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Category: Nature

  • Get Well Water Tested through Crossroads at Big Creek

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    Crossroads at Big Creek is partnering with UW-Oshkosh’s Environmental Research and Innovation Center to provide well-water testing. Visit Crossroads Mondays through Thursdays, May 29 through Aug. 22, 12-3 pm, to pick up a kit, ask questions and drop off samples. Use the Collins Learning Center’s lower-level door. Water-test prices are $20 for coliform bacteria, $25 […]

  • Baileys Harbor’s Blessing of the Fleet June 1

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    Blessing of the Fleet honors Baileys Harbor’s past and present fishing and maritime industries on June 1. Personal boats may take part of the blessing ceremony at 11 am. Then participate in or be a spectator of the new Launch & Paddle Race at Harbor View Park, where the fearless competitors – doubles or individuals in […]

  • Memorial Day Weekend: Busy on the Water

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    Spring is here and summer is near, but it’s still winter in the water. That’s one of the safety-related messages that the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. Coast Guard has for boaters and other recreationists as we head into a busy holiday weekend. Water has gradually been warming into the 50s in some shallow bays and […]

  • Volunteers Needed for Crossroads Trail Run/Walk

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    Organizers of the Crossroads Trail Run/Walk, held on June 22, are seeking volunteers to assist with refreshments, hand water to participants, direct them to the right route, cheer them on at the finish line and hand out native plants to the finishers. The race starts at 8 am and will conclude by 10:30 am. All […]

  • Get Well Water Tested through Crossroads

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    Crossroads at Big Creek will also offer a gentle, one-hour nature hike to Ida Bay – passing through several habitats – on May 26, 4 pm. Meet at the parking lot at the Canal Road/Buffalo Ridge Trail intersection. Join the Door County Beekeepers Club for its monthly meeting in the Collins Learning Center’s lecture hall on May […]

  • Amazing 6.5-Pound Average Biggest Ever in Bass Tourney

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    A record-setting weight of 32.76 pounds for five fish on the first day of the Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament propelled a pair of guides to the winner’s circle. Door County guide Bret Alexander of Green Bay and southern Wisconsin guide Eric Haataja of West Allis averaged more than 6.55 pounds per bass, which is thought […]

  • Door to Nature: Violets of Door County

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    May is the month for the spring ephemerals to bloom. What are spring ephemerals? They’re the woodland wildflowers that blossom prior to the deciduous trees leafing out. They require full sunlight before the woods are in deep shade from the fully developed leaf canopy. Large-flowered trilliums are some of the most well-known spring ephemerals. When […]

  • Go Dig at Crossroads!

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    By popular demand, Crossroads at Big Creek will open its Ida Bay Preserve hands-on archaeological dig to adults May 16, 2:30 pm. No experience is needed; wear heavy work gloves and clothes that can get dirty. Park in the lot at the intersection of Canal Road and Buffalo Ridge Trail. Wild Ones will host Karen […]

  • Colorful Migrants Finally Wing Their Way to Peninsula

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    Some of the most beautiful birds in North America are winging their way to and through the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula this week. The first-of-year Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks and ruby-throated hummingbirds are here, and a lucky few bird watchers have seen (or may soon see) orchard orioles, indigo buntings, eastern towhees and scarlet tanagers. If […]

  • Washington Islands Birding Festival May 16-19

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    The Washington Islands Birding Festival, May 16-19, still has some spots open to visit Washington, Plum and Rock Islands. The festival is limited to 60 registrants, and they should make their own lodging reservations. U.S. Fish & Wildlife will have bird netting and banding on all three islands, and an evening program will be presented […]

  • Peninsula State Park’s Blossoms and Birds Program

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    Join the Peninsula State Park naturalist on May 14 and 21 for the Blossoms and Birds program: an easy walk of about a half mile to look for spring wildflowers and migrating birds – shorebirds and palm, yellow-rumped and other warblers. The walks start at 8 am and last about an hour. Take binoculars if you […]

  • Crossroads’ Spring Hikes and Archaeology Program

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    Crossroads at Big Creek is leading spring nature hikes on May 11-12, 1 pm. These gentle, one-hour rambles will follow the most interesting signs of spring, seeking out wildflowers and migrating birds along the way. Meet at the Collins Learning Center. The Crossroads middle school archaeology program will continue in the spring for the second […]

  • Door County Land Trust Acquires 40 Acres of Wetlands

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    The Door County Land Trust (DCLT) is pleased to announce that 40 acres of wetlands in the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area are now protected, bringing the total area of land under DCLT protection to nearly 8,200 acres. The Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp, stretching from the northern edge of Ephraim limits south to Peninsula State Park and […]

  • Master Gardeners’ Annual Plant Sale

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    The Door County Master Gardeners Association welcomes the public to its annual plant sale (dcmga.org/plant-sale) on May 18, 8 am – 12 pm, at the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station, 4312 N. Hwy 42 in Sturgeon Bay. “Our community spoke, and we listened,” said plant sale chair Karen Kidd. “We’ve moved the 2019 plant sale to the […]

  • Explore the Spring Skies with Crossroads at Big Creek

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    Join the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society (DPAS) on May 4, 8 pm, at the Leif Everson Observatory for a viewing night, whether cloudy or clear. If the sky is clear, the observatory and StarGarden will be open. If it’s a cloudy night, attend a planetarium show in the Stonecipher Astronomy Center. On May 7, 7 […]

  • Hikes at The Clearing

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    The Clearing Folk School will once again offer free, docent-led hiking tours on its 128-acre property, visiting the historic buildings and campus. The roughly two-hour hikes begin at 1 pm on most Saturdays and Sundays starting May 5, and they’ll run through the end of October. No pre-registration is necessary. Hikers should meet at The […]

  • Kewaunee/Door Peninsula Again Top in Chinook Harvest

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    Year in and year out, there’s no place like home when it comes to catching chinook salmon. The annual charter report and creel estimate released by the DNR show that anglers fishing the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula cranked in nearly half of the state’s entire chinook harvest in 2018. The catch of more than 84,000 was […]

  • 2019 Smelt Run Brings Back Memories of ‘Good Old Days’

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    One of the best rainbow-smelt runs in years had seasoned smelters scrambling last week to find drop nets, dip nets and seines stored in barns, basements, garages and sheds. As the word spread by phone, sport-shop talk and social media posts, Kewaunee and Door County piers, creek mouths and bays attracted men, women and children […]

  • Crossroads Trail Run/Walk June 22

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    The 10th annual, family-friendly Crossroads Trail Run/Walk will be held on June 22 at Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan St. in Sturgeon Bay. Be one of the participants of all ages who come together for this 2K, 5K or 10K event on the trails of a 200-acre preserve. The course follows the perimeter trail […]

  • Maritime Museum Opens Properties May 1

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    The Door County Maritime Museum is opening its properties on May 1 for the 2019 season. Built in 1919, the tugboat John Purves is open in Sturgeon Bay for 45-minute tours through the end of October. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Purves, the museum is also offering a limited number of special […]