Isle Royale National Park operations staff ditch diesel for e-bikes

By Isak Kvam

This story was originally published on Fresh Energy.

When a pristine wilderness park becomes even cleaner — and quieter — people take notice! Minnesota-based organization Fresh Energy recently showcased our project to help Isle Royale National Park staff use e-bikes for travel within the park.

Isle Royale National Park is a wild gem in Lake Superior — 99% designated wilderness, accessible only by boat or seaplane, with no roads and no vehicles for the general public. For park operations staff working on the remote island, getting around to manage facilities like lodging and the Visitor’s Center, and caring for this pristine ecosystem has always meant either walking long distances with heavy gear or relying on loud, polluting diesel-powered utility vehicles that require expensive fuel shipments across the lake.

But that’s about to change.

Isle Royale’s e-bikes were donated from an anonymous donor and provided by Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Thanks to a collaboration between park staff, the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF), Quality Bicycle Products, and other Minnesota partnerships, three electric cargo bikes arrived at Isle Royale’s Washington Harbor area late this summer, offering operations staff a cleaner, more efficient way for them to tend to the park.

Stories like this one, highlighting real-life examples of transportation electrification, are music to Fresh Energy’s ears! Emissions from the transportation sector are the biggest source of climate pollution in our state, and as we advance policies to speed the transition to clean transportation, we love hearing about the many benefits the energy transition is bringing to every corner of Minnesota.

Park staff asked for e-bikes to better do their job

The story began when Isle Royale operations staff reached out to NPLSF, a close partner to their work, with a straightforward request: could the foundation help them get some electric bikes for the Washington Harbor area staff? The National Park Service (NPS) employees work on multiple projects across the western end of the park, and staff had no method of efficient transportation to help them accomplish their work. Staff were often lugging heavy equipment by foot for 30 minutes between work sites — time that could be better spent on projects to conserving the park. Enter: electric cargo bikes.

For Isle Royale’s operations staff, the electric cargo bikes represent more than just a cleaner alternative to diesel vehicles. The bikes are much quieter than their diesel service vehicles, which respects the wilderness character that makes Island Royale special. Plus, the e-bikes will lower the park’s reliance on burning fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases that cause climate change and negatively affects the park.

“It’s basically a work EV,” said Tom Irvine, executive director of NPLSF. “These cargo e-bikes are taking the place of using a motorized utility vehicle, and it’s more efficient for the kind of work park operations staff are doing. They will be able to get around more easily and the noise won’t bother park visitors or wildlife as much as diesel vehicles.”

The request aligned perfectly with NPLSF’s Decarbonize the Parks initiative, which aims to transition all five Lake Superior national parks away from fossil fuels and onto clean electricity. Just as NPLSF has successfully helped Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore switch from gas-powered chainsaws to electric equipment — with staff reporting they can “get more done with their bodies less sore at the end of the day” — e-bikes offer another practical step toward cleaner park operations that supports NPS staff’s important work.

Once park staff asked Tom if he could help, Tom thought of a few Minnesota-based partners that could help.

Minnesota partnerships lead the way

When an anonymous donor stepped forward to fund the e-bikes, NPLSF didn’t simply purchase the Isle Royale’s e-bikes online and call it a day. Instead, Tom reached out to Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), the largest bicycle component distributor in the country, based right here in the Twin Cities. QBP manufactures Surly brand bikes — known for their durability and cargo capacity — perfect for hauling around heavy toolboxes and electric tools that operations staff need for their work.

National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation Board Chair Andrew Miller delivered Isle Royale’s e-bikes from Quality Bicycle Products to Grand Portage on their journey to the remote island.

“They jumped all over it and said absolutely, we’re all in on that,” said Tom. QBP also connected NPLSF with Spokengear, a bike shop in nearby Two Harbors that could handle any future servicing needs and creating a local support network for the project.

Finding local partnerships to create and benefit from the energy transition reflects NPLSF’s broader strategy of engaging local businesses in park sustainability efforts. “It’s important to include Minnesota businesses and organizations as we’re building a better future for our national parks and their visitors,” said Tom. “The more people we can get engaged in this work, the better. This truly benefits everybody.”

An e-bike journey from Twin Cities to the North Shore to Isle Royale

Getting three cargo e-bikes to a roadless island in the middle of Lake Superior required creative logistics. With only a narrow window before the end of the park season (the park closes in winter to visitors), QBP rushed to ship the e-bikes from Nevada, assembled them in the Twin Cities over a weekend, and loaded them onto NPLSF Board Chair Andrew Miller’s trailer. Andrew hauled the three e-bikes north to Grand Portage, where they were transferred to a boat owned and operated by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who transported them across the lake to Washington Harbor in Isle Royale.

The e-bikes arrived ready to work and can be charged in part by the park’s solar panels NPLSF is helping Isle Royale upgrade. Rather than relying on diesel generators and fuel shipments across the lake, these new e-bikes will soon be charged using clean-locally generated solar power to reduce the environmental impact of the operations team to the island.

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa helped deliver Isle Royale’s e-bikes by boat across Lake Superior.

While three e-bikes might seem like a small step in addressing climate change, their impact extends far beyond Isle Royale’s shores and are just one example of how Minnesotans are working together to co-create a clean energy future — a core tenant of what drives Fresh Energy’s work. While our clean transportation team works to advance net-zero emission transportation, we’re inspired to see fellow organizations creating clean energy solutions that benefit their communities, too. National parks have always served as classrooms for how humans can have a better relationship with our environment, and NPLSF sees these as practical demonstrations of clean technology as opportunities for the thousands of visitors who come to Lake Superior’s parks each year.

“Our Decarbonize the Parks project isn’t just about eliminating the emissions from the five national parks in Lake Superior but educating the public on things they can do to mitigate climate change, too,” said Tom. “Even in a northern extreme climate, these are practical things you can also do at home, and they make a difference for Minnesotans.”

As Isle Royale‘s operations staff put their new e-bikes to work maintaining trails and caring for one of America’s most pristine wilderness areas, they’re proving that the transition to clean energy isn’t just about reducing emissions — it’s finding better ways to work, live, and play.

And sometimes, that means trading a diesel engine for pedal-powered e-bike, one remote island at a time.

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About The NPLSF

The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF) exists to provide financial support for projects and programs that preserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of the five Lake Superior national parks: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Funded through grants and private donations, NPLSF projects and programs ensure that these great parks and historic sites are maintained for the enjoyment of all current and future visitors.

To learn how you can support our work visit nplsf.org/donate.