National Forest Visitors Centers Naturalist Program
| NATURALIST PROGRAMS THIS WEEK AT NATIONAL FOREST VISITOR CENTERS |
CASS LAKE, Minn. (July 25, 2018) Chippewa National Forest naturalist programs are in full swing this summer at the area Visitor Centers at Cut Foot Sioux, Norway Beach and the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center.
On Thursday, July 26, Cut Foot Sioux naturalist, Karl Gorecki will introduce visitors to Randy Kolka, research soil scientist at the Northern Research Station near Marcell, Minn. Randy will lead visitors on a tour of the Research Station and talk about climate research. Visitors interested in joining the tour should call the Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center today to sign up. Participants will meet at the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center in Marcell, and then follow the naturalist vehicle to the Research Station. For more information on this tour, call the Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center at 218-246-8233.
Other programs coming up at Cut Foot Sioux include:
Friday, July 27 10 a.m. Learn to Make a Hammock
1 p.m. Edible Bird Nests
Saturday, July 28 10 a.m. Useful Knots
1 p.m. Berries and Ice Cream (Program with a little treat!)
Sunday, July 29 10 a.m. Berry Hike
Wednesday, Aug 1 10 a.m. Animal Tracks
Wednesday, Aug 2 10 a.m. Bike Suomi Hills!
Naturalist Ben Hodgson will be leading a Fishing Friday Adventures to the Cut Foot Sioux Fishing Pier on Friday, July 27. Visitors interested in learning some fishing techniques or just joining in with to tell fish tales can meet Ben at the pier off Highway 46, near the Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center. Bring your own fishing gear for this program.
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The naturalist will also be leading these upcoming Norway Beach Visitor Center Programs:
Friday July 27 3 p.m. Pop Can Fishing
Saturday, July 28 10 a.m. Berry Hike
Sunday, July 29 10 a.m. Beach Chair Birdwatching
Wednesday, Aug 1 10 a.m. Aquatic Critters of Cass Lake
Friday, Aug 3 10 a.m. Fishing Friday at Bowstring Lake Fishing Pier
3 p.m.
Smokey Bear’s Birthday! Celebrate Smokey Bear’s 74th birthday party on August 8 (1 p.m.) at Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center. The celebration continues on August 11 at Norway Beach (1 p.m.) or also on August 11 (at 11 a.m.) at the Discovery Center in Marcell. Join us for firefighter games, birthday cake and get a hug from Smokey!
Forest naturalist programs are offered Wednesday through Sunday throughout the summer at the Cut Foot Sioux and Norway Beach Visitor Centers. Check times and starting locations for each program. Information is available on the Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/chippewa
Cut Foot Sioux and Norway Beach Visitor Centers are open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Discovery Center is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more specific information on Forest Visitor Center programs, please call the Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center at 218-246-8233 or the Norway Beach Visitor Center at 218-335-3076. For information on Discovery Center programs, call 218-836-3161.
The Norway Beach Visitor Center is located five miles east of Cass Lake, Minn. off Highway 2. The Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center is located 17 miles northwest of Deer River, Minn. off Highway 46 and the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center is in Marcell, Minn.
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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, a mission of 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 twenty 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.usda.gov/.
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