Maple Nation

In Mohawk, sugar maples (Acer saccharum) are known as wahta. They command a significant place in Indigenous traditions. There are more sugar maples than humans in the region known to native people as “Maple Nation,” which stretches from from west of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Sugar maples are a common link among everything living here: They provide food and shelter for animals and people, nutrients for soil and plants, filtration for water.

Countless generations of Algonquian, Haudenosaunee and Wabanaki peoples, among others, have gathered maple sap in the Adirondacks using various techniques, some depicted here by artist John Fadden. But climate change threatens to upend that tradition. Warming winters harm sugar maples, and shift their habitats northward. And as the maples are threatened, so is the ecosystem that relies on these towering giants.

In spring 2022, a new exhibit will give you the opportunity to explore Maple Nation, learn about the scientific and cultural importance of maples, and find ways that you might act in deeper harmony with maple forests.

Maple Nation is part of our ongoing Ways of Knowing partnership with the Akwesasne Cultural Center, the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, the Native North American Travelling College, and the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.

HOME GROWN

Fearless isn’t the first word that comes to mind when describing a lot of museums. But that’s how Libby Clark thinks of The Wild Center. And it’s why she was so excited to come home to the Tri-Lakes region and become our new membership and appeals officer.

“I knew The Wild Center, growing up in Saranac Lake,” she says. “Everyone is so fearless when it comes to thinking outside the box and doing new things, and pushing the boundaries in a really good way in the museum field, and that really appealed to me.”

Clark takes over for Tim Holmes, who retired in August after a 10-year career at The Wild Center. She joined us from the Mercer Museum, a Pennsylvania institution housed in a concrete castle filled with a collection of 50,000 pre-Industrial tools. And she’s reveled in the change of scenery, going from a six-story edifice to the heart of nature.

“It’s dawned on me, over the years, how much I really love the Adirondacks and how much I love living up here,” she says. “This is a great position to really share that passion with other people. I want them to realize nature is everywhere—you can walk out your door, wherever you are, and see something inspirational. And our members make it possible for us to make those connections.”

CREATURE FEATURE

Meet Norris the woodchuck. Get it? Chuck? Norris? It’s a bit of a misnomer: He’s more likely to nibble your finger than break it. Norris arrived late this summer from a nature center in Michigan where his handlers noticed his eyesight was not so great. Sometimes that indicates a head injury, but he’s OK. Come meet him soon!

NAME: Groundhog (Marmota monax). You can also call it a whistlepig, land beaver, monax, thickwood badger or a woodchuck, among other things.

DIET: Leafy plants and vegetables.

WEIGHT: Norris is a little heavier than 6 pounds. When fully grown, he may weigh as much as 14 pounds.

LONG WINTER NAP: While many animals slow down during winter, groundhogs are true hibernators: Their heart rate and metabolism slow drastically, and they lose up to half their body weight. Norris won’t be hibernating here.

HOW MUCH WOOD—: The answer is none: A woodchuck does not chuck wood. It got its name from an Algonquian word, wuchak, which described a host of similarly sized woodland creatures. THAT THING ATE MY GARDEN! Woodchucks aren’t universally beloved. They can eat up to a pound of food a day, roughly the equivalent of a 150-pound person eating an 11-pound steak, and their burrows can damage farm equipment. But they’re important parts of the ecosystem: Their extensive burrows aerate soil, and are used for shelter by other animals. And they’re a food source for foxes, coyotes and other animals.

I WANT ONE. We know. We’ve all fallen in love with Norris. But woodchucks don’t make great house pets. They’re members of the squirrel family, and like squirrels, they love to climb and chew things, and would probably cause a fair bit of chaos.

WHEN CAN WE MEET HIM? Soon! Right now, he’s still in quarantine, so we can be sure he’s not carrying parasites or other diseases. We’re starting to train him to use a harness, though, so we can bring him out on a leash.

WILL SPRING COME EARLY? Ask us on February 2.