Eric Kodner CRS, ABR, e-PRO, CLHMS, Madeline Island Real Estate Wisconsin

A recent University of Minnesota Duluth study claims that Lake Superior is a prime example of global warming and its effects.

The "ice road" to Madeline Island begins to break up in Spring of each year.

According to a recent article in the Duluth News-Tribune, the Lake Superior winter ice cover has, in general, diminished over the last thirty years, with a corresponding rise in average lake water temperature. And another study by a local Bayfield resident who researched weather data back to 1857 claims that today we are seeing an average of forty-five fewer ice-covered days in our area of Chequamegon Bay than there were in the mid-1800s.

The article goes on to send a warning about the future of the winter ice cover between Bayfield and LaPointe, suggesting (if the purported trend continues) that by around 2040 there will be virtually no days of solid ice cover between the mainland and Madeline Island.

Is is a bit premature to sound the alarm about diminishing Lake Superior ice?

You might not put a lot of stock in either of these studies based on the ice situation last year and this year. At the beginning of March 2008, we had nearly thirty inches of ice in some spots between Bayfield and Madeline Island.

This season, we're experiencing a rather early freeze-up. The Madeline Island Ferry Line shut down operations on New Year's Day and it looks like we'll have an ice road soon.

At stake is the future of the "ice road" between Bayfield and Madeline Island. In many ways, winter ice thick enough to support cars and light trucks is a huge economic benefit to Islanders and visitors. It provides local residents with a brief holiday from paying ferry fees. And it also offers the freedom to come and go around the clock, rather than being tied to a transportation schedule, provided that the ice is thick enough and in good shape.

Is the reduced number of ice-covered days a long-term trend or merely a cyclic event? The thirty-year study seems to me to be an inadequate time period in order to establish a definite pattern. More research is likely needed to determine if the Chequamegon Bay ice situation is as serious as these studies suggest.

Yesterday, the Madeline Island Ferry Line shut down service between Madeline Island and the Bayfield mainland.

Cars and trucks on the Lake Superior ice, just off the Bayfield, Wisconsin shoreline

This weekend, there will be "limited" windsled service across the two miles of Chequamegon Bay ice, with Saturday trips departing the Island at 9 am, 11:30 and 4 pm. Saturday windsled runs will depart Bayfield at 9:15, 12:15 and 4:15 daily, for the time being [schedule subject to change].

On Sundays, the planned windsled schedule is as follows: Trips depart La Pointe at 9, Noon and 4 pm. Trips depart Bayfield at 9:15, 12:15 and 4:15.

A good, solid ice road is perhaps a week to ten days away, weather permitting. Stay tuned and we'll try to keep you updated on the availability of ice road travel.

The Windsled Schedule Hot Line has a recorded message which may be accessed at 715-747-5400.

Our 2009 Wisconsin CRS Chapter (with newly-elected President Pat Dollins picking up the gavel) is embarking on a new year of activities on behalf of Wisconsin CRS designees.

This year's Wisconsin CRS Chapter Officers include: Pat Dollins (President-Elect), Kathy Allison-Zimmermann, Jeannie Doyle, Jo Baldridge, Gayle Galston, Judy Gull (2008 President), Eric Kodner, Brenda Lothe, Belle Luhman, Sona Olson, Mike Raber, Della Rancourt, Dawn Sinclair, Pat Tasker, Cindy Ulsrud, Roberta Vellucci, Kris Villars, Anita Wilde and Mike Zurfluh.

Our first leadership meeting of the New Year will take place on January 6th, so you can see that Pat is wasting no time getting things off to a brisk start!

I'm honored and eager to begin serving as an Officer on the Wisconsin CRS Chapter leadership team this year!

The summer of 2009 will bring the opening of a new art gallery on Madeline Island.

The Bell Street Gallery is the creation of Steve McHugh, a well-known professional photographer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Steve has been a Madeline Island summer resident for nearly two years now.

Steve saw one of our commercial listings, located at 807 Bell Street, this past summer. He was able to look beyond the rustic facade and the bright red paint job that adorned the building. Steve and his wife Mary fell in love with the location and the property's commercial potential, so they purchased the property in October of 2008.

Steve has created the Bell Street Gallery Blog so that his fans may track the progress of the building remodel and his preparations for the opening of the Gallery in the summer of 2009.

I'm confident that Steve McHugh's Bell Street Gallery in the town of LaPointe, Wisconsin will be a huge addition to the cultural scene on Madeline Island and I'm eager to see him succeed!

Rumor has it that the Madeline Island Ferry Line may be shutting down in the next few days, in preparation for the formation of an ice road.

Lake Superior at dawn, Canal Park, Duluth, Minnesota

As of this evening, the Ferry Line recorded message informs Islanders that they should move vehicles over to the Bayfield side before Tuesday, December 30.

This could be the earliest and best ice road we've seen in a couple of decades. And the impact of the ice road on the LaPointe community is huge.

During ice road season, Islanders and visitors save quite a bit on ferry fees. Goods and people travel pretty much round the clock between the Bayfield mainland and the Island. There's no waiting for boats or for the windsled. Life is good!

Of course, the windsled will be running during the period between ferry shutdown and the opening of the ice road to traffic.

If you're looking for information on when precisely the ferries will stop running, call the Madeline Island Ferry Line, at 715-747-2051.