Notes on the Mammals of Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties, Michigan, 1920: Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, Number 109

In Short

This scientific field report details an ecological survey of Gogebic and Ontonagon counties in western Michigan conducted during the summer of 1920. Through systematic trapping, direct observation, and interviews with local residents, the authors catalog the distribution and abundance of local mammals. They systematically map animal populations across a dynamic mosaic of natural and human-altered environments, from pristine hardwood forests to logged burns. The work remains an indispensable historical snapshot of Great Lakes ecology, recording the state of wildlife at a time when commercial logging, artificial damming, and trapping were actively reshaping the Northwoods.

The Story

The text traces a deliberate, three-stage field expedition through western Michigan. The fieldwork begins in late June in the Cisco Lake Region, where the team establishes headquarters on Lindsley Lake. Here, they observe how human intervention has already altered the landscape; a dam across the lake outlet has raised water levels, killing shoreline trees and disrupting native marsh ecosystems. The investigators carefully map out distinct natural habitats—such as leather leaf bogs, sphagnum bogs, and dry hardwood forests—and begin trapping small mammals. They document dense populations of deer-mice, track white-tailed deer along the shores, and observe porcupines feeding on water lilies while avoiding getting their tails wet.

In early August, the researchers move their camp to the timbered wilderness near Little Girl's Point along the shore of Lake Superior. In this higher, well-drained terrain, they examine mature white pine groves and steep dirt bluffs constantly eroded by lake waves. The survey team traps Bonaparte weasels, records several bat species flying over forest roads at dusk, and evaluates how wildlife recovers in areas clear-cut by logging or swept by forest fires. They note that while shrub stages following a fire support some wildlife, mature hardwood stands foster far greater biodiversity.

The final leg of the survey, conducted from late August to early September, centers on the western shore of Lake Gogebic. The authors focus heavily on low-lying wet hardwood forests, black ash swamps, and an abandoned beaver meadow. In these damp environments, they discover rare Richardson shrews and water shrews along sedge-lined ditches, while noting the ubiquitous tunnels of short-tailed shrews.

Throughout the narrative, the authors blend their empirical data with historical depth by consulting seasoned local woodsmen. Trappers share records dating back to 1884, detailing the sharp decline of valuable furbearers like the marten and fisher due to over-trapping. The work concludes with an annotated, species-by-species catalog that synthesizes all captured specimens, anatomical measurements, and habitat preferences, providing a complete account of the region's mammalian life at the start of the 1920s.

How It Unfolds

The expedition sets camp at Cisco Lake The researchers arrive in late June 1920 to evaluate wildlife around Lindsley Lake and neighboring waters. They observe how artificial damming has flooded lake borders, creating fringes of dead timber and altering aquatic habitats.

Mapping the habitat matrix The survey categorizes the countryside into specific environmental zones, ranging from wet ash swamps to high hardwood ridges. Trapping yields immediate results, identifying deer-mice as the dominant mammal in upland timber.

Relocating to Lake Superior’s shore In August, the team shifts operations to Little Girl's Point, studying high clay bluffs and old-growth white pine stands. They conduct evening observations to shoot and identify four distinct species of bats patrolling forest roads.

Investigating fire clearings and timber burns The authors assess how logging and forest fires alter mammal distribution throughout the counties. They trace the ecological progression from herbaceous weeds to aspen-paper birch saplings, concluding that burned areas harbor significantly fewer species than primeval woods.

Exploring the Gogebic Lake lowlands The final weeks are spent in Ontonagon County examining black spruce bogs and beaver meadows. The team secures rare specimens of Richardson and water shrews from wet sedge ditches while noting abundant signs of mink, otter, and white-tailed deer.

Compiling local historical testimony To complement their field traps, the researchers record decades of wildlife observations from long-time local trappers. These accounts establish that larger carnivores like martens, fishers, and gray foxes are rapidly disappearing from western Michigan.

The People

Lee R. Dice The senior author and expedition leader who directs the field work and assumes responsibility for identifying species and defining habitats. He wants to establish an accurate, empirical baseline for Michigan's wildlife, systematically recording population densities across every distinct environment. Through his precise methodology, he demonstrates how human disruptions like damming and logging alter natural mammalian distribution.

The Assistant Field Zoologist The co-author who jointly carries out the grueling daily field tasks, from setting trap lines to skinning and measuring specimens. Working under the senior author's direction, this researcher helps navigate boggy terrains, monitor beaver meadows, and track evening bat flights, ensuring comprehensive coverage across all three camp locations.

J. E. Fischer A veteran trapper from Merriweather with years of experience in Ontonagon County. He wants to share his practical knowledge of local fur-bearing animals, providing critical historical records on rare carnivores like the fisher and gray fox, as well as donating winter specimens of foxes and weasels to the research team.

J. E. Marshall A retired trapper whose observations in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties date back to 1884. He provides invaluable long-term historical context, documenting how intensive trapping caused marten and fisher populations to collapse between the late nineteenth century and 1920.

Benjamin J. Twombley A local resort operator who observes wildlife throughout the Cisco Lake Region. He assists the expedition by supplying winter animal specimens and contributing observations on rare local predators like the red fox.

In Its Own Voice

"The water-level in the Cisco Lake chain has been raised six or ten feet by a dam across the outlet, and this change in water-level has killed the trees along the lake borders, so that the lakes are fringed by a narrow line of dead trees."

— The authors describe how industrial modification of the regional hydrology drastically altered native shoreline environments before the scientific survey began.

"One of these porcupines seemed to be very disinclined to wet his feet, except the fore feet in reaching for food; the other individual waded out on a log which was submerged several inches, but he showed a humorous determination to hold the tail up out of the water."

— Field notes capture a vivid, playful moment of direct animal observation while studying wildlife feeding habits in an overflow swamp.

"In the wet hardwood forest near Gogebic Lake Blarina runways are exceedingly abundant, usually running along or under sticks or logs."

— The authors detail the underground micro-habitats and complex tunnel networks crafted by short-tailed shrews beneath the forest floor.

What It's Really About

Underneath its neutral taxonomic lists, the book addresses the ecological cost of resource extraction in the American Midwest. Written during an era of rapid industrial expansion, it illustrates how logging, forest fires, agricultural clearing, and stream damming fragment natural ecosystems.

The report argues that animal life cannot be understood in isolation; a species' survival is intimately tied to its specific plant community and moisture gradient. By contrasting pristine hardwood forests with clear-cut burns and dammed lakes, the text silently records the widespread destruction of Michigan's primeval wilderness. It raises fundamental questions about habitat loss, wildlife displacement, and the rapid disappearance of apex predators under the pressure of human settlement.

Why Read It Today

This text will appeal to naturalists, environmental historians, wildlife biologists, and anyone fascinated by the Great Lakes wilderness. Reading it feels like walking alongside early field biologists, carrying wooden traps through muddy bogs and sleeping in canvas tents. The prose is clean, unpretentious, and rich with quiet observation, offering an authentic glimpse into field zoology before modern digital tracking technology existed.

What lingers with the reader is the text's precise snapshot of a landscape in transition. It candidly captures an era when logging and trapping had pushed larger mammals to the brink, yet small wildlife continued to adapt within remaining forest pockets. The report does present historical difficulties typical of early twentieth-century field science—such as shooting bats for identification, trapping animals for study, and navigating dense technical taxonomy—but these elements reflect the rigorous empirical methods of the era. It stands as a valuable historic document of the Northwoods.