Conservation

FMR works with public and private landowners, local government agencies and concerned community members — including thousands of volunteers — to protect and restore bluffs, prairies, forests and other lands important to our communities and the health of our metro Mississippi.

Here's what our conservation staff are currently working on and encountering in the field. 

Learn more about all our protection and restoration sites at our conservation map, as well as more information about our approach and program.

Conservation updates are also shared on social media (Facebook and Instagram) and in our Mississippi Messages newsletter.

POSTS

It's official: FMR is a Monarch Joint Venture partner
We're excited to connect with others studying monarchs, collaborate on research, and share our own expertise and volunteer-collected findings to protect monarchs for generations to come. Read more
Where we work: Southwest Park Ponding Basin
At a neighborhood park in Hastings, FMR is working with the city to turn a former landfill into a thriving prairie with multiple pollinator gardens. Read more
Green field
Where we work: Bailey Point Nature Preserve
Tucked into a meander of the Elk River just before its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bailey Point Nature Preserve's floodplains, forests and prairies create a refuge for bald eagles, red foxes and songbirds. Read more
Bailey Point Nature Preserve flowers in prairie
Thank you, summer 2025 interns
Over the summer, two interns with our Land Conservation program supported wildlife camera monitoring, volunteer pollinator monitoring, bumble bee research and more.  Read more
Lauren and Rashi in the field
Sheep graze the way for native plants at solar site
Nearly 500 solar grazers have been hard at work eating weedy plants and making room for native pollinator-supporting plants under hundreds of acres of solar panels. Read more
Ewe and lambs under solar panels
Rare birds flock to little-known Maplewood grassland
Grassland birds are under immense pressure due to habitat loss, but there's a special corner of habitat near Battle Creek Regional Park. Learn more about this site's uncertain future and how you can get a glimpse of its feathered residents. Read more
Grasshopper sparrow singing
Where we work: Camp Cozy Park
Located on a peninsula along the Elk River, this former summer resort turned 48-acre city park is home to diverse habitats including two remnant prairies, woodlands and river floodplains. Read more
Camp Cozy prairie and birdhouses
Pollinator habitat blooms beneath a major metro solar installation
Beneath rows and rows of solar panels in Rosemount, FMR is creating 360 acres of pollinator-supporting plantings. Read more
Black-eyed Susan and solar panels
Where we work: River Heights Park
This beloved community park near the river in Inver Grove Heights was saved from development in 2018 and now features a loop trail for walking and a thriving demonstration pollinator garden. Read more
Aerial of River Heights Park
Tell Congress: Hands off Minnesota's national parks
Proposed cuts could harm our local Mississippi River Twin Cities metro park, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, and hundreds of beloved national parks. Sign the action alert and tell Congress to get off the sidelines. Read more
Students gather around a ranger on a boat on the Mississippi River

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Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 11, 2025 - 8:30am to 3:30pm
Lake Rebecca Park, Hastings
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Highland Park Community Center Auditorium, St. Paul
Three options: October 20, October 28, November 22, 2025
Hidden Falls Regional Park, St. Paul