Forward. Thinking.

Tourism, agriculture and natural resources in Bayfield

After a night in Bayfield, on the shores of Lake Superior, the next day kicked off with a breakfast and talk at the renowned Old Rittenhouse Inn, situated in a restored Victorian home on the main street of Bayfield. Innkeeper Jerry Phillips, a UW-Madison alum, gave the group some insights into the tourism industry in Bayfield, and the ups and downs of a career operating a bed and breakfast.

Eric Carlson and Ellen Kwaithowski are the latest generation to use this historic barn near Bayfield. The couple grows apples, strawberries, blueberries and flowers, and has put their land in a trust so that it can never be developed or subdivided. Carlson, a UW graduate who worked for a campus plant pathology lab for several years, says that he owes some of his success to the hands-on lab experience he gained in Madison. Photo: Katie Weber

After a hearty breakfast of Lake Superior trout, homemade muffins and fruit, the bus rolled up into the hills to the Blue Vista Farm, owned by Eric Carlson, a UW-Madison graduate with degrees in agronomy and horticulture, and Ellen Kwaithowski. The farm sits on 40 acres with a picturesque view of the grey water below—but while development interest in the area is already putting pressure on nearby land, Carlson and Kwaithowski have committed their scenic property to a conservation trust so that it can never be subdivided or used for housing.

The husband-and-wife team grows apples, blueberries, strawberries and flowers, and is committed to "walking gently on the earth," says Carlson. They've worked with UW-Madison experts and county extension agents to reduce the amount of chemicals they use on their farm, and they grow some certified organic produce that they sell to a food cooperative in Minneapolis.

Like many of the small business owners who spoke to the Wisconsin Idea Seminar, Carlson says that his workers—Blue Vista Farm employs nine to sixteen people over the course of the growing season—can make or break his business. He also says that his experience at the UW-Madison as a student worker in plant pathology labs and green houses was crucial to his success as a farmer. "It was invaluable to me—I was able to do hands-on work and see for myself how things were done."

Carlson added famers and others in the area "welcome the involvement of the university in northern Wisconsin."

After touring the rolling orchards and fields of Blue Vista Farm, the group headed down the hills into Bayfield for a discussion with the Bayfield Tourism Panel. Bayfield's economy—which experienced a severe depression when the lumber and fishing industries declined—was revived when tourists discovered the beautiful woods, beaches and islands of the area. With the designation of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in 1970, Bayfield became the gateway community to an increasingly popular recreation destination.

And while the increase in tourism helped business in the town, the worry now is that the community may be loved to death, according to local merchant Larry MacDonald. As smitten tourists decide to buy or build second homes, and as developers seek to build condominiums in the small downtown waterfront area, citizens are struggling to balance growth with preserving Bayfield's history and character.

After a pier-side lunch of fresh whitefish, the group left the bus for a boat, and enjoyed a scenic tour of some of the 22 islands in the Apostle archipelago. The evening concluded with dinner and a performance by the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua, which presented highlights of the region's history through rollicking folksy music.

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