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Timberjay News Tower.Ely.Orr Friday, January 28, 2005 Volume 16, Issue 5 Owlers bring in surprising influx of dollars By Steve Foss Owls flew in from Canada, and dollar bills floated down from their feathers= .=20 =20 The timing couldn=E2=80=99t have been better. =20 The by-now-well-known record influx of great gray and northern hawk owls =20 began as early as October and swelled in earnest in November, bringing with=20= it =20 birders from all across the United States and some foreign countries to witn= ess=20 the spectacle. =20 And they injected money into an economy that traditionally falters in early=20= =20 winter, a time between the finish of hunting season and the snowy season of=20= =20 snowmobiles. =20 It=E2=80=99s hard to put even a ballpark dollar figure on what that influx o= f birders=20 has meant to communities such as Eveleth, Cotton and others, but businesses= =20 that cater to travelers and are within striking distance of the so-called=20= =E2=80=9C owl alley=E2=80=9D of St. Louis County Road 7 have plenty to say about bird= ing traffic.=20 =20 =E2=80=9CAbout three weeks ago we put out a guest book,=E2=80=9D said Sandy=20= Simek, owner of =20 the Wilbert Cafe in Cotton. =E2=80=9CWe have about 15 pages of people=E2=80= =9D from New=20 Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Texas. =20 Simek said that the traditional business dead zone of December and early =20 January actually brought July- and August-level business, and she attributes= =20 most of that to birders. =20 =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s been huge,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CWithout it, it= =E2=80=99s tough to make a go in=20 January. You have to depend on the (leftover) summer and deer season money.= =E2=80=9D =20 Simek said the birding crowd is a generally friendly one, and the waitresses= =20 tend to strike up temporary friendships with groups that are birding for=20 several days in a row, inquiring about their success and wishing them good=20= luck. =20 =E2=80=9CThese people are so friendly,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CThey come= from all parts of the =20 country. They come from places like Washington, D.C., and our prices probabl= y =20 look pretty good to them.=E2=80=9D =20 Bill Aho echoes those sentiments. =20 Aho, owner/manager of the Super 8 Motel in Eveleth, declined to discuss in =20 detail the boost in business birders have brought, but said =E2=80=9Cit=E2= =80=99s been a good =20 business for us. To me, it=E2=80=99s an untapped market that we don=E2=80= =99t realize we=20 have. I=E2=80=99m excited about that.=E2=80=9D =20 Aho said it=E2=80=99s simply a matter of good fortune that the Sax-Zim bog o= wl alley =20 area is only about 10 miles from his motel. He said he makes it a point as a= =20 motel manager to strike up conversations with guests whenever possible, and=20 that the level of excitement shown by birders over the owls, as well as a g= ood=20 number of hawk species, is high. =20 =E2=80=9CThe people are just excited,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CThey are ve= ry avid.=E2=80=9D =20 =E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99s got a great facility,=E2=80=9D said Tom Rusch, the Min= nesota Department of =20 Natural Resources area wildlife supervisor stationed in Tower. Rusch said mo= st =20 people coming to the bog to bird stay in Duluth motels until word of mouth =20 reaches them about motels such as Aho=E2=80=99s. =20 =E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99s getting out ahead of the curve,=E2=80=9D Rusch said. =20 Rusch, who traveled to the bog last weekend for a look around, said the firs= t=20 three people he saw were from Cleveland, Kansas City and San Diego, proof o= f=20 just how far people are traveling to see the owls. =20 But locals are just as busy. =20 Bill Tefft, a Vermilion Community College instructor and Ely birding guide,=20= =20 took one large group of 15 to the bog on an owling outing in December, and h= as=20 guided several smaller groups since then. =20 While some were locals, others were from outside the area. And though the =20 prime owling area is 60 miles from Ely, many find their way to the town anyw= ay, =20 Tefft said. =20 =E2=80=9COne small group I met in Eveleth later went up the North Shore and=20= =20 eventually ended up in Ely, and a group of New Jersey birders after owls sta= yed in=20 Ely,=E2=80=9D he said, adding that he saw one group he=E2=80=99d recognized=20= around town and =20 realized they=E2=80=99d been staying at an Ely bed and breakfast. =20 Tefft said that people who travel to the area to bird tend not just to be =20 after owl species, but others in the area as well, such as three-toed =20 woodpeckers. =20 =E2=80=9CWhen they come, they come with a long list of things to see besides= owls, =20 and they search out those areas,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s exc= iting to think of all the =20 people who are in town. What=E2=80=99s good for the region is good for the t= own, and =20 vice versa.=E2=80=9D =20 _____________________________________________ =20 Good birding, =20 Al Batt -------------------------------1106923816 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Language: en <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3DUTF-8"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=3Drole_body style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY:=20= Verdana"=20 bottomMargin=3D7 leftMargin=3D7 topMargin=3D7 rightMargin=3D7><FONT id=3Drol= e_document=20 face=3DVerdana color=3D#000000 size=3D3> <DIV><STRONG> <TABLE border=3D0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align=3Dleft width=3D280>Timberjay News Tower.Ely.Orr Fri= day,=20 January 28, 2005</FONT></TD> <TD align=3Dright width=3D280>Volume 16, Issue 5</TD></TR></TBODY></TABL= E><BR><SPAN=20 class=3Dheadline>Owlers bring in surprising influx of dollars</SPAN><BR><SPA= N=20 class=3Dbyline>By Steve Foss</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=3Dbody>Owls flew in f= rom=20 Canada, and dollar bills floated down from their feathers.=20 <P>The timing couldn=E2=80=99t have been better.=20 <P>The by-now-well-known record influx of great gray and northern hawk owls=20 began as early as October and swelled in earnest in November, bringing with=20= it=20 birders from all across the United States and some foreign countries to witn= ess=20 the spectacle.=20 <P>And they injected money into an economy that traditionally falters in ear= ly=20 winter, a time between the finish of hunting season and the snowy season of=20 snowmobiles.=20 <P>It=E2=80=99s hard to put even a ballpark dollar figure on what that influ= x of birders=20 has meant to communities such as Eveleth, Cotton and others, but businesses=20= that=20 cater to travelers and are within striking distance of the so-called =E2=80= =9Cowl alley=E2=80=9D=20 of St. Louis County Road 7 have plenty to say about birding traffic.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CAbout three weeks ago we put out a guest book,=E2=80=9D said San= dy Simek, owner of=20 the Wilbert Cafe in Cotton. =E2=80=9CWe have about 15 pages of people=E2=80= =9D from New Jersey,=20 Florida, Ohio, Texas.=20 <P>Simek said that the traditional business dead zone of December and early=20 January actually brought July- and August-level business, and she attributes= =20 most of that to birders.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s been huge,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CWithout it,=20= it=E2=80=99s tough to make a go in January.=20 You have to depend on the (leftover) summer and deer season money.=E2=80=9D=20 <P>Simek said the birding crowd is a generally friendly one, and the waitres= ses=20 tend to strike up temporary friendships with groups that are birding for sev= eral=20 days in a row, inquiring about their success and wishing them good luck.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CThese people are so friendly,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CThey c= ome from all parts of the=20 country. They come from places like Washington, D.C., and our prices probabl= y=20 look pretty good to them.=E2=80=9D=20 <P>Bill Aho echoes those sentiments.=20 <P>Aho, owner/manager of the Super 8 Motel in Eveleth, declined to discuss i= n=20 detail the boost in business birders have brought, but said =E2=80=9Cit=E2= =80=99s been a good=20 business for us. To me, it=E2=80=99s an untapped market that we don=E2=80= =99t realize we have.=20 I=E2=80=99m excited about that.=E2=80=9D=20 <P>Aho said it=E2=80=99s simply a matter of good fortune that the Sax-Zim bo= g owl alley=20 area is only about 10 miles from his motel. He said he makes it a point as a= =20 motel manager to strike up conversations with guests whenever possible, and=20= that=20 the level of excitement shown by birders over the owls, as well as a good nu= mber=20 of hawk species, is high.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CThe people are just excited,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CThey are= very avid.=E2=80=9D=20 <P>=E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99s got a great facility,=E2=80=9D said Tom Rusch, the=20= Minnesota Department of=20 Natural Resources area wildlife supervisor stationed in Tower. Rusch said mo= st=20 people coming to the bog to bird stay in Duluth motels until word of mouth=20 reaches them about motels such as Aho=E2=80=99s.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99s getting out ahead of the curve,=E2=80=9D Rusch said= .=20 <P>Rusch, who traveled to the bog last weekend for a look around, said the f= irst=20 three people he saw were from Cleveland, Kansas City and San Diego, proof of= =20 just how far people are traveling to see the owls.=20 <P>But locals are just as busy.=20 <P>Bill Tefft, a Vermilion Community College instructor and Ely birding guid= e,=20 took one large group of 15 to the bog on an owling outing in December, and h= as=20 guided several smaller groups since then.=20 <P>While some were locals, others were from outside the area. And though the= =20 prime owling area is 60 miles from Ely, many find their way to the town anyw= ay,=20 Tefft said.=20 <P>=E2=80=9COne small group I met in Eveleth later went up the North Shore a= nd=20 eventually ended up in Ely, and a group of New Jersey birders after owls sta= yed=20 in Ely,=E2=80=9D he said, adding that he saw one group he=E2=80=99d recogniz= ed around town and=20 realized they=E2=80=99d been staying at an Ely bed and breakfast.=20 <P>Tefft said that people who travel to the area to bird tend not just to be= =20 after owl species, but others in the area as well, such as three-toed=20 woodpeckers.=20 <P>=E2=80=9CWhen they come, they come with a long list of things to see besi= des owls,=20 and they search out those areas,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s exc= iting to think of all the=20 people who are in town. What=E2=80=99s good for the region is good for the t= own, and=20 vice versa.=E2=80=9D=20 <P><STRONG>_____________________________________________</STRONG>=20 <P><STRONG>Good birding,</STRONG>=20 <P><STRONG>Al Batt</STRONG></P></SPAN></STRONG></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML> -------------------------------1106923816--