ASHLAND DAILY PRESS

Interior secretary visits Apostle Islands
Looking to acquaint himself with lakeshore needs

08/11/2009

APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Saturday walked the tawny sand beach stretching across Stockton Island's Julian Bay, climbed the tower of the newly renovated Raspberry Island Lighthouse, and dipped his fingers in Lake Superior, playfully splashing handfuls of cold water on his friend and Chief of Staff Tom Strickland.

It was the Coloradan's first trip to the lakeshore, one of 2,400 management units now under his care, and very possibly, he said as he searched his memory, his first trip to Wisconsin.

It's a visit Congressman Dave Obey, who helped coordinate Salazar's Apostle Island tour, hopes Salazar won't soon forget. Nor does Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Superintendent Bob Krumenaker, who sweated out trip details from arranging bag lunches to putting together four different itineraries, based on wind, waves and the potential for rain.

But Saturday's weather, in predictably unpredictable Lake Superior fashion, turned out to be milder than anticipated and Krumenaker was able to take Salazar and his entourage — including Obey, Strickland, Acting National Park Director Dan Wenk and State Sen. Bob Jauch — on "Plan A," a grand Apostle Islands tour that highlighted both the scenic and historic island treasures.

They stopped first at the Raspberry Island Lighthouse, to be greeted by U.S. Lighthouse Service keeper Lee Ellsworth Benton (Jim Stowell), whose character reflects 1923, the year to which the light has been lovingly and accurately restored over the past four years.

"It's important to tell America's story," Salazar said, after stooping in the historically accurate lighthouse vegetable garden and snapping off a crisp green bean. "So much of America's story hasn't been told."

Salazar said he hoped $150 million in the Land and Water Conservation fund would be used to tell more of those stories in places such as the Apostle Islands.

After a climb up the lighthouse to enjoy the panoramic vista, the group headed down a trail, stopping just inside the lakeshore's Gaylord Nelson Wilderness Area — a poignant moment for Obey, a good friend of the late senator who helped shepherd the lakeshore’s creation through Congress.

Fresh from testifying on the climate change bill Thursday, Salazar showed particular interest in the solar-powered navigation light operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and the solar array that helps provide power for the lighthouse.

From Raspberry Island, the three-boat fleet (one for dignitaries, one for journalists and aides and one for a discreet security detail) passed the historic Sand Island Light and the Mawikwe Sea Caves, filled with bright red, yellow and blue sea kayaks paddling in and out between the Lake Superior-carved sandstone pillars.

Salazar took a turn at the wheel of the biodiesel-fueled Nenookaasi (the Ojibwe word for hummingbird) and sounded out Krumenaker on challenges unique to the lakeshore.

After a bag lunch of hummus and vegetable sandwich washed down with a Diet Coke (the secretary offered half his sandwich to anyone who may not have had one, but having no takers, ate it all) the group walked across the tombolo to Julian Bay and took a short stroll on the beach.

Walking back down a boardwalk toward the Stockton Island dock, Obey asked Salazar, “What’s your favorite place in the world?”

After only a short hesitation, Salazar responded.

"The family ranch," he said. "I know every corner, every rock. It's my home. And yours?"

"It has to be here," Obey said. "The Apostles are spectacular."

Near the end of the tour, the sun broke loose, bathing the sandstone quarries on Hermit Island in golden light.

"It's awesome, breathtaking," Salazar said of his experience when back on the mainland. "It's wonderful to be here with Chairman Obey."

For his part, Obey said the tour was "gloriously beautiful," and he enjoyed the opportunity to "show off one of the prettiest parts of Wisconsin." He extended Salazar an invitation to come back, noting the lakeshore would always have needs, from work crews to lighthouses.

Salazar said he was coming away with a "robust agenda for the Apostle Islands," including an understanding of the need for funding adequate staffing levels and operational costs, as well as special projects such as lighthouse restoration, so future generations can enjoy the same natural beauty and appreciate the nation's history.

"This is a great place," Salazar said, looking at Lake Superior. "It inspires me to be the best secretary I can be."

 The original article and photos of Secretary Salazar and Congressman Obey's visit is available here.