The Lake Where You Live

I know, I wrote about loons just last week. I hope you’ll forgive me if I have them in mind during these waning days of February, when the ice leaving the lakes and the loons returning is no longer a far-off fantasy.

For a couple of years I’ve been following progress at the National Loon Center based in Crosslake, Minn. Things have been a little slow to develop. Groundbreaking was planned for summer 2024 but was postponed until this spring or summer, when work is to begin on outdoor exhibits and site improvements.

Building and design work will then continue with plans for a public opening aiming in 2026.

The center will be located on federal land managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Plans are to create a world-class facility with a sustainable natural campus on nearly 10 acres. 

But it’s not all about erecting a building and creating a tourist attraction. The National Loon Center will dedicate itself to protecting loons for future generations by showing how to enhance our lakeshore habitats and improve freshwater quality, and thereby increase loon populations, and reduce needless loon mortality.

Already the center has worked with the Corps of Engineers to complete a shoreline restoration project near the boat landing at the Cross Lake Recreation Area. A floating dock system was installed to curtail shoreline erosion, and an outdoor exhibit on loon calls has been established.

The center is also involved in various research projects and volunteer activities. Members of the public can join center staff in surveying loon nesting sites about the StewardShip (also called the Loon Pontoon). Excursion members document loon sightings, behaviors, and movements on Cross Lake. In addition, Junior Loon Biologist outings let young people survey other lakes to help assess nesting success and fledging productivity.

Meanwhile, center staff members are studying why loons die as a means to prevent more loon mortality and learn how to increase loons’ survival. Minnesota residents and visitors are asked to watch for and recover dead loons during summer so they can be given a necropsy to uncover the cause of death (which is often related to ingestion of lead fishing jigs and sinkers). 

In addition, the center supports the Minnesota Loon Restoration Project, sponsored by the state DNR. That includes deploying artificial nesting platforms on selected lakes to help scientists identify loon management needs.

Another ongoing project is water quality testing through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Volunteer Water Monitoring program. Center team members monitor water clarity on Cross Lake and nearby stream sites.

The center also funded the startup of a long-term loon banding project on the Whitefish Chain and surrounding lakes in Crow Wing County, and helps coordinate lake visitors across North America in reporting ice-out dates and first springtime loon sightings. 

All this happens as, according to The Loon Project encompassing counties in Wisconsin and Minnesota, “The loon population is declining in the Upper Midwest,” and “Understanding the causes of the downturn is essential if we wish to conserve loons in the region. 

A building will be a nice addition to the landscape, but clearly the National Loon Center is and will always be much more than brick and mortar.

Ted Rulseh resides on Birch Lake in Harshaw and is an advocate for lake protection and improvement. His Lakeland Times and Northwoods River News columns are the basis for a book, “A Lakeside Companion,” published by The University of Wisconsin Press. Ted may be reached at [email protected].