North Woods Bibliography
Interesting links and books to get you excited for the trip!

North Woods Naturalist Series. These are all excellent books with tons of information and beautiful color photos. We will have the authors of Lichens, Spiders, and Dragonflies along with us for a day on this trip, so we recommend buying these three field guides and bringing them along.

  • Lichens of the North Woods by Joe Walewski; a stunning book that even a raw beginner can use and accurately identify the vast majority of lichens in the North Woods.
  • Spiders of the North Woods by Larry Weber,  one of the few interpretive guides on spiders to date for any region, as well as an identification guide.
  • Dragonflies of the North Woods by Kurt Mead.
  • Damselflies of the North Woods by Robert Dubois, includes detailed drawings of sexual parts and wings, which is often necessary to distinguish species.
  • Butterflies of the North Woods by Larry Weber.
  • Amphibians and Reptiles of the North Woods by Blake Sheldon.

Minnesota’s Scientific & Natural Areas, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a great guide to the ecosystems and where to view them. Especially good if you are traveling about the state.

Complete list of vascular plants of Minnesota

Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota: the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. The field guide can be ordered an be ordered on-line or by mail from state of Minnesota's Bookstore: Stock #342. This book (spiral bound with waterproof pages) is a field guide to the ecological systems and native plant communities in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province of northeast Minnesota. It contains maps, keys, fact sheets, descriptions and tables for identifying native plant communities. Especially good if you are traveling about the state.

Listening Point by Sigurd Olson

Other books by Sigurd Olson: The Singing Wilderness, Rivers of the North, Reflections from the North Country, The Lonely Land

Rock Picker’s Guide to Lake Superior’s North Shore by Mark Sparky Stengaas, Illustrated by Rick Kollath; this little paperback with its lovely watercolor pictures is THE guide to the geology and rocks  on Minnesota's shoreline along Lake Superior, known locally as the North Shore. The North Shore is a beautiful destination for a naturalist's vacation, with lots of state parks, waterfalls, pebble beaches, gorgeous rock outcrops arising out of the blue lake, and hiking trails. This guide will help you identify the best beaches to go rock-collecting and what you might expect to find. Recommended if you have time to spend in this area.

Vanishing Halo, Saving the Boreal Forest by Daniel Gawthrop, a world-view of the environmental perils facing the boreal forest in the Northern Hemisphere, from the Canadian Shield to the Russian Taiga.

Trailside Botany – 101 Favorite Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers by John Bates, illustrated by April Lehman, a great North Woods Guide to the common plants with interpretive stories and line drawings

Canoe Country Flora – Plants and Trees of the North Woods and Boundary Waters by Mark  Stensaas, similar to Trailside Botany described above, but has more plants featured,  either of these are great guides if you want to learn the most common northern plants as quickly as possible. If you can buy only one, we recommend Canoe Country, but both are quite good with lots of interpretive information.

A Northwood’s Companion, A Journal of Spring and Summer by John Bates

North to the Pole by Paul Schurke and Will Steger

Orchids of Minnesota by Welby Smith

The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem by Miron Heinselman

Northland Wildflowers by John and Evelyn Moyle

Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin by Robert B. Janssen, Daryl D. Tessen, and Gregory Kennedy

Swamp and Bog by John Eastman

Adventure Field Guides by Stan Tekiela: Mammals of MN, Trees of MN, Wildflowers of MN; nice color pictures but by necessity of size not complete.

The Loon, Voice of the Wilderness by Joan Dunning

Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota by Welby Smith

Magic on the Rocks: Canoe Country Pictographs by Michael Furtman

Northern Evergreens by E.C. Pielou

Geology of the Lake Superior Region by Gene LaBerge

Minnesota Underfoot by Constance Jefferson Sansome

Portage into the Past; Voyageur History of the Border Lakes by J. Arnold Bolz

Minnesota's Geology by Richard W. Ojakangas and Charles L. Matsch

Quetico: Near to Nature's Heart by Jon Nelson 

This Water Goes North, Dennis Weidermann

Canoeing with the Cree, Eric Sevareid

Woman of the Boundary Waters, by Justine Kerfoot, A story of canoeing, guiding, mushing, and surviving by a woman who arrived in 1928 as a college grad, and eventually became owner and operator of Gunflint Lodge, where she worked for over 50 years.

The Wolf – Ecology & Behavior of an Endangered Species by L. David Mech

How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts by Frances Densmore, information gleaned from the White Earth Reservation of Minnesota.

Trees of Michigan & the Upper Great Lakes by Norman Smith, applies to Minnesota, Wisconsin,  and neighboring Ontario; a lot of information on each species.

DVDs: 

  • The Wilderness World of Sigurd F. Olson

  • Minnesota:  A History of the Land, Episode V