Events

Join St. Cloud Wild Ones and Central MN Audubon for a guided tour of St. Wendel Tamarack Bog Scientific and Natural Area. The trip will be led by Michael Lee of the MN DNR.  He has been there many times and is both a birder and a botanist.  We will also spend some time helping Mike document rare plants along the way.  The trip is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 from 9 to 3 (approx.), with a backup date being June 21.  The group will be limited to 20 total.

This will be an arduous trip.   In a tamarack bog it is hard going due to fallen trees.  There is plenty of water to wade through and it is easy to get stuck in the mud.  Under almost any set of actual conditions it will be humid.  Mosquitos, flies and ticks are likely to be horrendous.  We are planning to enter and exit the bog in different spots (with a car shuttle) and navigation without a GPS is challenging, so it might be difficult to turn back and get out on one’s own.

Please bring plenty of water, snacks and maybe lunch to eat.  Sunscreen and a hat is advised.  Also remember to bring any medication or other personal gear you may need, including binoculars.  With regard to footwear, there are two schools of thought.  One possibility is to wear rubber knee boots.  The other is to wear old tennis shoes, which may stay on your foot better in the mud, but you will be wet.

If you are still interested please send your name, email address and cell number to Dan Kneip:  dakneip@yahoo.com or connect@centralmnaudubon.org (CMAS), or Brian Johnson (Wild Ones).  We will keep a list, including a waiting list,  to make sure we don’t exceed our max.  Please do this by May 29th so that we can send out final arrangements.  It promises to be an interesting if challenging trip.

St. Wendel Tamarack Bog  Scientific and Natural Area.