7/2/18 – This week, a volunteer from the Minnesota Loon Monitor Program has come to collect information about loon populations near the Sawbill lake area. The Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program is a project conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The project recruits volunteers to gather information about Loons in different areas of lakes around Minnesota.

The program collects information on Minnesota loons from six different sectioned areas called “index areas”. Index areas are mapped areas containing one hundred lakes each. These index areas are spread all throughout Minnesota, which ensures full coverage of the loon populations. Since there is such a large area of lakes to survey, the DNR benefits immensely from the volunteers generous work.

To ensure data consistency, volunteers have an eleven day window from June 29th to July 9th to collect their data. The counting process of loons must occur between 5am and 12pm. Other factors such as weather and shoreline conditions are collected as well.

The MLMP has been conducted since 1994. The longitudinal data collected by this project is used to monitor population health of the Minnesota Loons. The data has shown that loon occupancy, the statistical chance of seeing a loon, has stayed relatively equal for the past eight years. For the greatest chance of seeing loons, head over to the Itasca index area, this area has the highest reported loon occupancy according to the MLMP. 

Kevin, an MLMP volunteer who is staying in the Sawbill campground this week, is currently in charge of surveying five small lakes near Sawbill. He states that loons are territorial birds and groups or families of loons inhabit designated sections of lakes. The smaller lakes he is surveying such as Agnes, Finger and Tomash only have up to one family inhabiting them. On larger lakes such as Sawbill, multiple families of loons inhabit different areas.

The state of Minnesota is blessed with the presence of such a beautiful bird. It is everyone’s responsibility to protect and preserve the precious biology of the wilderness. If you are interested in getting involved with the preservation of wildlife, consider visiting the DNR website link posted below. A link for the Minnesota Loon Monitoring Project is posted below as well.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/index.html

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/projects/mlmp_results.html

– Nathan

6/30/18 – He has tirelessly worked on Sawbill Lake for almost eighty consecutive years. He is the oldest, most dedicated staff member at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. His name is Uno, and he is made of wood.

Uno is a wooden dummy who arrived to Sawbill Lake in 1940 and has never left since. He was originally placed at the Sawbill Lodge. Sawbill Lodge has closed but was once a wilderness resort located at the south end of Sawbill Lake, where a handicap fishing dock now stands. At the old Sawbill Lodge, a wooden mill wheel was installed into Sawbill Creek. Uno’s hands were attached to the crank of this mill, making him appear to be cranking the wheel. This created a silly yet memorable sight that the customers of Sawbill Lodge could return to and reminisce about each summer.

Uno’s unique name is one of a kind. The original owners of Sawbill Lodge posted a sign that read “U NO U R at SAWBILL!” at the beginning of the lane leading to the lodge. This sign (with questionable spelling) became associated with the wooden dummy and and his name became Uno. This name has stuck with him ever since.

In 1980, the Sawbill Lodge closed due to the 1978 BWCAW bill which changed the land around Sawbill Lake into a federally regulated wilderness. This bill turned Sawbill into a no-motor lake, leading the owners of Sawbill Lodge to sell their land to the Forest Service. After the Lodge closed down, Uno relocated to next door and found new work at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters.

Uno has stayed with the Sawbill Crew ever since. Today, Uno resides in the kitchen of the crew house. Here, he watches over crew members cooking and hanging out. Every once in a while, he may suddenly appear in a new room, creating quite a surprise for the crew members. Sparking new crew members’ curiosities, Uno serves as a time capsule and reminder of important history to the area around Sawbill Lake.

 

– Nathan

 

 

 

6/27/18 – Yesterday evening the Sawbill babes had our annual ladies night out on the town.  Festivities included a beautiful view of the Grand Marais harbor from the Gunflint Tavern’s rooftop deck, an amazing meal and dessert from the Angry Trout, all capped off with an evening stroll along artist’s point.  A big thanks to the Sawbill boys for holding down the fort while we were away!  -Jessica

6/24/18 – North House Folk School, located in Grand Marais, celebrated the official arrival of summer this weekend with their annual Wooden Boat Show and Summer Solstice Festival.  Events included a wooden boat display, craft demonstrations, a solstice pageant, contra dancing, guest speakers (including Sawbill’s own Dan Shirley), and much more.  -Jessica

6/21/18 – Happy summer solstice!  Today is the longest day of the year with the sun above the horizon for just over 16 hours, which is almost 7 hours more sunlight than six months ago on the winter solstice.  Here’s hoping everyone is able to enjoy a little bit of the extra sunlight today.       -Jessica

6/19/18 – If you’ve been up Sawbill Trail in the last few months, you may have noticed an exposed mound of dirt on the right side of the road before turning into our parking lot. This open space serves as the drainage field for our septic system. Soon, this sandy soil base will be a blooming amalgam of prairie grasses, sedge, and wild flowers, thanks to the help of Shoreview Natives, who have spent the last few days preparing and planting the area. Dan Schutte, who serves on Mark Dayton’s Pollinator Advisory Committee, personally locates and collects the seeds in Lake, St. Louis, and Cook Counties, ensuring that everything chosen and planted here is native to the region. He is particularly interested in helping pollinators like bees and butterflies who are facing habitat destruction farther south.

Some of the new species that will soon call Sawbill home include Purple Cone Flower, Tall Blazing Star, Bee Balm, Ox Eye Sunflower, and Swamp Milkweed, in addition to several other kinds of flowers and grasses. Though this type of planting is not technically considered prairie restoration due to the forested nature of the area, the different soil composition of the drainage field (sandier and more arid than the surrounding land) helps to support species that are more commonly found in Minnesota’s prairies. While it will ultimately take three years before the mound reaches full growth, Dan estimates that we will see wildflowers blooming later this fall. Keep your eyes open as you pull in; new plants and flowers await you with every visit!

– Katie

6/19/18 – We are thrilled to announce the arrival of the newest member of the Sawbill family, Louis Jeffrey John Hansen! Adam Hansen and Lisa Burtch welcomed Louis to their family on May 21. For those unfamiliar with the Sawbill family tree, Adam is the grandson of Sawbill founders Frank and Mary Alice, and current owner Clare’s brother.

Grandpa Bill and cousin Kit are looking forward to many years of canoe trips with Louis. And of course, he’s already signed on for a spot on the 2036 Sawbill crew 😉

-Clare

6/16/18 – A couple of days ago Hannah and I were able to sneak away for a long day paddle.  We were pleasantly surprised by the minimal amount of mosquitoes, abundance of moose tracks, and beautiful flowers encountered along the way.  – Jessica

 

6/13/18 – Four Sawbill Crew members took advantage of a few days off work this week and paddled one of Sawbill’s most popular loop routes, the Cherokee Loop. The Cherokee Loop is a scenic chain of lakes that starts at Sawbill Lake, snakes up to Cherokee Lake and down through a series of lakes back to Sawbill. Since this a loop frequented by many Sawbill customers, the group of first year crew members  were eager to try it out themselves and see what it had to offer.

They set out on Sunday night (June 10th) and set up camp in the dark on Sawbill Lake. The following day, the crew paddled through the lakes and trekked many portages passing through Cherokee Lake to settle on North Temperance Lake, where a beautiful sunset and easy night’s sleep came quickly.

The true magic of the BWCA was captured on the third and final night upon Smoke Lake, the lake directly east of Sawbill Lake. Following a delicious and gourmet dinner of freeze dried chicken stew, storm clouds and rain showers began to quickly roll through. But instead of delivering a night of soaked gear and early bedtimes, this equation of light showers, storm clouds and a sunset cooked up a magnificent double rainbow resting beneath a pink sky.

And of course, what would a trip in the BWCA be without the fishing? The crew fished Smoke Lake and caught a variety of fish from Northern Pike to Small Mouth Bass, all from the same shoreline! Unfortunately, the crew was so full from their freeze dried dinner, that they did not cook up the fish they caught.

On the fourth day, the crew woke up at 5AM, broke camp and hit the water to be back in time for their 7AM shift at the store. What a great way to wake up for work!

The Cherokee Loop is an amazing loop for any level of BWCA enthusiasts. Each lake within the Cherokee Loop seems to have it’s own unique personality and ecosystem, making for a trip full of natural variety and surprises.

6/8/18 – A relatively dry spring has made for a relatively short lived black-fly season here at Sawbill. The little buggers appeared around Memorial Day but have largely abated already. Mosquitoes are out, but are most noticeable in the early morning and evening hours. We can thank our favorite fliers, the dragonflies, for keeping the pesky bug populations in check! The first big dragonfly hatch happened a few days ago, and the sky is swarming with the friendly bug-eaters.

Customer Frank Ferraro and his son were recently camped at the Sawbill campground and enjoyed the abundance of Canadian Swallowtail butterflies.

The blueberry bushes are flowering, signs of a bountiful harvest come August thanks to the black-flies who pollinate the bushes!

-Clare