“That's been our goal all along. To move a bog, one needs to get a grip on it. The North Long Lake bog became detached in August 2017, Schmidt said, when heavy rainfall fed into to a creek that then fed into the lake. It took 24 small boats and pontoons, plus a bobcat. But now, with the center section cut into three pieces and dozen of volunteers, they saw progress. Randy Tesdahl heads the American Legion in Minnesota. The 3-acre piece of wetland has destroyed docks while bouncing around the lake near Brainerd. “You ain’t going to move 8 million pounds with a few boats,” Sapeltan said. The bog came to rest on the beach of an American Legion camp. Courtesy the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources/ Public Domain. Sunday’s goal was clearing the section in front of the beach, but they’ll likely work on the other sections later on. Atlas Obscura readers share the destinations they just can't quit. BRAINERD, Minn. - Crews are attempting to move a giant bog that broke loose last fall, wreaking havoc on North Long Lake. “I mean, this got political,” says Martini. The bog is habitat. In October, the monster ominously made its way over towards the beach and swimming area used by the American Legion of Minnesota's Legionville Safety camp. © 2021 Atlas Obscura. It jiggles like a waterbed when you walk on it, and falling through is a danger. “They seem like something that can’t exist, but they’re really all over,” says Chet Van Duzer, who wrote a 400-page bibliography on floating islands. So the group has devised an elaborate plan to move it, as soon as the lake thaws. They are found on six of the seven continents. The heavy influx of water, coupled with strong winds, lifted the bog from its roots and out into open water. Bill Schmidt, president of the North Long Lake Association, remembers the phone call from a resident at the north end of the lake. This bog, weighing 8 million pounds, had been nicknamed “The Beast.” “Just the fact it's moving is really exciting,” Johnson said. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders. Wildlife Management Unit: 5F and 6JGeneral information on hunting and general information on trapping includes how-to and safety tips with links to seasons, rules and regulations.The unit is heavily hunted, especially during archery, muzzleloading and the early part of big game season because of easy road access and the availability of roadside campsites. North Long Lake Association. “I said, ‘We gotta turn this into lemonade,’” says Tesdahl. “They’re never this big,” he says. The camp, owned by the American Legion, trains children as volunteer crossing guards and helps them master other road safety skills, like exiting overturned school buses. The heavy influx of … As the spring thaw approaches, the residents who live around North Long Lake are gearing up once more to deal with their beast. Watch Our Annual Meeting Video on July 18th Subscribe To Our Email Updates 2020 Annual Meeting. A giant bog started floating around North Long Lake in Merrifield last fall, leaving a trail of destroyed docks and beaches in its wake. Early Wednesday morning, volunteers got started with their plan to move the bog using boats and bobcats. Nishinoshima grows and grows, and all we can do is watch. Floating islands have fascinated human beings for thousands of years. The Minnesota American Legion and the North Long Lake Association anchored the bog and have made preparations to move it. “Where they’re best developed, you’ve got 5,000 years of sphagnum peat accumulation,” Galatowitsch says. “There was some anger, quite honestly, and some discontent,” says the American Legion’s Tesdahl. So Tesdahl and others are building a “necklace” out of logs and chains. Some Legionnaires felt otherwise. BRAINERD, Minn. - Eight months after a monster bog moved across North Long Lake near Brainerd, docking on the beach of Legionville Safety Camp, officials were successful in moving part of it back to its original resting spot. In most cases, problem bogs are small enough to nudge to a new location with a boat or two. LEGIONVILLE--Another piece of the puzzle that is the North Long Lake bog has been moved. Most floating islands are bogs, and they are more common than one would think. “‘Everybody do a little bit and we’ll get the thing moved and it will be a feel-good story.’” All three entities now claim a positive working relationship. “I said ‘Okay, we’ll deal with it in the spring,’” he recalls. Residents complained to their legislators that issuing permits wasn’t enough—that the DNR should get out there and move the bogs. MERRIFIELD, Minn. — The monster bog that broke off the shoreline a few weeks ago in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake just outside of Brainerd continues to lurk around the … The idea was to try and corral the bog near its place of origin while a plan took shape to move and anchor it permanently. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. But in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, people mostly want them to go away. Tesdahl estimates the operation will cost between $5,000 and $10,000. “It was not attached to shore so there would not be any reason to seek permission,” he says. Step Inside the Geometrically Stunning Fingal's Cave, There's an Abandoned Futuristic Fort in Portland, Maine, The Intrepid Mother and Son Who Unraveled a Geographic Hoax. In late October, it came to rest in the waters off Legionville’s swimming beach, about 400 yards from where it had started. Then the team will fix the bog in place. People have grazed cattle on them, fished through them, farmed on them, even created religious ceremonies around them. I watched it last fall,” Dave Sapeltan said. The only stuff that’s alive is the three or four inches at the top.” They expand outward from peat shelves that form along the shoreline. No purchase necessary. “They were complaining that the DNR should take care of this,” Martini says. The plan to move a huge floating bog on North Long Lake near Brainerd, Minn., seemed a little far fetched to succeed but you have to admire the spunk of the area.. For years, the bog bobbed inoffensively next to an unused stretch of lakeshore there. After it landed at Legionville, the DNR gave the North Long Lake Association a permit to stake it there. The floating bog became a problem when it broke away from its shoreline in October 2017 in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake, north of Brainerd. Its deepest point is 97 feet. The North Long Lake bog became detached in August 2017, Schmidt said, when heavy rainfall fed into to a creek that then fed into the lake. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. Atlas Obscura had a page for something called Moose Boulder, until fan Roger Dickey called us on it. Floating bogs float because the peaty soil that supports them releases gases as it decomposes. No-one has ever seen a floating bog this large before. The DNR demurred. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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The Forum News Service reports volunteer crews were finally able to move some of this giant bog from the Legionville Camp beachfront on North Long Lake Sunday. Inch by inch, the slow slaying of the North Long Lake monster bog is underway. The camp, owned by the American Legion, trains children as volunteer crossing guards and helps them master other road safety skills, like exiting overturned school buses. But the residents of Crow Wing County, Minnesota have had about enough of their floating island. “It's just a freak of nature,” Sapeltan said. North Long Lake Information: Crow Wing County Watershed: Crow Wing Surface Water Area: 5,998 Acres Shorelength: 19.3 Miles Maximum depth: 97 ft. The North Long Lake bog began its journey at a summer camp called Legionville. “So the person who staked it there is the responsible party,” he said. A natural assemblage of peat moss festooned with cattails and tamarack trees, the bog is more than four acres across—that’s about 64 tennis courts. A floating bog, they’ve learned, is a slippery adversary. Winter deepened and tempers cooled. The American Legion in Minnesota has 73,000 members. The bog floated around the bay as the … For the time being, the monstrous floating bog on North Long Lake will remain in place. Sue Galatowitsch, a wetland ecologist at the University of Minnesota, says the island likely weighs at least 1,000 tons and could extend 30 feet below the water. Floating islands are common in Minnesota; it’s the size of this one that’s causing all the fuss. The Lake Association planted wooden stakes, made of 10-foot-long two-by-fours, on three sides of the bog to keep it from heading back out into the lake. Summer camp manager Roy Kruger complained to a local newspaper that he was going to lose business because of the bog. Minnesota residents regularly ask the state Department of Natural Resources for permission to move floating bogs away from their homes and stake them down elsewhere. The DNR plans to chain the pieces they moved to shore, to prevent them from floating back to the Legionville beach. “Just amazing. Heedless of property lines and proper decorum, it caromed around the lake for about three weeks before coming to rest, leaving behind crumpled docks and mangled boat lifts. They appear in Greek, Native American, and Polynesian mythology, not to mention fantasy novels and dessert menus. The North Long Lake bog began its journey at a summer camp called Legionville. Brainerd Cabins, Park Models & Retreat Home At Sullivans, we have 6 two bedroom housekeeping cabins, 1 three bedroom, and a large Retreat Home. The heavy influx of water, coupled with strong winds, lifted the bog from its roots and out into open water. Eight months after a monster bog moved across North Long Lake near Brainerd, officials have been successful in moving part of it back to its original resting spot. Then, one blustery October morning, it broke loose. “You put a bunch of old veterans together, they can move a mountain,” Tesdahl says. Why Is This Lake in Australia Bright Pink? And with the bog so close to shore, they decided it just wasn't safe. “And they were sitting there having coffee and it just kept coming. Disputes over who is responsible for it have challenged the bonds of community in this serene area just north of Brainerd, known for recreational fishing and boating. MessageToEagle.com – A giant, black wandering bog has suddenly appeared in North Long Lake, Minnesota and no-one knows why. All rights reserved. For now it is harmless, frozen in place. The North Long Lake bog became detached in August 2017, Schmidt said, when heavy rainfall fed into to a creek that then fed into the lake. We’re fine with it being wherever it ends up.”. The bog broke off the shoreline in October in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake just outside of Brainerd. Moving them from island to island is one way to conserve them. Try and do so, and chunks break off like Jello. (The wind has since blown it back, right in front of the swimming beach.) It’s the size of three football fields. The bog broke off the shoreline in October in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake just outside of Brainerd. Weighing 1,000 tons bog is roaming the waters of the 6,000-acre lake, smashing a dock and boat lifts in its path. A floating bog on North Long Lake, north of Brainerd, is scheduled to be moved from where it came to rest. Technically, it’s a floating bog. Each cabin has a deck with lawn chairs, flat-screen TV, a VCR or … The bog broke off the shoreline in October in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake just outside Brainerd. Please click below to consent to the use of this technology while browsing our site. Residents living on Merrifield Bay may have seen the bog floating around the lake this past week. Bog watch on North Long Lake is summer excitement for lake residents like Dave Sapeltan and Bonnie Johnson. And they canceled the whole camp. North Long Lake is a 5,998 acre lake, with a sandy shoreline encompassing 19.8 miles (7 miles long). Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). The wild beast of North Long Lake … “We just say hey, it’s a public water. North Long Lake is a long way from Loch Ness, but the Minnesota lake now has its own monster. Whether they can move a bog remains to be seen. Lake Association president Bill Schmidt says that’s because, at the time, the bog was several hundred feet offshore. “I have heard from friends in Mexico that have said, 'What about the bog on your lake?'”. After almost a month of fruitless effort, there was finally some progress made on shifting the monster bog that is blighting the North Long Lake shoreline. North Long Lake is located in Crow Wing County and is a good fishing lake for a variety of species. We want them to have their beach,” Martini said. Game species that can be found here include deer, bear and possib… Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. It won’t be easy. “I deal with floating bog permits every year,” says Kevin Martini, an aquatic plant management specialist for the agency. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. The North Long Lake bog began its journey at a summer camp called Legionville. The 8-million-pound bog, as long as three football fields, gained worldwide notoriety when it ended up on the shore of Legionville Safety Camp last fall after floating across the lake, taking docks along with it. BRAINERD, Minn. - Eight months after a monster bog moved across North Long Lake near Brainerd, docking on the beach of Legionville Safety Camp, officials were … Eventually, the team hopes, the bog will root itself once more and reattach to the shoreline. The bog broke off the shoreline in October in Merrifield Bay on North Long Lake just outside of Brainerd. “‘It’s a bog. A giant, breakaway bog dmaged this dock and boat lift on North Long Lake near Brainerd on Friday the 13th. “The wild beast of North Long Lake,” as one person described it to a local TV news crew, broke loose from the shoreline last fall. From there, the DNR and other lake officials struggled to budge the mighty bog. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. A bog the size of a professional baseball field is on the move in North Long Lake. The bog, roughly the size of three football fields, broke free in … It destroyed their dock and boat lifts and they wanted to know what to do about it.”, At the whim of wind and wave, the bog meandered for weeks within a kidney-shaped bay at the north end of the lake, an area just over one square mile.