Lake States Guild Gathering on Birds and Old Growth

Written by Christian Nelson and Mike Lynch

Lakes States Guild Members gathered for two days at the end of August for field tours, campfires, and inspiring conversation. The event was held at the beautiful and historic Kemp Field Station on the shores of Lake Tomahawk in the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest of Wisconsin.  

We started on a beautiful late summer morning at the University of Wisconsin – Steven Point’s (UWSP) Treehaven field station to discuss prescribed burning, fire ecology, ephemeral ponds, the role and importance of beavers on the landscape, and how birds and other wildlife utilize and respond to different forest and fire management strategies and habitats. Treehaven’s Ecologist, Eli Anoszko, and UWSP Forest Ecology Professor Michael Tiller lead the morning’s session while UWSP Forest Silviculture Professor Michael Demchik lead the afternoon session with support from Ruffed Grouse Society’s Jon Steigerwaldt, Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s Tracy Hames, and the Wisconsin Center for Wildlife’s Jennifer Summers. 

After the field tour we returned to the Kemp Field Station where Guild members were treated to a pot-luck style dinner and campfire before retreating to sleep in the 100+ year old lakeside log cabin. 

The next morning, we enjoyed a birding and nature walk followed by breakfast. Refreshed, we heard a presentation by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Ecology Research Scientist Amanda McGraw on the Managed Old-Growth Silviculture Study (MOSS). The MOSS project is in its 17th year with study sites in three areas of northern Wisconsin. After the orientation presentation, we visited the Laura Lake site on the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest with the research group to see and discuss the forest management treatments in this northern hardwood stand. USDA Forest Service Research Forester Christel Kern and Wisconsin DNR Silviculturist Greg Edge led the group to several forest gaps to discuss the ways the forest has responded to treatments. They also covered the challenges posed by deer, Pennsylvania sedge, and invasive earthworms in recruiting tree seedlings and other plant diversity while creating old-growth conditions in a managed system. Discussions also touched on evaluating the value of a site from different lenses, such as forestry for birds and other wildlife.  

Guild members had opportunities to share how they found and value the Guild community. It remains consistently apparent that Guild members contribute tremendously to each other and to healthy forests, through their work, knowledge, willingness to ask questions and ask for help, and resource sharing.  

Thank you to all who joined us and for all you do for forests. We look forward to hosting again in the Lake States soon and encourage members everywhere to host gatherings of their own, whether it’s field tours or discussions over coffee, tea, hikes, book clubs, and more. 

Editor’s note: an Instagram story on Guild social media and a photo slide deck on the Lake States Guild webpage will be available soon.