- [Anna] Coming up on "Great Lakes Now."

What listening to a forest can tell us about the creatures who call it home.

- You don't see what's behind you, you don't see up high in the canopy, but with sound you can hear coming 360 degrees.

- [Anna] I go fishing with the hosts of a legendary outdoor show.

- We're really just about promoting and preserving the outdoor lifestyle.

- [Anna] And should nature have rights?

(upbeat music) (screen whooshing) - [Announcer] This program was brought to you by, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Richard C. Devereaux Foundation for Energy and Environmental Programs at Detroit PBS, Polk Family Fund, DTE Foundation, and contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(gentle music) (screen whooshing) - Hi, I'm Anna Sysling.

Welcome to "Great Lakes Now".

To many people, the sounds of nature can be a relaxing escape from day-to-day life.

But did you know that those same sounds can help scientists track forest health?

Wisconsin Public Radio's Bridgit Bowden brings us the story.

(logo swooshing) (gentle music) - [Bridgit] At least once a month, researchers hike into the woods of Wisconsin's Baraboo Hills to check on small boxes strapped to tree trunks.

(gentle music) - Today is May 30th, 2025, Friday.

It is currently 10:33 AM.

The internal clock is correct.

We are at Hemlock Draw in the bar Baraboo Hills of Wisconsin USA.

This is the Soundscape Baselines project.

- [Bridgit] The boxes hold microphones running 24 hours a day capturing the soundscape of the Baraboo Hills.

- Recording 44kHz channel A wave.

Satellites acquired.

Microphone A is functioning.

Card number 1, 72 % full.

- The Baraboo Hills are full of natural beauty.

They're home to some of the oldest forests in the state and over 1800 different plant and animal species.

According to Ann Calhoun from the Nature Conservancy, which manages much of the Baraboo Hills, they're a unique area in Wisconsin and the Midwest region.

- The Baraboo Hills are a really incredible block of forest and what is otherwise a pretty agricultural landscape in Southern Wisconsin.

It's this incredible diversity of plants and tree species that occur here that make the Baraboo Hills really unique for Southern Wisconsin.

And it's the biodiversity that they harbor collectively that's really important locally and at a Midwest region scale.

- [Bridgit] But what you see is only the beginning.

Many of the forests inhabitants are hidden from view, but if you listen closely, you can hear some of them.

(birds chirping) - Over 135 species of birds utilize the Baraboo Hills for nesting and raising their young, and that's more than half of the species that breed in Wisconsin.

The hills are really important in that respect and that they're this big block of contiguous habitat supporting a lot of different diversity.

- It's that biodiversity that made the Baraboo Hills a great site for the University of Wisconsin Madison's Soundscape Baselines Project, which is a product of Zuzana Burivalova's Sound Forest Lab.

- The Soundscape Baselines Project is this big international initiative where we're trying to really capture the baseline of what forests sound like now, in the year 2024, 2025.

- [Bridgit] Zuzana and her team coordinated with a worldwide network of scientists to install microphones in six forests around the world, including the Baraboo Hills.

The mics ran 24 hours a day for a year, listening for every chirp, croak, buzz and song.

- We want to have something that conservation projects can compare themselves to so that if you are restoring a forest that had already been completely clear, you know what you, how much work is still left.

For example, you still need to bring back all these specialist forest species.

And the second reason is to have a kind of time capsule so that people in the year 2100 can look back into these archives and say, oh, this was the biodiversity back then.

- [Bridgit] Soundscapes are valuable tools for ecologists.

A camera can provide visual information about one field of view and catch glimpses of animals every so often.

But sound can tell us a lot about the variety of species that call a forest home.

- So sound is an incredible way to learn about species and about what's happening in the forest or in any environment.

You don't see what's behind you or you don't see up high in the canopy.

But with sound you can hear kind of in 360 degrees.

You can also hear animals that may be just too small to be captured on a camera like an insect.

You'll still hear it but you won't see it.

- [Bridgit] While Zuzana's research is primarily focused on tropical forests, the Baraboo Hills serve as a representative area for temperate forests in North America.

Plus, since the hills are accessible from the lab in Madison, they can use them as a sort of testing ground.

- It's beautiful out here.

It's some of the most biodiverse areas in the States that we are surveying.

And it also is really important to have a research site close to where our research group is based in at the University of Wisconsin Madison, because we can test out new approaches.

We can keep an eye on the equipment, how it's doing.

We can come back here in an afternoon, whereas it might not be so easy to experiment with a size in the Tiputini rainforest in Ecuador where it takes days to to get there.

- [Bridgit] But recording the sound is only half the job.

Listening to it all, that's where things get tricky.

Laura Berman is a member of the Sound Forest Lab and part of her work involves processing these recordings back at the lab in Madison.

- Up until the last couple of years, we didn't really have the technology to go through the data to analyze it in an accurate or efficient way.

So I feel like new technologies are really opening up our ability to answer these really cool questions.

So here's 20 terabytes just sitting here and then here.

So that's two hard drives.

And then here's from all of our other sites, maybe, I don't know, two dozen more of those for a sense of scale.

And these are, I mean a subset.

- [Bridgit] Six microphones recording year round captured over 50,000 hours of audio.

And that's just at Baraboo Hills.

With six forests containing six microphones each, the project recorded more than 315,000 hours of audio over the last year.

So how does the team process that much data?

- We have machine learning species classifiers that will scan through all of the audio and give you approximate identifications of what species are being detected throughout all of those audio files.

So it'll say, you know, 80% certainty, this is an Eastern Towhee.

And it will give you all of the times that species is detected.

And then you can go through and verify, say, okay, I think this is pretty reliable or not reliable and clean things up.

But it's much quicker than listening to everything.

- [Bridgit] All of that data is visualized into an audio spectrogram.

- The colors you're seeing are the intensity of sound at a particular frequency at a particular time.

So the marks higher up are higher frequencies, lower down or lower frequencies.

This is a cording from the Baraboo Hills and we can listen to a bit of it.

(birds chirping and cloaking) So we've got a couple different things calling here.

So there's our woodpecker, and then that's being detected with a reasonable amount of accuracy.

Eastern Towhee calls being detected here that we can listen to.

(birds chirping and cloaking) It says "drink your tea."

(birds chirping) "Your tea."

That's the Towhee.

So those are all correctly identified, just there.

(gentle music) - [Bridgit] And the goal isn't just research, it's access.

The Soundscape Baselines Project is building an online archive where one day you'll be able to pick a date and time and listen to what the forest sounded like that day and find out what species you're listening to.

Even though the website is still a work in progress, the lab's soundscapes are already being used.

Recordings from Gambone helped demonstrate the impact of sustainable logging practices.

And here in Wisconsin, researcher Maia Persche used earlier recordings from the Baraboo Hills as a piece of her study to explore how forest management practices affect bird populations.

In fact, it was this research done as a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, that first brought the Sound Forest Lab to the Baraboo Hills.

- While I was hearing about this, I was working on the Baraboo Hills and I was starting to think about some of these ideas about trying to record the bird community for the long term and being really sure that we're not losing sight of anything during land management.

And so we were able to link changes in the bird community after management to some kind of change in the soundscape.

- [Bridgit] Those management practices done by the Nature Conservancy include targeted thinning to remove shade and give the understory more light.

They've also been conducting prescribed burns.

- Human influence in this landscape is what has shaped the biodiversity that is here today.

And it was over thousands of years.

And so fire was just as critical to these systems maintaining and being healthy as sunshine and rain.

It's just the element that humans can control.

- [Bridgit] So what did Maia find in her research?

The recordings combined with traditional bird surveys showed that managed oak woodlands of the Baraboo Hills tended to have more complex soundscapes, implying a greater abundance of birds and different bird species.

Listen for yourself.

Here's a recording from a managed area of the Baraboo Hills.

(birds chirping and cloaking) And here's a recording from an unmanaged area.

(birds chirping faintly) - There's some sounds that really fill up the soundscape, like maybe like an airplane going over or a car driving, but they're not very complex sounds.

It's kind of one frequency or one pitch through time.

And then on the other hand, something like a house wren that maybe we've all heard in our backyards or one is singing over here right now, it has a very complex call.

So there's different pitches, different notes changing really fast through time.

And you can imagine like scaling up if you have, you know, many house wren singing and also indigo buntings and cerulean warblers and towhees, you end up with a really complex soundscape.

- [Bridgit] As Maia's research shows, every chirp and bird song can be a data point that helps scientists better understand the health of a forest.

- So if we wanted to go to a different woodland that we didn't know much about and just record a soundscape, we wouldn't know everything, but we could get a sense for how the bird community especially would be doing.

- [Bridgit] And Zuzana hopes that this is just the beginning.

The first year of the Soundscape Baselines Project is over, but many of the microphones are staying in place in the Baraboo Hills and forests around the world.

And they're hoping to add more.

- My goal would be to have Soundscape Baselines from all the world's eco regions that still have intact forests left.

It's a big goal.

There are many eco regions and many of them still do have intact forests left.

But I think by showing that this is feasible, that we're able to work with local communities and volunteers to keep a fairly difficult, complicated project going, because people are passionate and they want to contribute, we can make it happen.

(logo whooshing) (gentle music) - For our next story, we're doing something a little different.

I teamed up with the folks at "Michigan Out of Doors," a long running PBS show, for an on-the-water adventure.

(logo whooshing) I'm here to go trout fishing on Lake Superior with the hosts of this legendary outdoors program, Jimmy Gretzinger and Jenny Ciolek, and our captain Travis White.

As we motored across Lac LaBelle to our fishing spot in Lake Superior near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, I had a chance to chat with Jimmy.

- I grew up on the west side of the Lower Peninsula in Ludington, doing a lot of fishing.

We actually did more hunting than we did fishing, but so, yeah, I've been a sportsman my whole life.

I've been working with the television show and we're working on my 28th year.

- Wow.

- So just starting to figure it out.

- [Anna] "Michigan Out of Doors" has been on the air since the early 1950s.

It was started and narrated by Mort Neff, an outdoor television pioneer.

- [Mort] From here on your muskie is unpredictable.

Some respond easily to the pressure of the rod until they get a look at the boat.

And to the fishermen seeing his first muskie like this, well, the reaction may be let's just cut the line and go home, and you can't blame 'em.

- [Anna] Today the program has a broad reach, airing on PBS stations throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Canada.

They produce 52 episodes a year.

So they're always in search of interesting stories.

- We're really just about promoting and preserving the outdoor lifestyle and whether that's hunting, fishing, kayaking, camping, all the stuff outdoors, that's we're about, and we all are passionate about it.

- Like I said before, I'm a novice.

I've gone out trying to catch fish before, but I never actually have been successful.

So what are some things that I should keep in mind once we get set up and we have, you know, the poles and everything?

- Well, the main thing is listen to the captain.

- Okay.

- (laughs) So they'll tell you what to do.

And so a lot of times you'll see the rods start to move.

Typically, he'll grab it and set the hook then pass you the rod.

And a trip like this, the captain's really doing all the hard work and all the fishing.

So he's deciding what color lures, how deep, what he's gonna run, how far back he's gonna run it.

And then, you know, that's why charter boats are nice because they do all the work.

Really learn a lot from these guys and ladies that captain around the state.

And then you can kind of go out on your own and kind of do your own thing.

Superior is kind of a unique burden.

Just, it's so much bigger and deeper, and that's why I'm excited to kinda learn from Travis tonight too, 'cause we don't get out in Superior as many times as we would like.

So there should be a fun night.

- [Anna] Now, the moment of truth has arrived.

I've cast my line into the water and I'm actually fishing on Lake Superior.

I'm nervous, but really excited 'cause I guess I've just hooked a fish.

- [Travis] And you're gonna just keep on reeling, nice and steady.

- Okay.

- And you're gonna do this until we see that fish and then we're gonna kind of steer it to the left side of this big motor here.

- Okay.

- [Travis] And then I'm gonna get the net, we'll scoop them up.

- Okay.

All right.

Jenny, how's my form?

I'm trying to do it how you told me.

- You're doing great.

- All right.

- Captain said you don't even have to pump the rod like we were telling you.

sometimes you need to.

- Okay.

- It just depends.

If it's a really big one, we will.

If it's kind of an average, we may not need to.

- (gasps) Whoa.

(Travis laughing) Oh my gosh.

You got your fish.

- [Travis] Okay.

Pause in.

- Whoa.

(Jimmy laughing) It's pretty big.

- He got- - Wow.

Awesome.

- [Jenny] Good job, guys.

- [Travis] So this one's just kind of a little guy.

- [Anna] Okay.

- [Travis] Can grow from this size all the way to our state record, 61-pounds.

- [Anna] Oh wow.

- [Travis] And that state record is caught not too far from where we're fishing.

- Wow.

So are there rules around like how big?

- [Travis] So the minimum size is 15 inches.

- [Anna] Okay.

- This is not a bad eating size, but, you know, somewhere in that three to six pound range, would be a good eater.

- [Anna] And just like that, I'm actually posing with a fish that I caught.

Travis tells me more about it.

- So this is our lake trout.

- Okay.

- So this is our native apex predator, and they're kind of a deep water species.

- Okay.

- So they basically, this time of year, they live anywhere from hundreds of feet right up to the top.

So they eat everything from other fish to bugs.

- Wow.

- And they've got a lot of teeth in there.

- Oh yeah.

All the way back.

- So they are the wolf of the lake, really.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

All right, what's the verdict on this one?

Dinner or survivor?

- I mean, how often do you think we'll catch another one?

- We never know.

- [Jenny] Those will be tasty that size.

- Okay, all right, let's keep it then.

- We'll get better.

- All right.

- So we're gonna toss him right into here.

- [Anna] Okay.

Oh my God, thank you.

- Fish Box.

- [Anna] You guys that is cool.

The really good news is that Lake Trout have made a comeback in Lake Superior.

After overfishing and an invasion of sea lamprey beginning in the 1930s nearly wiping out lake trout by the mid 1960s, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission announced in November of 2024 that it's managed to restore the lake trout population.

But added that work needs to continue to reduce the number of sea lamprey.

- One thing we're seeing is that our trout have had really excellent growth in size the last few years.

So the average lake trout size has increased maybe a couple pounds over the last five years.

So they're really great fish, excellent eating sized fish, and pretty good abundance.

- [Anna] Travis says smaller fish under three pounds are usually tossed back, but about 80% of the lake trout they catch, ranging in size from three to eight pounds are kept for eating.

While I was still basking in the glow of catching my first fish, "Michigan Out of Doors" co-host Jenny Ciolek, got a big nibble on her line.

- Fish tacos coming right up.

Nice.

All right.

That's a step in the right direction for size.

Beautiful fish.

- Oh now?

- Yeah.

- There we go.

So that's more like our cookie cutter fish in Lake Superior in terms of our current average size and right in the wheelhouse, what we call a good eater.

- [Anna] And then it was Jimmy's turn to reel one in with some good natured coaching from his co-host, Jenny.

- Now, Jimmy what you're (indistinct)?

(everyone laughing) - [Anna] So after an exciting, fun, and successful day of fishing out on the lake, it's time to motor back to shore.

The air is so fresh up here and the scenery is breathtaking.

- What'd you think of the fishing experience tonight?

- It was really fun.

Parts of it were like harder work that I expected, like reeling in did use a lot of upper body strength, and I wasn't expecting that.

But it was really great.

And I think just kind of, it's fun to be focusing on the fishing but also just enjoying the company and talking and learning.

It was great.

- For sure.

Yeah.

Super fun.

I think we ended up with six or seven fish, all lake trouts, except last one was a little steelhead.

So you got a little bit of variety, but, and you got some good fish to take home.

- Oh yeah, absolutely.

I'm looking forward to it.

And Travis was such a wealth of knowledge.

It was really great to learn so much from him.

So Jimmy, this was awesome.

Thank you.

- Oh, well, thank you so much.

It was super nice to see you in person.

- Oh yeah.

- And not just on TV.

And hopefully we can do this down the road more often.

- Definitely.

I'd love that.

- Thank you.

- Thanks.

(jazzy music) (gentle music) (logo whooshing) Rights are the foundation of any legal system and people enforce their rights, defend their rights, and argue about their rights a lot.

But does nature have rights?

Should it?

"Great Lakes Now" news editor, Lisa John Rogers, takes a look at the Rights of Nature movement.

(logo whooshing) - A growing movement argues that just like people, natural resources should have guaranteed rights.

In New York state, Assemblyman Patrick Burke has introduced legislation to create a Great Lakes and State Waters Bill of Rights.

Burke's legislation would, among other things, grant bodies of water in New York the unalienable and fundamental rights to exist, persist, flourish, naturally evolve, regenerate, and be restored.

- It's a right to exist and grow in its natural form.

We give legal status to corporations, but we don't give it to these very, very important entities that breathe life into so many things.

I think it's the next step in that discussion.

- But this isn't the first time that a Bill of Rights has been proposed for the lakes.

In 2019, as a reaction to years of toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie, residents in Toledo, Ohio, voted on a Lake Erie Bill of Rights as a city Charter Amendment.

Tish O'Dell, Consulting Director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, was actively involved in that effort.

- In Ohio, we have the right to propose laws.

The people have the right to propose laws themselves, put them on the ballot.

And that's what they did with the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

Eventually it got on, people passed it, and within 12 hours of it passing, a big corporate agriculture entity sued to have it overturned.

- Drewes Farms Partnership brought the lawsuit with the State of Ohio later joining as a plaintiff.

A federal judge eventually ruled that the Lake Erie Bill of Rights was unconstitutionally vague and that the City of Toledo did not have the authority to supersede state and federal laws.

- Right now, we operate under this regulatory system.

And if you even just think about the words, it's kind of funny because regulatory, it means we're regulating the harm.

We're not prohibiting it.

And so we're living with the cumulative effects of all that regulated slow destruction and harm to nature.

And so what this bill does is it tries to shift some of that and recognize that no, we need to prohibit these things.

- But even though this kind of legislation may seem new, indigenous nations have long recognized the rights of nature.

Angelique EagleWoman is the director of the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute at the Mitchell Hamlin School of Law.

- So tribal nations have a legal principle universally called reciprocity, and that means reciprocal relationships.

In other words, tribal nations view themselves in a relationship with the earth and natural resources and water resources.

And that relationship requires sustainable practices and not harming the resource.

We also have legal principles around looking eight generations into the future for any decisions that we make.

- [Lisa] That perspective aligns closely with the rights of nature movement.

- So when you give personhood and rights to a natural resource like a lake, you're saying these are the things that cannot be done to this lake.

And it provides that protection.

- Legal recognition of the rights of nature may still be rare in the United States, but it's gaining traction.

And for some, the rights of nature go beyond legislation and represent a mindset shift in how we as humans interact with our environment.

- When we think about water and we think about living in harmony with the earth, tribal nations love this earth.

We often talk about having a wonderful life for future generations.

And every type of protection that can be made for waters not only strengthens that quality of life for tribal children, but all children in the United States.

(logo whooshing) (gentle music) (logo whooshing) - Thanks for watching.

For more about any of the stories on our show, visit greatlakesnow.org.

When you get there, you can follow us on social media or subscribe to our newsletter to get updates about our work.

See you out on the lakes.

(upbeat music) (logo whooshing) - [Announcer] This program was brought to you by, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Richard C. Devereux Foundation for Energy and Environmental Programs at Detroit PBS, Polk Family Fund, DTE Foundation, and contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(gentle music) (upbeat music)