Caribou feature prominently in Rockman’s Cascade, and yet the species is no longer seen in the Great Lakes region, except for small populations on several islands in Lake Superior. We can also see a kill at the feet of the ice where an early domesticated dog (Canis familiaris), presumably a companion to a Paleoindian, is feeding on some leftovers. This section of the painting harks to the importance of hunting terrestrial species in the Great Lakes ecosystem.
Glacial retreat from what we now know as the Great Lakes region occurred starting about 30,000 years ago, but it was not until about 10,000 years ago that the ice finally melted back from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and into what is now Canada. During this long period when the ice was receding, animals came into the region from glacial refugia, areas unaffected by the ice, and colonized new territory. At first, as the ice retreated it left stark, exposed soil, glacial till, loess, and bedrock that was then colonized by lichens and some plants specialized to be the first to move onto exposed rock. Mosses and lichens would have been early pioneers in this area where the soil was often still frozen and covered with wet surface pools of meltwater. Into this habitat came animals that could thrive in such conditions, including the lichen-loving “tundra” form of the caribou, Rangifer tarandus. Other inhabitants included the woodland muskox (Symbos cavifrons) and the Jefferson mammoth (Mammuthus jeffersoni). New animals would have arrived by expanding their ranges as the ice retreated and created open space. Later, about 7,000 years before present, as the weather warmed and the soil became suitable for other plant species, new mammals became established in the region including giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) and American mastodon (Mammut americanus). In addition, animals more familiar to modern residents including white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), moose (Alces americanus), elk (Cervus elaphus), and “woodland” form of the caribou (Rangifer tarandus) immigrated to the area.
Recently, work by John O’Shea and colleagues has focused on hunting techniques used to capture caribou 8,000-9,000 years before present (B.P.) As the glaciers receded from the Great Lakes region, lands were exposed that were subsequently flooded as the glaciers completed their melt. During the period of 11,500-7,000 B.P (a period called the Lake Stanley low stand), lake levels were low and there was a narrow land bridge connecting what is now southern Ontario and the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Lake levels at this time were as much as 100m below current levels and the land bridge averaged 16km in width. This land bridge, called the Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR), served as a migration corridor for caribou and was probably a prime hunting area for prehistoric hunters who had arrived in the area 10,000 to 11,000 B.P. O’Shea’s team, working on the now submerged AAR, identified a site they refer to as Drop Lane 45 that was likely a hunting structure used to herd migrating caribou into an area where they could be hunted with great efficiency.
Caribou have a tendency to follow guiding linear features (like a row of shrubs or the edge of a plateau) and it is thought that the Paleoindians built structures of stone and brush that guided the caribou into a corral-like area where they were easier to harvest. Structures like this are still used in the Arctic to aid modern hunters. The AAR, and the Drop Lane 45 site in particular, provided a perfect spot for such a structure because the animals had to pass through this area during both the autumn and spring migrations. O’Shea’s team used sophisticated sonar imaging technology combined with core samples to conduct this work in Lake Huron and was able to outline the Drop Lane 45 hunting structure and retrieve stone samples showing the maintenance of hunting tools. This work is allowing us to understand the importance of hunting to early peoples and to appreciate the migration of species through the region. Migratory species were of value to the earliest peoples in the region and the ecology of these animals was understood, and taken advantage of, by the earliest human residents.
Later peoples, including the Ojibwe, commonly hunted deer, moose and other species in the region. These animals were, and indeed still are, important elements of the Native American culture in the Great Lakes region. The Ojibwe, who name themselves the Anishinaabe, were active hunters and trappers who used birds and mammals for food, clothing, and a variety of other uses. Deer and moose were common targets, but many species were used including American beaver (Castor canadesnsis), which had the added value in later years of being traded to Europeans. Bears (Ursus americanus) were also targets and were typically hunted using complex deadfall traps that allowed the Anishinabe to handle these large, potentially dangerous animals.
Quillwork using porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) quills was a common craft that is still treasured in modern Anishinabe culture. Birds were used for food and for ornament, including feathered ornamentation in everyday wear as well as clothes and other items used in spiritual ceremonies and cultural events.
Dogs, such as the one seen in Cascade on the left near the glacier, were used by Native Americans to aid in hunting and protection. Although early hunting techniques relied on equipment made from naturally available materials (stone, wood, copper, etc.), Native Americans integrated harder metals into their hunting traditions including iron traps and, eventually, guns as Europeans entered the area and brought more metal with them. Hunting remains an important part of Anishinaabe life in the modern era where hunted and trapped animals are used both for subsistence and for income.
Much of the next phase of hunting and trapping in the Great Lakes region can be traced to the activities of Samuel de Champlain. In his quest for both exploration and natural resources, and guided by his interactions with native tribes, Champlain and his associates gradually explored the Great Lakes region. They began by travelling the Ottawa River and by 1615 he had reached Georgian Bay on what is now Lake Huron, although French missionaries had already reached the area. Champlain further explored south to the Lake Ontario region, often accompanying warring local tribes. Although he largely retired following these activities, his men continued to delve into the area and Etienne Brule reached the St. Mary’s River in what is now upper Michigan in 1620. Although these explorers had many motivations, including seeking a water route to the Far East, immediate value was gained through trade with the local tribes, particularly for furs.
The fur trade fully developed in North America, and especially in the Great Lakes region, in the 1600-1700’s. There was a large market for furs in Europe and furbearing animals were highly abundant in northern North America. France was the largest participant in this trade and they operated initially by sending representatives in the form of “voyageurs” to the region. Although there were many traders for pelts, the voyageurs were willing to travel deep into relatively unexplored territory, in their iconic canoes, to reach areas that had not yet been trapped. They returned with pelts to trading posts that sprang up in the region, some of which would later become cities and towns, while others were simple temporary outposts. Through these travels, the voyageurs explored much of the Great Lakes region and encountered many of the resident native tribes and wildlife.
Fur pelts of many types were shipped to Europe, but the most abundant and valued were those of the beaver. The desire for beaver pelts was largely driven by the societal value placed on beaver hats by European gentlemen. Frenchmen and native peoples alike harvested beavers throughout the region using traps and guns, even in the winter season. Although prehistoric estimates of beaver populations in North America top 400 million individuals, by the early 1800s the beaver population in Michigan had been depleted to the extent that the industry essentially crashed and development proceeded to settlement and agriculture. The species was nearly extirpated. Beginning in the 1930’s, protective regulations were placed on trapping and the beaver population has undergone a considerable rebound with numbers now estimated at 10-15 million in North America.
This long period (mid-1600’s to mid-1900’s) with dramatically decreased beaver in the Great Lakes was a time of great alteration in the ecology of the area. Beavers are considered fundamental ecosystem engineers. They build dams that alter water flow, essentially turning streams into lakes and marshes that provide habitat for diverse species of plants and animals; their activities increase local biodiversity. They feed on shrubs and trees and also use trees for dam construction, which impacts local forest types and alters how energy flows through ecosystems. Beavers are food sources for native species, including wolves. Their lodges provide refuge for a variety of small species, such as muskrats. The activities of beavers significantly impact animals as varied as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and bats. One of the conundrums of modern natural resources management is that the human population dramatically increased in the Great Lakes at the same time that beavers were at a low population size from overharvest. Modern residents of the region are not used to the current, relatively abundant beaver populations and beaver-human conflicts, particularly flooding of valued property, continue to be a challenge that may increase as beavers continue to rebound.
Furbearer harvest continues in the Great Lakes with 14,792 license holders in Michigan (2015 data). The Michigan Department of Natural Resources estimates that this activity added more than $6 million to the regional economy. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), raccoon (Procyon lotor), opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and beaver are the most frequent species harvested, although a wide variety of other species are also captured.
Deer hunting continues to be exceptionally important to residents of the Great Lakes region with nearly 335,000 white-tailed deer taken in the state of Michigan alone in 2015 by over 600,000 recreational hunters. Hunting seasons are managed by state, federal, and tribal management agencies and most have developed management plans for deer and other hunted species, which include upland game birds (e.g. grouse (Phasianidae), woodcock (Scolopax minor)), black bear, turkey, and waterfowl.
In Cascade, Rockman has brought our focus to waterfowl and upland bird hunting with the prominent inclusion of several species of ducks as well as the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius). The passenger pigeon is often invoked as an icon of the effect of humans on wild species. The species was once the most abundant bird in the world with estimates of 3-5 billion individuals in North America in the 1800’s. In 1914, the last individual passenger pigeon died in a zoo in Cincinnati. The rapid loss of this abundant species is unquestionably linked to unregulated harvest by humans. Pigeons of all life stages were harvested for food and sport. Reports include entire railroad cars of carcasses being shipped to market, and the invention of the telegraph is credited with helping hunters find the highly mobile, enormous flocks of birds. Although the species provides an important lesson related to over-exploitation and the need for effective management, its story may be even more complicated. Even though hugely abundant, recent genetic research by Hung and co-workers suggests that the ecological characteristics of the bird made it particularly vulnerable. The species went through periods of high abundance linked to years when their favored food, oak acorns, were abundant. However, just as the oaks did not produce huge acorn crops every year, it is likely that some years saw natural declines in pigeon abundance so that the species cycled in population size. It is likely that the passenger pigeon’s extinction was brought on by a combination of dramatic over-exploitation through unregulated market (commercial) harvest, including of young still in the nest, with a normal population decline. It is also likely that habitat destruction was an important component of the decline since some harvesters would cut down roosting trees to harvest squab, destroying not only the birds, but also their nesting areas at the same time. The story points out the importance of understanding the underlying biology of organisms that are harvested by man, as well as the challenge of interactions between stressors such as environmental change and harvest.
Waterfowl hunting continues to be an important recreational sport in the Great Lakes region. In 2012 (the most recent report posted), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported that about 48,000 individuals hunted ducks and geese in the state and these hunters contributed nearly $23 million to the state. The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that nearly 766,800 ducks and 259,234 geese were harvested in 2015 (all seasons and species combined, in Michigan and Wisconsin only). Most of the geese were likely Canada geese (Branta canadensis), while the ducks represent a broad group of species. Waterfowl regulations are promulgated by states within the region in accord with restrictions set by the federal government, and overall waterfowl management operates as a cooperative effort with federal authority (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with input from Flyway Councils) over management. Waterfowl are managed based on their migratory flyway (their migratory pathway) with most of the Great Lakes falling within the Mississippi Flyway. Some species, such as mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), breed in the Great Lakes region, but many others move through the region on their annual migration and are only temporary residents.
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Wisconsin Waterfowl Strategic Plan
http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/WM/WM0479.pdf
