With the initial delivery of materials and hardware, we are officially underway with the construction of a new elevated, accessible boardwalk along a section of the popular Fern Trail that is prone to spring flooding. Delivery of construction material from Custom Manufacturing (Clinton, WI) occurred earlier this week. Greg Thoma […]
News from the NWS Board
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Text by Mary O’Grady; Photos by Deb Ford Lynn Reuter and Mary O’Grady recently completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist training program held this past Spring. Course participants are required to produce a Capstone project in either environmental education/interpretation, stewardship or citizen science. For their project, Lynn and Mary chose to […]
Text and Photos by Mark Glasser, NWS President We got started on replacing kiosk roofs today, August 22, 2022. NWS volunteer Dave Keen supplied the materials we needed from his inventory that included underlayment boards, tar paper, and shingles. Today was a “proof of concept” to see if what we […]
Text and Photos by Gene Kenny, NWS Board I should have gone away this past winter. Every person I met asks, “How’s the Fern trail project going?” I don’t really mind the question. I enjoy telling everyone about the project, but I forget who I’ve told what details to. As […]
Helen Kenny and Maureen Flatley, two NWS members who have already given so much of their time and skills in support of Newport, recently completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist training program held this spring at The Clearing in Ellison Bay. Master Naturalist training is a 40-hour series of sessions and […]
An amazing group of over 40 NWS volunteers came out on Saturday, April 30th to help park staff move forward on some large projects at Newport. The exterior of the Visitors Center and nearby gardens were tidied up; trash was picked up from along the main road and along Newport […]
Newport Wilderness Society participated in the Every Day is Earth Day Festival held on Saturday, April 23rd at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. It was nice to be back at this event ‘in person’ and to meet so many people interested in the work that we do in support […]
Depending on the amount of winter snow and spring rains we receive in Door County, the park’s Fern Trail is often seasonally-flooded from April into early June. This year, the flooding has been impressive. These photos were taken on April 21. NWS is planning to construct an elevated boardwalk through […]
Newport Wilderness Society will be at the Every Day is Earth Day festival at Kress Pavilion on April 23. Please stop by our booth to meet some of our volunteers and learn more about the work we do in support of Newport State Park. There are so many great events […]
Greetings, my name is Brian Grube, and I am the new Park Manager for Newport and Rock Island State Parks. I am honored to be a new member of the team and I am looking forward to working with Newport Wilderness Society. I moved here from Flagstaff, Arizona where I […]
Our 32nd Annual Candlelight Ski-Hike-Snowshoe is in the history books. It was a cold, beautiful, almost windless evening. As is the tradition, guests enjoyed skiing or hiking the Fern Trail loop, guided by candlelight through the forest and along the lakefront. A roaring fire and yummy hot chocolate waited for […]
As we have in the past, Newport joined with many other parks around Wisconsin and the nation and hosted a First Day Hike on January 1st. It’s always the perfect way to ring in the New Year! Coordinated by Mark Glasser and led out by Ken Fosczc, over 40 people […]
Photos by Deb Ford, Mark Glasser, & Gene KennyClick on any photo to view in larger format Over the course of several work days in November, NWS volunteers removed all four ground-level segments of boardwalk from the Fern Trail. We need to explain. The Fern Trail was designed to be […]
Carol Ash and her family have a deep connection to Newport State Park. As a child, she lived within biking distance of the park and remembers many family outings for picnics, swimming, baseball games, or just simply exploring. She carried on these traditions when she had children of her own. Fast forward […]
When you start up a conversation with Shannon Mough, owner of the activewear (and so-much-more) shop Twisted Tree at the Pharm, it takes a nanosecond to learn that anything outdoors, especially Newport State Park, is sanctuary. She and Maple, her ridiculously adorable Aussie, have spent many precious off-time hours in the park, reconnecting with everything […]
Photo-diary by Deb Ford, NWS BoardClick on any photo to view in larger format Where We Begin This is where our story starts. The original history kiosk definitely serves a purpose, but it doesn’t necessarily draw visitors in. NWS board member Julia Keepper researches Newport history, collects photos, and keeps the […]
Annual Meetingof the Newport Wilderness SocietySaturday, July 31st, 9:00amPicnic Shelter; Lot 3 The Annual Meeting of the Newport Wilderness Society will be held outdoors at the park Picnic Shelter on Saturday, July 31st at 9:00am. Coffee and baked treats will be provided by Kick Ash. Along with reports from the NWS […]
Despite a morning of fog and drizzle, several NWS members met at Newport on Saturday, June 26 to tackle some work projects in the park. We weeded and tidied up the gardens at the Visitors Center, did some maintenance along the Fern Trail boardwalk, and walked the Upland Trail to […]
In early May, several NWS volunteers gathered at the park to hand-pull some large areas of Garlic Mustard along the Lynd Point trail. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an aggressive invader of wooded areas throughout the eastern and middle United States. Shade tolerance allows this plant to invade high quality, mature woodlands, where it […]
Meet Shannon Mough and Miss Maple. (Miss Maple is the one in the backpack, if there was any confusion.) They own Twisted Tree at the Pharm, an activewear and so-much-more shop located in Sister Bay. And they love to hike and play at Newport State Park. Twisted Tree has been […]
Coinciding with Earth Day weekend, nearly 30 NWS volunteers gathered at Newport on Saturday, April 24 to work on a variety of spring maintenance projects around the park. Board member Mark Glasser coordinated the work teams and projects, with input and great support from park management. Volunteers tidied up the buildings and gardens around the Visitors Center […]
Newport Wilderness Society is proud to be a supporter of the 2021 Every Day is Earth Day celebration. This event celebrates the people, organizations, and businesses that uphold our sustainable culture in Door County and beyond. Every Day is Earth Day comprises an environmentally focused weekend of resource exchange, an […]
Roasted by Kick Ash in Ellison Bay in support of NWS Carol Ash, NWS board member and owner of Kick Ash Products in Ellison Bay, continues her deep-rooted support of Newport Wilderness Society with the launch of Dark Sky Roast Coffee. All profits from your purchase of Dark Sky Roast will go to support the work of NWS. It’s the […]
Eric Hyde joins Peninsula, Newport and Rock Island State Parks from the Washington County Park System Hello Newport Wilderness Society! It’s been a pleasure getting to know and working with the board and all the partners and volunteers since I joined the DNR in November of 2020. I look forward to […]
By Gene Kenny, Office of the President Newport Wilderness Society been discussing improvements to the Fern trail since 2018. This is our wheelchair accessible trail that routinely floods in the spring from snowfall until the ground thaws and then floods at other times with heavy rains. We have had conversations with […]
The Newport Wilderness Society would like to recognize and thank Michelle Hefty for her 32 years of service to Newport State Park. The make up of the Wilderness Society Board of Directors has changed periodically throughout the course of her tenure. But the management of this great park was a […]
On Saturday, October 10, which happened to be one of those iconically beautiful Door County fall mornings, several Newport Wilderness Society volunteers met at the park to give the outside of the Visitors Center a much needed sprucing-up. Walls and windows were scrubbed, weeds were pulled, storm gutters cleaned out, […]
Gene Kenny (NWS Office of the President) recently spoke with Grant Dossetto of the Door County Daily News to discuss the Fern Trail restoration project. The Newport Wilderness Society has received a $20,000 Knowles-Nelson stewardship grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to install a boardwalk on the fern […]
Newport Wilderness Society’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Our Annual Report was recently completed and is available to read on our website. In this informational report, you will learn much more about the ongoing work of NWS in support of Newport State Park. Reports from the […]
With the Visitors Center at Newport State Park closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 emergency, Newport Wilderness Society lost an important revenue stream: the sale of merchandise to the many people who would like to take home a memento of their visit to the park. NWS board member Carol […]