The “Hope Elm” along Highway 18 in Wisconsin is the epitome of survival; this tree has endured much but continues to “hold on”. You can see the lonely silhouette of this tree looming in the distance miles before you get to it. This sunset view of the tree a couple of weeks ago was my inspiration to hold on to the topic “holding on” for a second blog post!
The Hope Elm has survived even more than Dutch elm disease (DED). A life sandwiched between field and highway means ongoing exposure to herbicides and traffic. A local news story from 2019 told the tale of a sleepy driver who left the road a couple of years before and damaged the base of the tree. I have stopped by the elm a few times in 2024, and it is still holding on. The horrific scars on the base of the tree girdle nearly 2/3 of the stem diameter, but there are signs of the tree trying to heal. There is lots of dieback in the canopy; my interpretation (as a retired forest pathologist) is that the wounded stem can no longer support a full canopy, so a lot of the small branches have died back. But the American elm tree is resilient, and this one is holding on.
Large American elms that persist on the landscape, despite the onslaught from DED, are referred to as “Survivor elms”. We don’t know if the Hope Elm is a Survivor Elm because it is resistant to DED or because it is so isolated that the beetles that carry the disease have not found it. One of the last projects I worked on before retirement was coordinating the collection of clones of many of these Survivor Elms in the Upper Midwest, so that they can be tested to determine if they are resistant to DED or just lucky escapes. The goal of this project is breeding populations of American elm that will produce seed/seedlings that will persist longer on the landscape, so that someday American elms will once again resume their keystone role in the forest. If you’re interested in this topic, you can read a 2022 article I wrote for the Ruffed Grouse Society https://ruffedgrousesociety.org/restoring-the-role-of-american-elm-in-upper-midwest-forests/. Since that article, the Forest Service expanded the Midwest project from capture of cold-hardy northern elms to include work with the Army Corps of Engineers to capture an Upper Mississippi River population of elms. This project is one I want to hold on to, so I’m keeping up on the progress and will help as needed. Some work is too good to let go of, even in retirement!
At Iowisota, October was a blur of activity. It was gratifying to welcome visitors and see the vision fulfilled for a diverse set of activities to share the land. November is needfully quieter! We have added a bonus “Women’s Walk” on November 3rd and a “Curiosity Luncheon” on November 16th, and a few private stays and events that don’t show up publicly on our event list.
As we go into winter, our event offerings will shift a bit. We’ve been talking to Chris Gavin about doing a short “after the hunt” venison cooking workshop (including a post-workshop lunch), and we’re contemplating other sessions we could do in the winter woods; we’re open to suggestions. We are also open to hosting private retreats throughout this quiet winter season; the Gathering Room with its stone fireplace is a delightful place to congregate on a cold fall or winter day!
I also wish each of you the endurance to hold on to hope in the face of adversity (like the Hope Elm), and the discernment to figure out which things in life are worth holding on to! Until we get more stuff on the calendar, you’ll also need to hold on and keep checking back for new events!
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