN. Seaplane service is available from Houghton, MI. See the park website for more information. CUSTOMS U S citizens returning from Canada and Canadian visitors to the park are required to clear US Customs at Windigo and Rock Harbor ranger stations. FOR YOUR SAFETY AND TO PRESERVE YOUR ISLAND WILDERNESS No pets within park boundaries. • No wheeled vehicles (except wheelchairs), bicycles, or portaging devices on trails. • Observe park wildlife from a safe and respectful distance. Keep wildlife wild; secure your food. • Enjoy the thrill of discovery, but leave all park resources where you find them for others to experience. • Permits are required for all overnight stays at park campgrounds, docks, and anchorages. The park is remote. Plan carefully and exercise caution to prevent ac- cidents or injuries. • Lake Superior waters are dangerously cold and unpredictable. • Boaters should carry appropriate lake charts. Many shoals and reefs are hazardous to navigate. • Stay hydrated. All water not from a spigot must be treated by filtering or boiling. FISHING A fishing license is not required for inland lakes, ponds, and streams, but you must have a Michigan license for all Lake Superior waters. FIREARMS For firearms regulations check the park website. ACCESSIBILITY We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information contact the park prior to your visit. MORE INFORMATION Isle Royale National Park 800 E. Lakeshore Dr. Houghton, MI 49931 906-482-0984 www.nps.gov/isro Isle Royale National Park is EMERGENCIES Check the park one of over 400 parks in the website fornpf_black.pdf current emergency tionalPMPark System. To learn 1 8/26/22 Na­ 12:33 numbers. more about national parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communities, visit www.nps.gov. Join the park community. www.nationalparks.org IGPO: 2016—393-466/30737 New in 2016