INITIAL PLUM ISLAND OPENING REPORT

Thor Purinton and friends visited Plum Island Saturday, August 16,
on the first of two special days when the public was welcomed
to visit and hike trails.  Shown near the forward range light, L to R:
Dr. John Buckley and his wife, Susan, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama;
Jamie Kornacker, Charlevoix; and Jess Brown, a Van Dam Woodcraft
craftsman who works with Thor in the Boyne City,
Michigan, boat shop.  (photo by Thor)

Plum Island, Death's Door, Wisconsin -

When they returned from their trip on the "family yacht" Moby Dick from Plum Island last Saturday, August 16, I asked youngest son, Thor, how it went.  "Terrific!  We had a great time."

This comes from Thor, who's been on Plum Island numerous times in years past, hiking, hunting, and swimming along a southern beach.  But that was during BLM ownership, after the Coast Guard moved their search and rescue operations to Washington Island, and prior to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) taking over and closing down the island to visitors.   In recent years, unless you had specific permission, such as research or as a work party member under Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands (FOPPI), partner with USFWS, you were not welcome to set foot on the Plum Island shores.

This is about to change, although in a carefully controlled way, starting with two special visitation Saturdays, August 16 and August 23.   One hitch for potential visitors, at least on day one, was that you needed your own watercraft for transportation.

Returning to the old Coast Guard station, near
boathouse and pier.  All structures, except the boathouse which has
already had a once-over,
await major repairs and restoration. 

Plum Island's first official guests for day one included Thor and friends who visited from Alabama and the Boyne City/Charlevoix area.  Dr. John Buckley and Susan are frequent travelers to the Van Dam workshop where they built a beautiful boat several years back, Susan C, and they're now partway along on their second project, Victoria Z.  Through the process of designing and building and observing, sometimes hands-on with suggested changes in details, they've become very close to the Van Dam craftsmen in what seems to be both an extraordinary and respectful relationship.  This past weekend the Buckleys traveled a long way to join Thor, Jess and Jamie on Washington Island, visiting Plum and Rock Islands also during their stay.

Thor's group was greeted near the boathouse by FOPPI president and volunteer, Tim Sweet, and two USFWS personnel who gave them a basic introduction that included a trail map and a sheet of guidelines, as follows:

  *  Refuge open during daylight hours only
  *  Foot travel only on the island
  *  Access for wildlife observation/photography hiking are limited to the established hiking trails
  *  Boats are required to moor at boathouse; dock space available on first-dome-first-served basis
  *  Kayaks / canoes must use designated launch / landing areas
  *  Dogs are welcome but must be leashed
  *  fishing from the dock and beach not allowed
  *  NOT PERMITTED on the refuge:  collection of plants, berries, seeds, mushrooms, rocks, fossils, lantern, or other artifacts; fireworks; camping; campfires; geocaches

Those restrictions aside, several fine options are available in hiking trails, the longest one being the Island View Trail (3 miles) that loops the island, more or less paralleling the beach.

From my own past experiences there, both in hunting and searching out trees with Roy and Charlotte Lukes, crossing the interior on any route other than a maintained trail would not be advisable anyway, under any circumstances, due to wind fallen trees, nettle plants that are six feet tall, and a parsnip plant that can deliver a nasty chemical burn.  From the maintained trails you will have ample opportunity to see Plum Island's varied shoreline and habitat, amazing for such a small island.   In addition, there are the several, interesting former government lighthouse and life saving structures found there.

It is for this second reason many will want to visit Plum Island and absorb the rich and fascinating maritime history of the Death's Door area, with Plum Island at the center of that activity.   The opportunity to view the range light structures up close, along with the old, original Death's Door 1849 lighthouse remains, is reason enough to visit Plum Island.  This old foundation was recently examined by archeologists, and their future reports will help to fill in blanks regarding this early Plum Island navigational aid.

Tomorrow, Saturday, August 23, will be day #2 for public visitation, coinciding with the Death's Door BBQ competition taking place on Washington Island's airport grounds.

-  Dick Purinton

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Out For Review

Aerial view of Plum Island looking west.  
(Photographer unknown, thought to be a FOPPI file photo.)

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) just released their long awaited draft of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), a plan that includes Plum, Pilot, Hog and Gravel Islands.

Of special interest to many people who enjoy natural history, geology, underwater and land archeology, and the encompassing maritime history of these islands, will be the plan pages that relate especially to Plum and Pilot Islands.  This is a very comprehensive document indeed, and it's not hard to understand the time it took to assemble this document and obtain various department approvals prior to public input.  Besides the islands mentioned above, this document is also a CCP for the many other islands in the upper Great Lakes area that also come under management of the  USFWS Regional Office in Minneapolis.

You may want to begin reading this as soon as possible, given its length.  Public comments on this document are due by September 23, 2012.   Written comments can be mailed to the USFWS address at:

    USFWS, 5600 American Blvd. West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN  55437-1458

Or, you may email comments to:    r3planning@fws.gov    (put "Great Lakes Island CCP Comment" in the subject line.)

The actual document can be viewed at:      http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/GreatLakesIslands

Plum Island boat house (exterior refinished) - FOPPI photo

Highlights and pleasant surprises

Plan highlights regarding the future of Plum and Pilot have indeed included the prospect for visitation on Plum Island, with the creation of nature trails, the planning for an interpretive center, the continued restoration of buildings there, and the acknowledgement of the need for more work on the part of volunteers. The extensive work list now being tackled by the many members of the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands (FOPPI) may seem almost without end.  Work already accomplished is a good start, but it's only the very beginning.  That's when people like Tim Sweet, FOPPI President, with his leadership and vision, can instill energy and enthusiasm in others, and present an orderly, longterm process, the results of which older citizens and members of FOPPI might never see.

But we need to start somewhere and the USFWS, by and large, with this plan draft has recognized both natural and human (cultural) benefits these islands have to offer.  This ongoing project is important, we think, for future generations of children who might ask: "What are cormorants?"  "What's a lighthouse?"  ... not to mention the future appreciation and understanding for the century or more of commercial shipping propelled with canvass and steam that sailed through this passage between bay and lake.  (I was reminded how quickly dated design and technology can become when my grandson pointed to the window crank on the 1985 Jeep Cherokee I was driving and asked, "What's that?"  Of course, in his  nine years he had only known electric window buttons and door locks.)

In order to read the most pertinent information for Plum and Pilot Islands you can fast-forward using the table of contents as your guide.  Much of the information I read is concentrated between pages 49 thru 55.   There, Cultural Identity, Objectives and Strategies are outlined.   But I think you will also want to read or at least skim the other pages, too, for interesting background information on surveys of plant types, birds and animals found on these islands.  It adds to the depth of our understanding, and greater appreciation for the job of the USFWS staff.

Pilot Island with dead cedar trees  (photographer unknown)

If there is one facet of this plan I found still disappointing, it was the passive approach to cormorant nesting on Pilot Island, and comment indicating that these birds may no longer actively nest there.  Not so, from what we've seen and heard from others.  If ongoing study of these birds is of such great importance, then let us in on the study parameters and objectives.   If counting of these birds is the extent of study, what has been the historical tally of nests and of birds found there, and how will letting this island be a bird island exclusively - an an extremely important protrusion of rock with maritime buildings, from an historical point of view - how will this further enhance our knowledge of those birds?  Are there not other suitable island locations nearby from which they also have opportunity to eat fish and reproduce, but which have had no similar human historical footprint?

Nesting cormorants dictated Pilot Island's
recent past, and perhaps they will dictate its future.

Well, those are my comments in a nutshell at first reading, but I will take a second and third look before committing pen to paper.  In the meantime, there is a USFWS Open House - a listening and conversation session - scheduled for the Island Community Center's Rutledge Room, Monday, Sept. 10th, between 5 pm and 8 pm.  This will be an opportunity to ask questions of USFWS refuge staff, and to submit comments if you wish.  Comment forms will be available there, so that written comments can be submitted there, or mailed in later.

This draft CCP is an important document that should receive attention from every citizen with an interest in the islands, their environment and local maritime history.

-  Dick Purinton