Points North | Great Lakes. Great Stories.

This week we’re featuring an episode from the Outside Podcast from Outside Magazine. It's a story about Greg and Julie Welch's near-death encounter with the 2011 Pagami Creek Wildfire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.

Rock hunting holds a special place in Joyce Fetrow’s heart. Years ago, she battled alcoholism that drove her to some dark places. Now, Joyce dedicates her life to helping others find recovery, and says rocks remind her of that journey and inspire her to keep on track with her sobriety.

Kurt Steiner holds the world record for stone skipping. He throws rocks because it makes him happy. And because he says it’s key to escaping digital self-saturation.

The idea that wilderness is untouched by man is written into law, but it’s not so accurate. Humans have used fire to shape many places we call “wilderness.” A look at how tree rings affirm a long history of indigenous land management.

Alison Vilag pays attention for a living. She counts migrating ducks at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, near Paradise, Michigan. It's key to getting a pulse on different bird populations. But for Alison, counting ducks is more than just science – it's an escape from the expectations of others.

States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. Today’s episode is all about that conflict, and about how our scientific understanding of the role of beavers may be changing.

Two anglers keep winning fishing tournament after tournament, where the prizes range from expensive boats, to thousands of dollars of cash. But one day, it all comes crashing down when they’re caught cheating at a championship event on Lake Erie.

Flying squirrels glow pink under a blacklight. How many other mammals do this? What causes them to glow? The hardest question of all might never be answered: why?

There’s this elusive bird found throughout the Great Lakes region. If you know where to look, you can often spot it where fields and wetlands meet. And in spring time, you’ll see it dancing at dawn or dusk.

Three guys go ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything is great until it isn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes.

About 20 feet down on the bottom of Lake Michigan, there’s a white marble crucifix from Italy. Diver Denny Jessick uses a trail of rumors to search for its origin story.

Laura Neese says she was practically raised in a dog kennel. What began as a homeschool project, is now a lifelong obsession, as she competes in some of the biggest dog sledding races in North America.

Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus – a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost.

Kenny Pheasant first became a teacher of Anishinaabemowin at 14 years-old, teaching customers from behind the meat counter at a grocery store. Now, it's his life mission to get more people speaking the Great Lakes’ original and endangered language.

Cougars are making a comeback. The iconic wildcat hasn’t had a breeding population in the Great Lakes states since the early 1900s, but now they’re moving east. Experts say they could be back soon. Some people swear they already are.

America’s bird, the bald eagle, is facing a tremendous challenge. As scavengers, they feed on what we and other animals leave behind. But lead continues to find its way into the environment, and causes problems in more ways than you’d think.

Because of its abundant open space, Detroit, Michigan has a thriving ring-necked pheasant population. The birds have endeared themselves to many by representing a connection to the city and the natural world. But some worry what coming development might mean for pheasants and their future in the Motor City.

In February, gray wolves went back on the endangered species list. But it wasn't because the population suddenly plummeted. It had more to do with an ongoing fight between stakeholders who have strong, opposing feelings about protecting wolves. This episode was originally produced in February 2022, as part of a seven part series, titled [Un]Natural Selection.

The North Country Trail runs through the heart of the Great Lakes region and covers 4,800 miles. Less than 20 people have ever hiked the entire NCT, but that’s not stopping a man from Minnesota from trying.

It takes a special breed to head to a Great Lakes beach during the windiest months of the year. But storm photographers are up for the challenge.

Wind turbines are being built in ocean waters off the east and west coasts. But why don’t we see any in the Great Lakes? The gales of November are an example of how much potential the region has for wind energy – but public opposition is the biggest barrier.

Lake Superior can change in a heartbeat; one minute it’s calm ― the next it's raging into a wild storm. When people in the water get caught off-guard, rescuers have to make critical decisions, and ultimately gamble with their own lives.

For the past three and a half decades, zebra and quagga mussels have fundamentally altered the ecology and hijacked the food web of the Great Lakes. Now scientists are trying new ways to put the mollusks in check, including infecting them with parasites and even crushing them with huge rollers. But will it be enough?

According to an Anishinaabe prophecy, manoomin – wild rice – is what brought the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples to the Great Lakes. But starting in the late 1800s, manoomin’s decline was fast and widespread. And just like the plant itself, a lot of knowledge around harvesting practices has been lost. Some Anishinaabek are changing that.

Lake Superior’s northern shore has been home to woodland caribou for thousands of years. But now, the species is facing local extinction. Some blame climate change for the caribou's decline. But the species has persisted through an ice age, and through warming temperatures. It’s survived climate change before. So why is it in trouble now?