Land is Legacy
/By Bonnie Matuseski, President
While sitting on the shores of Madeline Island, I reflected on my first year as president of the Madeline Island Wilderness Preserve and our role as stewards and caretakers of this treasured place. Our founders knew that stewardship was tied to the land and that land is legacy. Volunteers have respected that vision and secured it through planning, collaboration and action. MIWP holds land in a private trust for all to use, nurturing a sense of connection with the natural world. You, all our members, and our active board are dedicated to fostering the principles of environmental stewardship:
• Restoring and Protecting: A humble few acres in 1987 has grown to 2700 acres held in trust for all to use. Our work over many years has reduced invasive species on both Wilderness Preserve and privately owned lands. We welcome the opportunity to work collectively on all island land in this effort.
• Community Outreach: Educational programs promote stewardship through awareness and understanding of the natural world. This year we will host programs on foxes, raptors, bats, coastal dynamics, evolution of sea caves and more. Several guided hikes will be held to explore our trails and forage for mushrooms.
• Recreation: Each year we make improvements in our trails; last year we installed beautiful trail signs with updated maps on all trails and duckboards on the Nucy Meech Trail. Come hike our trails and find your connection with our extensive woodlands.
• Supporting Scientific Research: In collaboration with Northland College we support Wild Madeline, a project with 25 cameras collecting data that will be merged with a larger body of research to understand wildlife populations in the Apostle Islands. Last year we captured an image of the American marten on Madeline, an exciting find of an endangered mammal.
We are continually challenged to be caretakers in the present and guardians for the future. The choices we make create lasting impact, nourishing this island for generations to come. Land as legacy is both relevant and a powerful mission of the MIWP.
Our environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the resources we use to sustain our lives. As environmental stewards, we recognize we are not separate from, but integral to, nature’s web of life. As 2024 unfolds, the board and I will responsibly consider the issues that challenge us to be environmental stewards. Thank you for your continued support.
Bonnie Matuseski, Board President
September 2023 Foraging for mushrooms hike
