It has been wonderful to resume some of the usual activities of the Friends of the Park, such as Work Play Earth Day, the free weekend Pancake Breakfast, and the Fall Harvest Hike. Rainy weather reduced turnout for the first two events, but the Fall Hike had good weather and attendance.
The playground finally got installed and has been enjoyed by many children and adults. The Ansay Welcome Center has had some rentals. The campground and accessible cabin have had good use and wonderful hosts. The Northern Cross Science Foundation volunteers resumed their monthly telescope viewings, reporting over 80 visitors at their 9/30 event.
New Park Ranger Samantha Ortlieb was given the responsibility to manage volunteers and schedule naturalist programs. She herself did monthly walks sharing her forestry knowledge of park trees. She can be contacted with offers of doing a program or to provide volunteer help.
Carolyn Morgen took a new position as a Natural Resource Manager and is now based at the Fitchburg Service Center. Sara Crook has been chosen as the new superintendent and will be starting in her new position in early November. Katelyn transferred to a KA park ranger position, and Lydia transferred to Treehaven for a year. Those positions were not refilled so office hours were shortened.
Lake Michigan water levels have continued to drop and we have wider sandy beach areas, on both the north and south beaches. The shoreline erosion continued due to some heavy rainstorms and plans to move the paved road are still not finalized. A revised park map was completed, adding the playground, the eroded road, and clearly showing where the beach permitting pets is located. It can be obtained at the park or downloaded from the DNR website.
We are still in need of new Board members. Contact us at with your questions about being a Board member.