BAILEYS HARBOR, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A rare flower is making an appearance at a popular Door County nature preserve.
The dwarf lake iris is blooming at The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor.
COVID-19 concerns have some parts of the park closed for now, but that is changing.
Bright light purple petals with a splash of yellow and white. The Ridges Sanctuary Land Manager Matt Peter says a blooming dwarf lake iris is a sure sign of spring.
“It’s a flower that only grows within the shorelines of Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron, and in fact, only grows in the state of Wisconsin, and the state of Michigan,” said Matt Peter, The Ridges Sanctuary Land Manager.
Peter says many people visit the Sanctuary just to see the rare flowers, and like many nature preserves, trails at The Ridges were open to the public throughout the pandemic. Now, COVID-19 restrictions are starting to ease, and plans are in place to slowly open the sanctuary.
“We implemented what we are calling a three-phase re-establishment plan,” said Katie Krouse, The Ridges Sanctuary Program Manager.
Krouse says the Nature Center closed to the public in March. Phase one is underway, featuring online programming. The next step will move the nature center’s front desk and some gift shopping outside. Once health considerations are met, Ridges leaders will re-open the nature center to the public.
“As we go through this really uncertain time, there’s a lot of factors that go into making that next decision. So we don’t want to jump the gun. We want to stay out ahead of the situation,” said Krouse.
In the meantime, people are asked to wear masks while checking out the flowers.
“These have been in in bloom for a week now, so we’re starting to be on the tail end of the peak, tail end of the peak bloom, but they’re still out,” said Peter.
COVID-19 forced The Ridges to cancel, postpone, or reschedule some events.
One of those includes the Festival of Nature, which was moved from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend.
