The headwaters' region of North Pikes Creek is an expansive area comprised of marshes, ponds, shrub thickets, and wetland forests teeming with wildlife, including 32 rare, threatened, and endangered species of birds and mammals. The wild and wet nature of…
You've more than likely seen purple loosestrife growing in road ditches, wet meadows, marshes, and along river and stream banks. It may look pretty, but it is invasive everywhere it is found in North America! Purple loosestrife was brought to…
In 1986, Trumpeter Swans, once plentiful in Wisconsin, were absent from the state. Market hunting and feather collection in previous centuries had decimated their population. Sumner Matteson, and other WDNR scientists, drafted a Trumpeter Swan recovery plan to return these…
Fresh snow is falling! It's time to get outside at Beaver Hollow with your snowshoes! You don't have snowshoes? Luckily, thanks to generous donations from the Bayfield Community Education Foundation (BCEF), and from Friends' members, we are able to loan…
There's no such thing as bad weather - only bad clothing, according to the Norwegian maxim,“Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær!” This is oft repeated throughout Scandinavia, where people grow up with a unique relationship with nature. Children are…
In the past fifteen months, Friends of the North Pikes Creek Wetlands’ volunteers have worked diligently to install infrastructure on a one-acre portion of the Friends’ conservation property. This area, aptly named Beaver Hollow, serves the outdoor educational and recreational…
You've likely noticed the jumble of trees lying along the boardwalk and in the marsh at Beaver Hollow. A couple years before the Friends purchased the property where Beaver Hollow is located, beavers dug a canal along the abandoned railroad…
Friends' volunteers installed bat houses at Beaver Hollow recently. Two large bat houses were installed by the pavilion, and two smaller bat houses, the size typically used in residential settings, were mounted by the kiosk. We're ready for bats! North…
The Friends are pleased to announce the purchase of a 10-acre North Pikes Creek wetland property that adjoins the Community Forest on the south side. The acquisition of this acreage protects it from conversion to non-conservation uses. The Friends will…
The Friends are pleased to announce the completion of an informational/interpretive kiosk at their Beaver Hollow Outdoor Education Area. The kiosk is located just inside the pedestrian gate, along the accessible walkway that leads into Beaver Hollow. The kiosk project…