Tallitha Reese

You may have passed them untold times without noticing, even during the dead of winter. They speckle tombstones, spatter rocks, and encrust screen door hinges. Often flat, always sedentary and silent, lichen are inherently inconspicuous. They are among nature’s most mysterious organisms. 

Neither fully plant nor completely fungus, lichen are biological composites. Their components – fungus and algae – are wed in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. Photosynthetic algae live within the outer skin of the fungus. In exchange for housing, they pay rent in the form of carbohydrates and vitamins needed by the host fungus. 

Lichen are rootless, anchoring to stationary substrates with thin fungal threads known as rhizines. A rootless existence enables them to grow almost anywhere – on tree trunks, leaves, rocks, fence posts, and even the fender of your uncle’s rusting Edsel. But life without roots is not without hazards. Lichen are prone to desiccation. They rely on atmospheric water, mostly rain and fog, to stay hydrated.

Despite relative anonymity, lichen are ubiquitous, found throughout the world in a variety of habitats ranging from frigid Arctic tundra to rain drenched tropical forests. In arid environments, they partner with fungi, mosses, and bacteria to create a brittle, living veneer that sits astride sandy soils. Biotic crusts, as they are known, are essential for soil stability and health. Although able to withstand the elements, they are highly susceptible to physical impacts like foot trampling. Once disturbed, biotic crusts need years to recover.

Lichenologists (yes, it’s an actual profession) have identified more than 18,000 varieties of lichen. Since many are superficially similar, genetic analysis is used to differentiate them. It is now thought as many as 250,000 species may exist. 

In stable environments lichen are long-lived, persisting for decades or even centuries. Longevity combined with the ability to absorb atmospheric particles, including pollutants like sulfur, mercury, and nitrogen, make them important indicators of air quality. The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service use lichen as biomonitors. Deteriorating air quality is often reflected in slow growth or even the demise of key species.

Lichen are nibbled by a variety of organisms. They are a menu staple for many insects, including grasshoppers, and provide important dietary supplements for red-backed voles and flying squirrels. Several species are considered essential winter forage for reindeer.

Earth tone lichen are favored by many species of birds as nesting material. The reason? Nests flecked by gray and green are well camouflaged, concealing edible eggs and vulnerable young. Hummingbirds are particularly adept at shingling their tiny, spider silk nests with lichen bits to keep jelly-bean sized babies safe and sound.

Simple shapes belie lichens’ complex chemistry. More than 700 organic compounds have been isolated from their tissues. Unique chemical signatures help distinguish similar species. Other compounds impart bright colors – red, yellow, and orange – to lichen species historically used by indigenous people as dyes for clothing and cultural ceremonies. A handful of compounds even exhibit promise as antibiotics.

There is much we don’t know about the mysterious lives of lichen. Unlocking their secrets leads to understanding, appreciation, and the recognition that even the most unobtrusive forms of life are essential for a healthy planet. What’s not to lichen about that?

Craig & Mary Thompson

Mary and Craig Thompson live adjacent to a lovely woods north of La Crosse. They’ve been Driftless dwellers for more than 35 years. Much like the lichen dappling their backyard trees, they are symbionts, although considerably more energetic than their small, sessile neighbors.

Ever since Larry Reis was old enough to realize that “people had jobs,” he wanted a career connected to wildlife and nature. Raised in a family that hunted, fished, and foraged on a frequent basis, Larry knew he was meant to be outdoors.

“You just learn that, you know, there’s a lot of neat stuff out there, a lot of cool stuff to see,” Larry says, his eyes lighting up in excitement during an interview that was, fittingly, at the Decorah Community Prairie. “So, yeah, I had that interest. I’ve always wanted to be outdoors and I’m still outdoors.”

This eternal love-affair with nature and the outdoors has been the driving force behind Larry’s 40-year career as a naturalist for Iowa’s Winneshiek County Conservation Board (WCCB). When he started with WCCB in the early 1980s, the organization was just two men; Reis did naturalist work and gave nature programs in schools and local garden clubs, while his director managed maintenance work in the WCCB’s parks. As WCCB hired more and more people, Larry’s job and responsibilities began to shift, moving him away from an education setting. He became a natural resources manager tasked with managing timber in local woodlands and overseeing the completion and maintenance of the Prairie Farmer Recreational Trail, a 20-mile asphalt trail that runs between the Iowa towns of Calmar, Ridgeway, and Cresco. 

But in the last 10 years, Larry has returned to schools, assisted living facilities, and senior centers to do programming and public outreach. He believes he has more than 100 PowerPoints in his collection, some of which focus on Winneshiek County-specific birds, flowers, or trees. Others talk about places Larry has visited, like Yellowstone National Park or Alaska, as he tends to spend much of his “vacations” documenting the natural world. WCCB estimates that Larry has presented more than 8000 programs and reached more than 200,000 people – 10 times the population of Winneshiek County. It’s an impressive number, and one Larry says he honestly wasn’t aware of until WCCB Executive Director Barbara Schroeder told him in September 2023. The numbers are not what Larry prioritizes – it’s the people.

“The most important part is hopefully connecting with people and getting them to appreciate nature in the general sense, and then motivating them to do what they can to make sure that nature continues,” Larry says. “Whether or not it is older folks or younger people, you know, that’s kind of our goal. Just to get them enjoying the outdoors instead of being afraid of it and learning that it’s a fun place to be.”

But don’t think for a second that Larry spends all his days standing in a classroom. He swears by the fact that he’s “rarely in the office while it’s light out.” Larry’s naturalist work takes him all around Winneshiek County, as WCCB manages more than 20 parks and natural areas. You might find him visiting places like Lake Meyer, Walden Pond, or Cardinal Marsh, or checking up on Chipera Prairie, Casey Springs, Sindelar Wildlife Access, or Ludwig Park. 

“We’ve added quite a few areas since I’ve been on board,” he says. “The Prairie Farmer Trail, the Trout Run trail. They weren’t here when I started, and they’re just huge.”

This long list of natural areas has provided more opportunities for Winneshiek County inhabitants to experience local and meaningful natural areas. It has also increased WCCB’s outreach and brought more attention to conservation efforts.

“I think just having people in the county realize that natural resources are important… it’s been big,” Larry says. 

As he travels from place to place, Larry’s always sure to have a camera with him. Just as his role with WCCB has evolved, his camera has too. He started taking nature pictures in college with an old-school film camera. He couldn’t afford the larger telephoto lenses that were used at the time to photograph birds and animals, so he took photos of trees, leaves, and plants to start.

“You can get better photos with a cellphone now than I could probably with a good camera, back years ago,” Larry says. “But now, I’ve got really top-notch cameras.”

In 2014, Larry started a Flickr page to share the daily nature photos he shoots with those “top-notch cameras,” and his profile has since received 16.1 million views. He initially hoped the Flickr account would act as a “phenology calendar,” so locals could check in and see what’s happening daily in Winneshiek County, but Larry says that he’s received the most attention from out-of-state users. He created the page for two reasons: first, so other conservation organizations that aren’t “loaded with cash” could download his photos and use them free of charge, and second, simply because Larry finds the photos to be “neat.”

His favorite thing to take a photo of in Winneshiek County? Too hard to answer, because it changes on the day. One day, it’s a Red-Breasted Nuthatch, and the next day, a Purple Finch. Larry takes photos of anything he finds to be interesting; he does say, however, that he prefers birds because of their “personality.”

“Anybody can take a picture of a pretty flower because it doesn’t move and it can be there for like a week – but a bird, they’re here for like two seconds and then they’re gone,” he says. “That chance is never gonna come again. It’s kind of fun to try and capture them, and usually if I’m out there photographing birds, I’m looking to try and get them doing a really pretty pose.”

While Larry appreciates his job and recognizes the growth in awareness of conservation efforts in Winneshiek County, he still believes that there’s more to be done. He believes there are many areas in the county that could and should be protected, especially along watersheds like the Upper Iowa and Turkey Rivers. It’s hard, he says, to lose some “wonderful” areas in the county that should have been protected.

“One of the best prairies in Iowa was on private property, and it’s now a cornfield,” Larry says. “WCCB tried to purchase it; we were outbid. It’s gone. I’ve seen woodlands, you know, disappear – nice woodlands that are totally gone now.”

But Larry is not discouraged and believes there’s still time for natural areas to be preserved – by voting, by fundraising, and by good old-fashioned word of mouth.

“We’re lucky to live in an area where people appreciate what they’ve got,” Larry says. “In some parts of Iowa, that’s not the case.”

Larry also knows the next generation of naturalists, biologists, and wildlife explorers is needed soon, and encourages anyone interested in anything remotely connected to the outdoors to pursue a career in conservation. He has no regrets doing so himself.

“I got my Iowa pension plan for public employees, and I could get Medicare or whatever and live a comfortable life,” Larry says. “But I like what I do, and it’s very, very rewarding. I wake up every morning looking forward to the next day. I don’t know how many people can say that in their jobs.”

Peter Heryla

Peter Heryla is a senior Communication Studies major and Journalism minor at Luther College. He had a variety of fun adventures with Larry Reis during an Environmental Science course at Luther in Spring 2023. In the winter, he likes to spend time with family and friends — and of course, his corgi.

Alison Bunge Leathers is a boomerang. No, not the Australian hunting tool that flies back to the place where it was first thrown. The word “boomerang” finds new meanings these days, describing adults returning to their hometown to live. And like the word, Alison is finding new meaning in her life.

After growing up in Preston, Minnesota, a Southeast Minnesota town of 1,300 people, and graduating in 2005 from Fillmore Central High School, Alison’s goal to study environmental horticulture took her first to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, then to Minneapolis/St. Paul and the University of Minnesota, and finally on to Tennessee State University where she got her Master of Science degree in Agricultural Education, Leadership, and Extension. She met her future husband, Bradley, while working one summer at Yellowstone National Park, and after they married in 2011, they settled in his hometown of Nashville.

“We loved living close to Brad’s family, but I hoped we might consider moving to Minnesota someday,” Alison says. In 2018, her hope came true. The couple and their then-two-year-old son, Waldo, headed north.

Alison “boomeranged” not just to her hometown of Preston, but to a very familiar workplace. “Thirty years ago, my family created a 15-unit lodging business in downtown Lanesboro called the Cottage House Inn,” she says. 

It truly is the epitome of a family-run business.

“My father, Andy Bunge, designed and built it, my grandparents, Waldo and Marilyn, first managed it, my aunt, Mary, and my uncle, Eric, are owners as well. And my cousin, Lynn Susag, was the manager at the time we moved back,” she says. “I’d worked there as a teenager with many of my high school friends, so I knew the Cottage House very well. Seeing it as an adult was different, though.” 

In Nashville, Alison worked in hospitality at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, and discovered a love for serving people. When Alison and family returned to Minnesota, her cousin Lynn was transitioning out of her role as Cottage House manager. Alison took this as an opportunity to apply her new love for hospitality to her old love of this family business. She began to learn from Lynn – everything from scheduling to bookkeeping to ordering supplies. At the onset of the pandemic two years later, she became full-time manager.

With Brad now working at the Mayo Clinic in nearby Rochester, and the birth of their second child, Elsa, in 2019, the Leathers family boomerang had gone very smoothly. 

“While it was hard leaving our Nashville family, we were eager to become part of a new community,” Alison says. “It’s harder doing that in a large city. Living in Preston and working in Lanesboro opened as many doors for us as we wanted.”

Those “open doors” were great for Alison – and for those communities. In the past five years, she’s been a board member (and past president) of the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, board member for the U of MN Extension’s SE MN Rural Sustainable Development Partnerships, a member and event planner in the Lanesboro Businesses Promotion group, is the current president of Lanesboro’s Sons of Norway Lodge, serves on the board of the Preston Area Community Foundation, and is an active member in their home church, Christ Lutheran of Preston. Alison also recently wrote a successful $50,000 grant to the Blandin Foundation to help Lanesboro explore and expand its winter tourism potential, and she is a member – and past chapter officer – of P.E.O. International, a women’s education organization.

“My love for serving others in hospitality extends into a desire to serve my community,” she says. “It’s fun to get involved. I enjoy the camaraderie of making friends and getting inspired by other people. It’s also fulfilling to see the impact of your work. I love all of it!”

All those volunteer hours, while managing the Cottage House full-time, plus being a busy wife and mother of two small children, may seem a bit overwhelming. But Alison is nothing but enthusiastic. The positive seeds of community-building were planted in her early, she says.

“I grew up with adults in my family and small town who showed me how to serve others. I learned so much watching them; it feels like I stand on the shoulders of giants!” she says. “I learned that connecting with people, and sharing a purpose to make a community better, is fun for everyone!”

Fun, yes, but still, lots of work. A great team at home and in the community makes it easier.

“Lots of credit goes to my husband, Brad. Good family support and local childcare helps, too,” Alison says. “I try to do work and volunteer projects during the day, so they don’t take away from evening family time. We have fun, too, going biking, hiking, swimming, and camping. We hit up all the local playgrounds. My main hobbies are gardening and landscaping. With good planning and some juggling, it all seems to work.”

Alison’s commitment to serving is one way to be a good role model for her children, just as her parents and family were to her. It’s important to her to exemplify the fact that one person can make a difference, and that we can find common ground with those around us.

“Our world today has so many divisions,” she says, “and they can even show up in a small town. You may not always agree with everyone, in politics for example, but you can choose to work together to make the community you share an even better place to live.”

Community-building in a small town helps keep her own perspective positive as well, she adds.

“Current world events can leave you feeling overwhelmed and dismayed. When that happens to me, I find solace by helping in local projects and making a positive difference where we live and raise our family,” she says. “I see other people doing that, too, and it creates bright spots for me. We all need more of those.”

Steve Harris

Steve Harris, a freelance writer and author of the book “Lanesboro, Minnesota,” can be reached at sharris1962@msn.com.

For More Info:

For more information about the Cottage House Inn, visit cottagehouseinn.com or call (507) 467-2577.