The Making of a Master Naturalist

The sound of boots crunching on sandy sediments and excited chatter filled the air. The first day of our Wisconsin Master Naturalist training had begun, and twenty people from all walks of life were eager to learn about the ecology of the Northwoods. Over the next five days, these participants would be exploring sites all over Bayfield County, and learning from experts across multiple natural resource fields. Our goal was not to instantly train experts in Northwoods ecology, but rather to spark curiosity and connection with the natural world. Whether coming from a natural resource background themselves, or simply wanting to learn more about nature, our participants were eager to dive into the knowledge of our experts. And we were jumping right into the geology of the Northwoods at our first field trip location–an esker left by the glaciers around 11,000 years ago.

Glaciers shaped the Northwoods that we see today. As glaciers expanded into Northern Wisconsin, they scraped and broke bedrock, carrying it south in the ice. And as the Earth began to warm, the glaciers began to melt and recede, depositing large amounts of sediment as they went. This shaped the topography of the land and influenced the soil types of the Northwoods. Our Wisconsin Master Naturalists in training got to experience how the glaciers shaped the landscape firsthand, standing in the middle of an esker. They were standing right in the remnants of an ancient riverbed that had flowed underneath a glacier and was left as the glacier receded. The crest of the esker towered above them, a mix of glacial sediments from sand all the way to small boulders. Our studious participants all seemed entranced listening to our geology expert, and rightfully so–what better setting could you have to learn about geology?

Standing in the remnants of an ancient glacial riverbed. Photo by CNHM.

With glaciers influencing the soil types of the Northwoods, it was only natural to follow our geology day with a day exploring the diverse botany and geology at Morgan Falls. Our botany expert led participants through the woods, teaching them how to use a dichotomous key to identify different trees and wildflowers, teaching them about the species we were finding, and explaining why they were able to grow at Morgan Falls. Our participants were like sponges, soaking up everything that they possibly could. The hours with our expert passed so quickly we found ourselves wanting more time.

Participants listening intently on how to use the plant ID key at Morgan Falls. Photo by CNHM.  

Though the week started out about perfect as things can be, the weather threw a wrench in our plans for the day we were set to bird band in the Moquah Barrens. Rather than banding in the Barrens with our expert, he set up mist nets at the Great Lakes Visitor Center and banded birds there instead. Participants' excitement was at an all-time high when the first bird flew into our mesh net–we were getting to band a bird after all! Our expert gently removed the female red-winged black bird from the net and put her in a small mesh bag to transport her back to the banding table. From there, she was weighed and then taken out of the mesh bag to be banded. The expert held her in his hands gently as he explained the data taken during banding, and how the band fits on the bird's leg. Then, as participants held on to his every word, he fit the bird's new bling over her tiny leg, fitting it perfectly. Once the band was on, participants took turns learning how to hold the bird properly for banding, teaching each other as they passed the bird along before eventually releasing her back into the wild.

A female red-winged black bird after banding. Photo by CNHM.

The end to our Master Naturalist course was very bittersweet. We managed to cram a lot of information, experiences, and comradery into the six days we were together (too much to fit in this article), but the impacts made in those six days will last well beyond our time together. The spark within our little group was lit, and there are now twenty new Wisconsin Master Naturalists ready to go out into the world and make an impact, hopefully sharing that spark with others as they go. I am forever grateful to share this experience with them, and can’t wait to see what they do as Master Naturalists.

For more than 50 years, the Cable Natural History Museum has served to connect you to the Northwoods. Our Summer Calendar is open for registration! Visit our new exhibit, “The Wetland Way’. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and cablemuseum.org to see what we are up to.

Fossil Explorations

I sat on the tan, dusty ground of the quarry in north central Iowa, fingers grasping at the shell that lay halfway buried in the chalky clay and limestone. Wiggling it back and forth, I gently pulled it up from the ground that it had been resting in for millions of years. The ridged shell was almost perfectly intact, painting me a detailed picture of what the animal looked like. I had found a brachiopod fossil, a marine invertebrate who used to live in the warm, shallow sea of the Devonian Period, roughly 380 million years ago. As I sat examining my find, I couldn’t help but think about how special it is to find something so ancient, to hold the remnants of their life in my hand, and glimpse what life on Earth was like millions of years ago.

Ridged brachiopod fossils with intricately preserved detail. Photo by Heaven Walker.

While Iowa may currently be land locked, if we were to travel back in time to the Devonian Period, Iowa would be found near the Equator and beneath a warm, shallow sea. This ancient environment supported a vast number of marine invertebrate species who lived along the sea floor. Snails and trilobites roamed through bunches of corals, brachiopods, and crinoids, all while cephalopods and fish ruled the waters above.

I can imagine the seabed, littered with solitary brachiopods as they slowly opened and closed their shells while filter feeding, much like their modern day descendants. Brachiopods contributed to the mosaic of diversity along the sea floor, with different species toting different shell shapes and sizes that help to classify their fossilized remains today. I can imagine the crinoids, also known as sea lilies, with their long, segmented stalks and flower-like head, or calyx, waving in the current. As filter feeders, their feathery arms on the calyx would have been gathering up food particles and directing them towards their mouth.

The disked segments of the stalk are the most commonly found remains of the crinoids who once inhabited the landscape. Also joining in on the filter feeding party of the Devonian Period were the horn corals. Their ridged, curved outer shell served as a protective layer for the soft-bodied polyp living inside. Small tentacle-like structures erupted from the top of the coral, filtering food out of the water. While looking at the horn coral fossil I can see the different segments of growth, etching their life in stone.

Horn coral (left) and a gastropod fossil (right). Photo by Heaven Walker.

As these ancient marine organisms died, their shells, skeletons and other hard parts built up on the sea floor, providing calcite to the bottom of the sea. As layers built up, they became compacted and sedimented into the limestone that is now widely seen throughout Iowa. Because of the limestone bedrock, marine fossils can be found in many areas of the state. My eyes are almost always glued to the ground because of my time growing up in Iowa looking for fossils, and that habit follows me wherever I go.

However, I won’t be tracking down fossils here in the Northwoods. The shallow sea that blanketed Iowa during the Devonian Period did not reach where the Northwoods are today. Long before the Devonian Period, the bedrock of the Northwoods was gradually being elevated, creating the Wisconsin Dome. The shallow Devonian sea did not cover the height of the Wisconsin Dome, but rather resided in less elevated parts of southern Wisconsin. But in my mind, the Northwoods make up for their lack of marine fossils in rolling hills, swaths of forest to explore, and beautiful waterfalls. And even though I reside in the Northwoods fulltime now, I cherish the opportunity to return to my roots and dig up fossils in Iowa.

For more than 50 years, the Cable Natural History Museum has served to connect you to the Northwoods. Our Summer Calendar is open for registration! Visit our new exhibit, “The Wetland Way". Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and cablemuseum.org to see what we are up to.