Enduring Service

Isle Royale National Park staff at work. Mark Ambrose

Throughout history, ancestors of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa crossed Gichigami (Lake Superior) in birch bark canoes. They traveled 14 miles over the largest freshwater lake in the world, and landed on a place that would come to be known as Minong – Anishinaabemowin for “the good place.” From their mainland homes, the North Shore Anishinaabe would return to Minong again and again – hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging, and sugar bushing. As Europeans colonized the region, Anishinaabe lifeways were altered, but they never vanished – and today, the descendants of these early peoples visit Minong often, to practice the teachings of their ancestors – the original stewards of this land.

Since 1916, the American people have entrusted the National Park Service (NPS) with the care of their most special places. Wallace Stegner, writer and historian, called national parks “America’s best idea – absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” This idea – that these American spaces are for everyone, they should be preserved for the enjoyment of all, is a lesson in persistence. Every April, snow or shine, the RANGER III breaks ice in Rock Harbor Channel and lands on Minong, delivering its latest crop of rangers. These stewards leave their homes and families for six months, isolated on a remote island. Some come in search of work, some in search of adventure, but all to serve a mission – protect and preserve the land unimpaired for future generations.

How do park rangers protect and preserve Isle Royale National Park? They build trails and dig privies. They fight wildfires and search for lost hikers. They monitor inland lakes for harmful algae blooms and repair historic structures like Rock Harbor Lighthouse. They help visitors plan their trips, and assist when their ferries or seaplanes are cancelled due to weather. All of these tasks not only serve a mission, they also support a connection. A human connection to place – one that has endured for centuries, exemplified by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and also cultivated by the thousands of visitors each year who connect with Isle Royale’s peace, solace, and sanctuary.

What is life without connections like these? Nature, art, history – national parks have it all; “America’s best idea,” indeed – the NPS preserves and protects places that tell our nation’s greatest stories of endurance, upheaval, persistence, and renewal – all themes we experience in our own lives.

Minong will go on with or without us – each spring, the snow will melt, loons will return, orchids will bloom, waves will crash upon its rocky shoreline. But will peace, solitude, and sanctuary persist?

With your support, it's possible.

Bridget Byrne

Isle Royale National Park Ranger

2017-2025

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