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 News
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Text and photos by Sheryl Honig, NWS Board(click on any photo to view in full size/slide show) What do buttery rich caramel, translucent lace, and shiny emeralds have in common? They all describe the leaves of a beech tree, which are breathtaking in all seasons at Newport! This spring, […]
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 […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Club If you already enjoy nighttime viewing, you know how tricky locating objects in the sky can be. Observing is best when there is a new moon (or a couple of nights before or after). The sky will be its darkest on April 12. […]
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 […]
Marilyn Hansotia submitted these breathtaking sunrise images that she captured on a recent hike along Hotz Trail and Europe Bay. And she shares some wise words that she found in an unlikely place that same morning. Visitor View features images, stories and impressions of a day or overnight adventure to […]
Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli worked with Brett Kosmider of Peninsula Filmworks to narrate this beautiful video which showcases the magic of the dark sky that we are fortunate to enjoy at the park. The video was a project of Destination Door County, and part of a wider-ranging article about stargazing […]
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 […]
Spectacular, magical, wow! Mari-Jo Young Park visitor Mari-Jo Young sent us some stunning photos from her hike in Newport on Monday, January 4th. Fog and sub-freezing temperatures combined to create a frosted winter wonderland at the park. These are some scenes from her hike on the Rowleys Bay Trail. Visitor […]
As Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli mentions in this video, 2020 has been an atypical year at Newport State Park. We have had a record number of visitors to the park, but we have been unable to offer our always-popular public events and programs. However, the work of the Newport Wilderness […]
The votes are in and Newport State Park has won a 2020 Gold Seal Award in the category Best State Park System to Snowshoe! Annual Gold Seal Awards are conferred by the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks (FWSP). Members of the public vote for their favorite state park in a […]
Text adapted from report prepared for IDA by Beth Bartoli, NSP Naturalist What strange and trying times we live in. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this annual report from Newport State Park for the International Dark Sky Association contains vastly different information than our reports from previous years. In […]
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 […]
When a visitor arrives at Newport State Park during the summer, they may (or may not) notice the pollinator habitat gardens located around the park office. What might look like a patch of unruly shrubs to the untrained eye is actually a Monarch Butterfly ‘way station’. Once a week, from […]
Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli shows us around the Monarch Butterfly monitoring station just outside Newport State Park’s Visitor Center. We’ll learn about the Monarch’s 30-day journey from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly. She’ll also release a newly emerged adult Monarch. Beth began filming these short videos during the […]
Each year, the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks present Gold Seal Awards to those parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas who garner top votes in several different categories. If you are a camper, biker, hunter, hiker, angler, or park visitor, cast your vote for your favorite state park, forest, trail, or […]
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 […]
In mid-July, Write On Door County installed a new exhibit along the Poetry Trail honoring six writers who have served as Poet Laureates of Door County: Frances May, Barbara Larsen, Estella Lauter, Ralph Murre, Sharon Auberle, and Nancy Rafal. The Poet Laureate serves as a literary ambassador to the community […]
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 […]
Naturalist Beth Bartoli takes us out checking Eastern Bluebird nest boxes. Last week, this box had just a few sticks in it. This week, there is compelling evidence that a bluebird family is renesting. Beth began filming these short videos during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Although Wisconsin State Parks […]
Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli last visited this Black-capped Chickadee nest on June 16th and found it contained 5 or 6 new hatchlings. We’ll see how things are progressing today. Beth also discusses issues of nest box predation, both by mammals, snakes, and other bird species. Beth began filming these short […]
The Newport Wilderness Society and the people of Wisconsin lost a good friend and benefactor last week with the passing of Dr. G. Leonard Apfelbach.
Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli takes us out to check on a known Black-capped Chickadee nest box. This is their second attempt at nesting after their first nest was apparently destroyed by a predator. Let’s see how they are doing… Part 1 Part 2 Beth began filming these short videos during […]
Beth Bartoli, Newport State Park Naturalist, takes us out to find Dwarf Lake Iris that are in bloom in and around the park. It requires very specific habitat to grow and is confined to the northern Great Lakes shoreline in Wisconsin and Michigan. It is listed as a threatened species, […]
Park Naturalist Beth Bartoli has been taking us along on her weekly check of bluebird nest boxes as part of the monitoring data that she collects for BRAW (Bluebird Restoration in Wisconsin). Let’s see what’s happening in box 3.14 this week. Cover photo: Male Eastern Bluebird bringing food to nestlings […]
Due to the many lingering concerns with the COVID 19 outbreak, we regretfully must cancel our 2020 Annual Meeting scheduled for July 25th. This remains a time where our primary concerns rest with the safety of our Friends Group members, park staff, and our board of directors. We will post […]
Beth Bartoli, Naturalist at Newport State Park, is checking bluebird nest boxes today and she has some interesting discoveries which she shares with us through video and photos.