Howl O Ween Event
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Howl-O-Ween Family Fun Event Set For October 25
WALKER, Minn. (October 16, 2019) – Forest visitors are invited to join the Chippewa National Forest 11th annual Howl-O-Ween Scavenger Hunt at Shingobee Hills near Walker, Minnesota on October 25. This family-friendly night time event is scheduled from 6–8 p.m. on Friday evening.
Forest employees will be on hand to help visitors celebrate National Bat Week and complete a scavenger hunt along the short trail at the base of the popular Shingobee sledding hill. Visitors can park at the top of the hill and either hike down the sledding hill or take a marked trail to the historic Shingobee chalet.
Once at the chalet, families can pick up their scavenger hunt cards and follow a ¼ mile pumpkin-lantern trail down the hill to find six bat trivia stations along with a number of familiar night critters hidden along the way. Back at the chalet, everyone can warm up with hot chocolate or roast a marshmallow over the campfire.
Kids are encouraged to wear wildlife costumes, especially bat costumes to celebrate National Bat Week! (No scary costumes, please.) Visitors should bring warm clothes and a flashlight along to hike the trail to the chalet. In case of bad weather, the event will be cancelled. Check the Forest Facebook or Twitter pages for weather-related updates. Shingobee Hills is located 6 miles south of Walker off Highway 34. Watch for signs at the Shingobee Hills Recreation Area. For more information, call the Walker Ranger District at 218-547-1044.
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About Chippewa National Forest
Chippewa National Forest is the first National Forest established east of the Mississippi with nearly 1.6 million acres at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in north-central Minnesota. Chippewa National Forest shares boundaries with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and contains outstanding cultural resources, premier habitat for aquatic, riparian and terrestrial wildlife and plants, leads in conservation of the bald eagle and in protection for vast wetland resources. Visit the Chippewa National Forest’s website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/chippewa for more information.
About the U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its mission is sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service’s Eastern Region includes 20 states in the Midwest and east, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota. There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R9.
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free customer service), (800) 877-8339 (local or federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (relay voice users).
