(WWJ) - Unseasonably warm temperatures across the Midwest have marred winter activities in Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas due to lack of snow and ice cover.
The wave of warmth caused deteriorating trail conditions and safety concerns to the point that the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association cancelled the UP200, Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 sled dog races.
UP200 President Darlene Walch said in a prepared statement that organizers did not want to call off the races, but the hazardous conditions left them with no other option.
“Safety is our top priority and given the lack of snow and the warm temperatures, we cannot offer a safe race,” she said.
It is the second year in a row that the UP200, an Iditarod qualifier, had to be scratched due to weather. In 2023, the race was called off for the first time ever since it began 33 years ago de to poor conditions.
Organizers said while the races won't go on, the festival part of the events will. The Festival of the Sled Dog Powered by NMU is still scheduled for Friday, Feb. 16 in downtown Marquette, with sled dogs demonstrations, live music, sledding and other activities.
“We appreciate the support of the community as we pivot to a festival format. This is a difficult decision to make after the months of work already put in by mushers, volunteers, sponsors and our board.” said Walch. “Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and understanding and we hope to see you at Festival of the Sled Dog!”
Across Lake Superior, in the northwest region of the lake, the National Park Services suspended the wolf-moose count annually conducted on Isle Royale National Park for the first time in six decades due to weather.
Researchers have been conducting the survey on the 134,000-acre island every year since 1958. The park offers officials a rare glimpse into the lives of wolves and moose without human interference.
The survey was cancelled once before due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
Scientists from Michigan Tech University visited the island last month in preparation of the survey, which is conducted by air. The team consisted of Sarah Hoy, a Michigan Tech research assistant professor who heads up the project; John Vucetich, a Michigan Tech forestry professor; and Rolf Peterson, a retired Michigan Tech ecology professor.
Hoy told the Associated Press that the National Park Services ordered everyone off the island on Tuesday, Jan. 30 after cancelling the survey.
She said the warmer temperatures compromised the ice around the island, leaving no safe place for the scientists' ski-planes to land.
“The ice on the harbor was starting to deteriorate, I guess,” Hoy said. “We lost some ice depth and a few holes and cracks were starting to appear. ... Everybody had to leave. So the island's now only occupied by wolves and moose and a bunch of critters. We're incredibly disappointed that we're not able to continue our work.”
Utilizing helicopters isn't an option for the team due to their cost and their noise, which can disturb the wildlife, and the distance and time it would take to fly to the island, conduct the study and fly back to the mainland is too great.
The team said winter is the perfect time to survey the moose and wolf populations because the trees are bare, making the animals easier to see.
Once spring arrives and the vegetation bloom, it will become more difficult.
"Hopefully, after several of days freezing temps the ice conditions will improve and we will be able to resume our aerial survey work," the team said.
In the Lower Peninsula, the weather forced the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to cancel the 2024 lake sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake in Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties.
It is the first time ever the fishing seasons -- which is Michigan's shortest --had to be axed.
A limited harvest was originally slated to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, and end when the quota of six sturgeon were caught, but current marginal ice conditions raised concerns of an "excessive harvest."
The DNR said the depletion of ice would limit their ability to properly monitor what's been caught.
“In addition to protecting the lake sturgeon population, the safety of anglers and staff is critically important," said Randy Claramunt, DNR Fisheries chief. “We encourage all anglers across Michigan to use extreme caution while on the ice, as we have been experiencing above-average temperatures.”
Sheriff Tim Cook of the Cheboygan County Sheriff's Department also discussed the dangers of thin ice on inland lakes throughout the county, including Black Lake, in a Jan. 25 Facebook post.
He expressed concern about the sturgeon spearing season prior to its cancellation.
"With the ice conditions as they are, I am concerned with machinery and heavy sturgeon ice shacks sitting on the ice especially when two, three or four people are in them, all in a small concentrated area," Cook said.