A big thank you to all the young river stewards who helped us protect and restore the Mighty Mississippi in 2019 — all 2,482 of you!
Students stenciled educational messages alongside storm drains, collected trash throughout Twin Cities parks and helped not only restore habitat along the river but research the best ways to keep it healthy in the future. Plus, students in our new pilot program for exploring the environmental field. >>
We received a number of emails in response to our earlier update on FMR's wildlife habitat pile event in the river gorge. Most people seem to be excited about the idea that removing invasive species (buckthorn, in this case) could result in additional habitat creation. Others loved the idea and wanted more specific information about how to build those piles. Here we address a few questions and provide some helpful links. >>
Who will the Upper Harbor Terminal redevelopment serve? Fox 9 News recently asked that question. FMR's Colleen O'Connor Toberman was interviewed alongside community members, elected officials, and the development team. >>
As reported by Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recently decided not to ban lead tackle or bullets. As one of the petitioning groups, we were deeply disappointed by the news. But we're hopeful that the issue will emerge in the 2020 Legislative session. >>
From local news articles to word of mouth, Ford Motor Company's toxic waste dump on the St. Paul river floodplain, known as Area C, is gaining more attention. As community awareness grows, so does pressure on Ford and state agencies to study the dumpsite more closely to consider cleanup options. >>
Where can you walk through a dry waterfall, find karst topography, encounter a walking fern, meet ancient bur oak trees and see the oldest operating flour mill in the state? Vermillion Falls Park in Hastings! Oh, and there's a large rushing waterfall here as well. >>
FMR ecologist Alex Roth's earthworm research made it on the cover of the highly regarded professional journal Science at the end of October, the same journal that published the human genome for the first time. >>
The alarming prospect of a for-profit company mining our groundwater for sale out of state is deeply troubling and could leave public and private wells high and dry here at home. We're grateful for the leadership of Sarah Strommen, the head of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and former FMR board member, in derailing this proposal. >>
Our agricultural practices caused disastrous dust storms like this one in Kansas in 1935. Generations later, the way we farm has again led to grave challenges — unsafe drinking water and the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. What can the Dust Bowl teach us about how to move forward? >>
Facing a steep climb up tall stairs, FMR staff and River Gorge Stewards opted for a creative way to dispose of invasive buckthorn at a recent volunteer event along the river: create habitat piles. >>