In the Media
FMR is proud to serve as the voice for the Mississippi River and the people who care about it — at the Capitol, in our communities and in the media. Many thanks to the reporters who take the time to cover important river issues.
FMR Conservation Director Alex Roth discusses FMR's work advancing a new way to reduce the spread of invasive buckthorn shrubs to protect wildlife habitat and preserve natural areas, especially in urban areas.
Prized for their oil content and ability to be converted into biofuels, winter oilseeds are gaining a foothold on Minnesota farms. Said FMR Water Program Director Trevor Russell in the story: "Camelina may well be the most important new crop in a generation."
On the heels of the biggest capture of invasive carp yet in Minnesota's stretch of the Mississippi River, FMR Land Use & Planning Program Director Colleen O'Connor Toberman advocates the Stop Carp Coalition's call for a barrier.
FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark calls for a deterrent at Lock and Dam 5 this legislative session after a significant catch of invasive carp downstream.
FMR Water Program Director Trevor Russell and reporter Kirsti Marohn discuss the power of clean-water crops. The radio segment and article was the first of many media pieces spurred by the release of the "Putting Down Roots" report.
In response to a petition we signed last spring, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring the state to address the public health crisis created by nitrate pollution in southeastern Minnesota.
After another twist in a legal case challenging the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, this article cites FMR as a proponent of the plan, since "denser development can have a positive environmental impact."
Because nitrate levels in private and public wells are endangering drinking water in southeastern Minnesota, we signed onto a petition last spring asking the EPA to address this public health crisis under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. MPR News took a look at the problem while we awaited a response.
Despite its high environmental and economic costs, the literal "pipe dream" of diverting water from the Mississippi River to Arizona, Colorado and other dry states won't disappear. FMR Water Program Director Trevor Russell was interviewed on this important topic as Mississippi River mayors band together to prevent such a diversion.
A Hennepin County judge recently ruled that the city of Minneapolis must stop implementing the residential development portions of its 2040 Plan within the next 60 days. This article cites our position.
It's been four years since Minnesota adopted its long-overdue Groundwater Protection Rule. But the state has published only three of the first 20 plans to help communities protect drinking water from elevated nitrate levels. Water Program Director Trevor Russell is quoted.
Our community-driven restoration project with North Loop Neighborhood Association is showing results! This article shows before and after photos of James Rice Park in Minneapolis and calls for volunteers to continue planting native habitat.
Parts of the agricultural industry are trying to implement environmental solutions like green ammonia fertilizer production, soil health cultivation, perennial agriculture and more.
The Army Corps received just one-quarter of the money it needs to sufficiently study whether to keep, sell or remove Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1. That means we may not get answers to key issues, including how these options might impact sediment, local ecosystems and nearby infrastructure.
The Minnesota DNR's next steps on invasive carp include updating the Minnesota Invasive Carp Action Plan — a step we've been calling for for years. FMR will be a stakeholder group involved in the process, and we're advocating for prevention as well as management.