New facility replaces log cabin from 1939

By BRENDA MOSELEY

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Mercer - Employees of a new ranger station in Mercer sponsored an Oct. 29 open house that included tours and refreshments.

The station is under the umbrella of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

For the last few decades, the DNR's Mercer team has been working in a two-story log cabin constructed in 1939 for use as a ranger's residence.

According to DNR forestry team leader Ryan Peaslee, who directs the Mercer staff, the original building did not have the space needed for multiple employees and also had issues linked to age: asbestos, faulty plumbing and an electrical system that wasn't always up to code.

But he said that what really jump-started the construction of the new ranger station was the original facility's lack of heated garage space for the agency's fire trucks and other maintenance equipment.

The new facility is 15,000 square feet and includes an attached six-bay garage and overhead fill tanks for the agency's fire trucks.

Peaslee said the heated bays mean that the team no longer has to winterize fire gear nightly during the spring fire season, and the fill tanks can reload a truck's water tank in eight minutes.

At the log cabin, the only option was a garden hose, and the same task took five to six hours.

"It's a game changer," said Peaslee of the new set up.

Visitors to the new ranger station can pick up a free Iron County Sportsman's and Outdoor Recreation Map and brochures and maps of the Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area.

In addition, behind the station is a two-thirds mile interpretive nature hike that winds through pine and aspen forests. It includes boardwalks across tamarack and spruce bogs.