Hunting the Lion’s Den

Fencerows

By John Luthens 

I’ll walk on tiptoe; arm my eye with caution.
My heart with courage, and my hand with weapon.
Like him who ventures on a lion’s den.

 -Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

 I had the vision while I was passed out in a van.  It was Halloween and it was a revelation in the true spirit of one of those mystic fellows.   Nostradamus comes to mind, but it was really more like a gypsy fortune teller in a side-show circus.

 I saw myself hunting up a cedar-lined gorge, winding over rocks and scanning the steep slopes above for the slightest movement.  A light snow fell, gathering on birch trees up the ridge until the whole world turned soft white. 

 From far down the ravine I heard the breaking crash of waves on a shoreline and they echoed through the shadows of the valley like roaring lions.

 Poking around a deadfall tangle ahead, highlighted against the falling snow, there came the shine of antlers.  There was no sound but the roaring of waves and the beating of my heart as I drew a bead.  It was either a bow or a gun.  I can’t remember that part, because the future isn’t always clear.   It can be especially foggy when the vision is coming to you in a van.

 When I woke up I was a bit embarrassed.  I’d gone down like that once or twice during some ill-spent college day carousing, but it had never happened while donating blood. In retrospect, I probably should have eaten more for dinner the night before than a peanut butter sandwich and a stale cup of coffee.

 The bloodmobile crew told me it happens to the best of us - even the rugged outdoor types, or in my case, the not-so-rugged outdoor types.  They fed me a hearty breakfast of a cookie and some juice and sent me back into the wild.

 True story, except for having the vision in the van; Actually, I don’t remember a thing between the start of the donation process and waking up and eating the cookie at the end.

 That’s not to say the vision doesn’t have a legitimate place in my hunting plans, or that it hasn’t played out plenty in my mind.  Lions Den Gorge is real.  It exists along the Lake Michigan shore in my hometown of Grafton, Wisconsin.

 In 2002, Ozaukee County purchased 73 acres of undeveloped shoreline and upland forest from a private owner.  The tract was set under the management of the Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department and turned into Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve.

 The preserve stretches along three-quarters of a mile of Lake Michigan coastline, fronted by sweeping bluffs that stretch upwards of 100 feet, before leveling off into upland forest and meadow in the preserve’s interior. 

 The northern edge plummets down into a massive coastal ravine known as Lion’s Den Gorge.  The ravine winds along a rocky streambed through stands of white cedar and up into mixed hardwood forest, offering a glimpse into what stretches of undisturbed Lake Michigan forest looked like in pre-settlement times.

 The preserve is a birdwatcher’s paradise: warblers, mockingbirds and orioles can be found in the thickets of the interior, while migrating hawks and ducks ride the flyways of the overlooking bluffs.

 It is also a natural haven for whitetail deer. The population tends to swing high enough, that unchecked, the herd becomes a liability by over-browsing on many native trees and plants.

 While the preserve is open year round to hikers, bird-watchers, or anyone who appreciates visions of wild Lake Michigan scenery, it also opens up to hunting-minded wanderers during the deer season; Visionaries, like myself, who appreciate the taste of venison.

 Ten hunters are allowed on the preserve during the permitted gun season via a lottery system, with preference given to Ozaukee County residents. There is a $50 fee for the gun hunt, with $25 being refunded if a county survey is filled out, and $25 also being refunded if the hunter takes a doe from the property.

 During the late bow season, running from Dec.2 to Jan.5, 2014, hunting in the gorge is open to bow hunters at no charge, as long as they register their information with the parks department in advance of their hunt.

 Ozaukee County Parks Superintendent, Dave Nowak, who sat on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress for 22 years, oversees the managed hunts.  “Even when the land was in private ownership, there was a history of the owner allowing access for local hunters. We started the lottery hunt in 2005.” said Nowak.

 “Deer can be difficult to manage in the area because it is quite urban.  The preserve is one of the few areas of public hunting access in Ozaukee County.  We close the park to the public for the gun season and lock the gates.  The hunters have to walk in.” he said. 

 During the late bow season, the park is open to the general public, but Nowak said bow hunters are usually well off the trails and most people who come through the park don’t even know they are there.

 Nowak relates that the preserve is a great second hunting option for many area residents.  “Many area hunters still go to traditional deer camps up north.  If they don’t get a deer up there, it’s a great place to go without having to drive too far away,” he said.

 Adjoining the nature preserve is a 44 acre parcel of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Waterfowl Production Area that is also open to public hunting.  It is prime habitat of marshland swamp and open ponds.  If it isn’t a hiding place for a monster buck, then I don’t know what is.

 All the acres and diverse habitat of the Lions Den Gorge Nature Preserve, and especially the winding confines of the gorge itself; for me, it all boils down to a vision.  It’s close enough to my home to wander over on a moments notice.

 I won’t be gun hunting the gorge.  I’ll be trekking through 650,000 acres of Nicolet National Forest in either Oconto or Langlade counties, maybe both, depending on how far I’m willing to hike and whether or not I remember to pack my compass along with my blaze orange.

 Come the late bow season, though, I can almost guarantee you’ll find me in Ozaukee County, huddled against the biting Lake Michigan wind as snow pelts down like bullets, trying to blend in behind a stand of oak and watching the gorge for the slightest movement.

 Lions Den Gorge puts me in a proper perspective for deer hunting, which is enough to ask out of any plot of land.  I have visions in my mind. I don’t have to give blood to invoke them, either.  I can call them up at far less noble times, like when I’m at work.  They all involve a perfect setting, a remote place and a moment in time that all hunters know full well.

Bluffs along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Ozaukee County’s Lions Den Gorge Preserve

Mouth of the Lion’s Den

Lion’s Den Gorge