HOUGHTON – Contrary to media reports, Isle Royale National Park is taking reservations for the Ranger III, which will make its first trip to the island Wednesday, May 28.

On Wednesday, the National Parks Traveler, a non-profit media organization, reported that the engineer and assistant engineer of the Ranger III reportedly took advantage of the Trump administration’s buyout program to retire now, and additionally, the administration’s hiring freeze is keeping the park from hiring replacements.

“”The 165-foot vessel cannot operate without a full U.S. Coast Guard-licensed crew,” Bill Fink, a retired Isle Royale superintendent is quoted as saying in the article.

According to an April 3 report published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports began emerging earlier this week that the ferry is lacking a crew because of recent federal buyouts.

Fink, stated the Sentinel,”informed National Parks Traveler that both the ferry’s engineer and assistant engineer opted for the federal buyout program in February.”

The National Park Service Midwest Regional Office denied the report, says the Sentinel.

“We are looking forward to the upcoming summer season and seeing visitors enjoy all the park offers. At this time, we do not anticipate disruptions to the passenger season schedule, which starts on May 27. The park is working to finalize scheduling for the first freight trip, which is currently scheduled for late April,” Meredith Mingledorff, supervisory public affairs specialist with the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office, said in an emailed statement to the Journal Sentinel.

Jesse Wiederhold, public relations/events coordinator for Visit Keweenaw, said in a Thursday release that Visit Keweenaw anticipates ferry trips and lodging bookings for Isle Royale to continue in a typical fashion this summer.

At Isle Royale National Park Headquarters in Houghton, Liz Valencia, manager of interpretation and cultural resources for the park, said the first passenger trip from Houghton to the island will run on Tuesday, May 27th.

“Passenger Season runs from May 27 through Sept. 13,” Valencia said. For staff, the first trip will embark somewhere between mid to late-April, Valencia said.

“It depends on the ice in the canal and various other things,” she said, “but right now it’s scheduled for some time during the week of April 21, and then we’ll see how the ice looks.”