News from the NWS Board

As park visitors head off to the beach and hiking trails from the Lot 3 parking lot, they will see, and hopefully use, a newly installed interpretive boot brush station. NWS volunteers have installed 10 new brush stations at a variety of critical locations around the park: near campsites and […]

by Maureen Flatley, Deb Ford, and Rick Foster Our ongoing work to limit the spread of invasive plant species at Newport continues in 2025. Thanks so much to everyone who has answered the call to help with invasive species remediation! It is not very sexy work, but it helps us […]

NWS and Newport State Park were well represented at the Ellison Bay Day parade and festival on Saturday, June 28th. We had a perfect weather-day to celebrate our wonderful northern Door community and to chat with visitors about the work we do in support of the park.  Many thanks to all […]

In the fall of 2024, our team of NWS Master Naturalists started on another garden project at Newport. They began transforming an uninteresting patch of grass at the entrance to the park into a much more welcoming native garden. The early stages of their efforts are documented here. Their work […]

On April 6, a day-long chainsaw certification course was held at Newport. Eight NWS volunteers and two Friends of Rock Island volunteers participated. NWS underwrote 75% of the course cost for our NWS volunteers. Most of the 26 miles of trails in Newport are found in forested areas of the […]

Wild Tomato Pizza chose NWS as the beneficiary of their “Donation Creation” pizza sales during the month of February. For each “Gabagool” pizza ordered, $1 was donated to NWS. We are extremely grateful to receive their donation of $123. Several NWS board members and friends enjoyed the Gabagool pizza at […]

In response to feedback received primarily through our social media accounts, NWS hosted a presentation and Q&A for the public regarding our newly proposed plans for improvements to the Dark Sky Viewing Area at the park. It was held at the Visitor Center on Saturday, December 7. Our thanks to […]

NWS has long-recognized the need for improvements to Newport’s dark sky viewing area, located in the day-use venue adjacent to Lot 3. Our concerns with the current condition of the viewing area, especially when we host an educational or night sky viewing program, include: Over the past year, the NWS Long-range Planning Committee […]

Thanks to cooperative late-fall weather, our NWS master naturalists and volunteers have made significant progress on a new native plant garden at the entrance to Newport. A large patch of grass and weeds now supports three serviceberry trees, a variety of native grasses, some low-growing aromatic sumac, and a substantial amount of […]

Perhaps you met Ken leading a Newport hike, or an interpretive program, or volunteering on one of our park work projects. His smile was infectious. His knowledge of fire safety and wilderness preparedness was a gift to so many program participants. Our sincere sympathy to Mary and the Foszcz family. Ken […]

There is a lot of distance for volunteers to cover at Newport on any given work project. NWS recently purchased a new 4-person UTV to help volunteers reach remote areas of the park more efficiently. Whether it is locating and transporting gear to downed trees on trails or hauling out […]

In the first phase of an ongoing project, members of the NWS invasives team began installing new boot brush stations at several trail intersections in Newport State Park. Invasive species control is an issue for most state parks, especially in high public use areas such as hiking trails and campsites. […]

On September 24, 1964, our beautiful state park was formally established. It was known as Europe Bay State Park for 6 years; its name was changed to Newport State Park in August 1970. The original vision of how the park might be used, including the idea of a naturalist program, […]

NWS recently funded an upgrade to the ten stanchions located along the Poetry Trail. After 14 years of exposure to the elements, the frames in which the poems are displayed were showing their age. They have been replaced. The Poetry Trail was established at Newport during the summer of 2010, a collaborative […]

There are approximately 26 miles of wilderness, silent-sport (hiking, biking, skiing) trails at Newport. This is a significant area of public use in the park that needs to be monitored through all seasons. NWS now has a team of trail stewards who volunteer their time to keep an eye on […]

Newport State Park is not immune to the introduction and spread of invasive plant species. When invasives become established, they can quickly choke out native plant populations…out-competing them for space, sunlight and soil nutrients. Invasives are more problematic in areas of the park where humans (and wildlife) tend to travel: […]

NWS has learned of the recent passing of John C. Plume. Mr. Plume was manager of Europe Bay State Park in the late-1960’s. (Europe Bay SP was established in 1964 and became formally known as Newport State Park in 1970.) Mr. Plume’s obituary is available here. We are so very grateful […]

Friends groups like Newport Wilderness Society do not exist without the contributions of, well, friends. Today we want to recognize the extraordinary, ongoing support we receive from Carol and Chris Ash of Kick Ash Products in Ellison Bay. Where do we start?

A summary document prepared by the Wisconsin Policy Forum As you might imagine, this situation places increasing financial pressure on every state park property, park staff, and park-supporting friends groups like Newport Wilderness Society.

Despite the removal of several potentially problematic snags and dying trees before construction on the Fern Trail boardwalk began, in early January a large tree fell and damaged a boardwalk section. The downed tree was removed quickly. Thirteen NWS volunteers took advantage of favorable weather in February to repair the […]

Our thanks to everyone who submitted feedback (Aug/Sept 2023) to the DNR regarding the Master Plan variance for the proposed development of horse trails in Newport State Park. (Backstory and NWS opinion on this issue here.) Synopsis of DNR Decision (Jan 5, 2024) The department has decided NOT TO APPROVE […]

Destination Door County/Door County Community FoundationState Parks Grant Initiative$50,000 Matching Grant In late 2023, Destination Door County, in partnership with the Door County Community Foundation, launched the State Parks Grant Initiative to improve and enhance Newport, Peninsula, Potawatomi, Rock Island, and Whitefish Dunes State Parks. This grant initiative is divided into three parts: Donations […]

This is the time of year when we come together to celebrate our wonderful team of volunteers and all of the work they have accomplished in support of Newport during 2023. Carol and Chris Ash once again opened up their beautiful space at Kick Ash in Ellison Bay for us to gather. Sixty-five […]

NWS board member Deb Ford has photo-documented some of the volunteer workday scenes from the newly constructed Fern Trail boardwalk. The collection includes images of the seasonal flooding that impacts the trail; the deconstruction of the former ground-level boardwalk; and the incredible hard work (and fun) that went into building […]

On Saturday, October 7, NWS board member Gene Kenny placed the final deck board of the new 1,800′ elevated Fern Trail boardwalk. Gene has guided this entire project from conception/design; DNR approvals; grant applications and funding; working with Custom Manufacturing to secure all the materials needed for the project; and, […]

You know those 700 trees we planted at the entrance to Newport in April?And then hand-watered over multiple weeks because…very little rain. Overall, they are doing great! Mark Glasser and Deb Ford recently walked the new tree field to remove the pink yarn markers from the tree-lings and tally the […]

Summer may be in our rearview mirror, but we still have glorious fall to look forward to. This is the time to get some great merchandise and also support Newport Wilderness Society. All profits from merchandise sales fund the naturalist’s salary, interpretive programing and infrastructure projects at Newport State Park. There are new […]