The buzz of chainsaws is punctuated by a crack of wood. Though it may seem counterintuitive, even jarring, this is the sound of forest restoration—specifically, restoration of 115 acres in Lake County, Minnesota. The owners of the property, situated directly between Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls State Parks, acquired a conservation easement in 2019, [...]
The property in the Minnesota Land Trust’s Rum and St. Croix River Conservation Priority area includes the forested northern shore of Rock Lake and is situated between a Walmart Supercenter, golf course, and two residential developments near the growing community of Pine City, Minnesota. The most obvious and, likely lucrative, opportunity for retired farmer [...]
Photo: Paul Raymaker Emerald ash borer (EAB) was first detected in northern Minnesota in 2015 in the Duluth area. The insect, originating from Southeast Asia, is an invasive pest that is expected to eventually destroy most of Minnesota’s nearly 1 billion ash trees, possibly impacting over a million acres of ash-dominated forest in Minnesota. The [...]
Photo: Hansi Johnson Big problems require a champion, someone with a specific mix of skills, connections, and vision, who can systematically and patiently work a process and stay connected to the larger purpose to bring the vision into reality. In 2019, Interstate Island and its Common Tern colony needed a champion. The 6-acre dredge spoil [...]
Oak trees perched atop a bluff overlook the valley below. Goats helped remove woody vegetation and invasive buckthorn from this Oak Savanna habitat. Goats are known for all kinds of antics, including yelling, fainting, and of course, climbing into everything from delivery trucks to trees. In Southeastern Minnesota, on a Winona County property permanently protected [...]