In the Media

Pheasant numbers are declining in Minnesota as more and more habitat is converted back to farmland and out of the Conservation Reserve Program. The program wouldn't be able to give us the significant and permanent gains for water quality, soil health and habitat that we need in the long-run. Water Program Director Trevor Russell advocates instead for a transition to a market that demands more continuous vegetation on the landscape. (Republished in Telegraph Herald.)

The riverfront north of St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis is changing rapidly. In this Star Tribune feature, Janet Moore quickly covers this transformation through a transportation lens and highlights a key piece of this rapidly shifting riverfront the city of Minneapolis’s former port, a.k.a. the Upper Harbor Terminal. FMR River Corridor Director Colleen O'Connor Toberman is quoted.

The Army Corps of Engineers has built over 25 islands on the river and wants to make seven more in the Pig's Eye backwaters. Built from dredge material, these islands would create shoreline habitat for birds, fish, otters and more. Some are calling for more public input opportunities and more study, but we're hopeful about the project's potential for wildlife. FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark quoted.

Minnesota’s leaders are taking action to fix one of our biggest public health problems: drinking water polluted by farm fertilizers. A new Minnesota Department of Agriculture rule will limit the use of nitrogen fertilizer in vulnerable areas of the state, with the goal of reducing the amount of dangerous nitrates that infiltrate our waterways and put human health and aquatic life at risk. But a quarter of the state draws water from private wells that aren't helped by the plan. We'll still need more comprehensive solutions, like clean-water crop diversification, if we want every Minnesotan to have clean drinking water says FMR Water Program Director Trevor Russell, quoted in the article.

Vermillion River Linear Park is a 60-acre prairie in the heart of Hastings that FMR has worked with students for years to restore. Hastings high schoolers wanted to make sure passersby knew about the boon to wildlife and water quality right in their backyard.

Lilydale is considering a plan that would turn the site of the old Moose Country bar and River Bluffs Center into senior housing. But the new development would be too close to the river bluff's edge and too tall to maintain a scenic river view. The Pioneer Press spoke with River Corridor Director Colleen O'Connor Toberman about FMR's concerns.

Upper Harbor Terminal developer United Properties' partner Thor Construction is closing its doors. What does this mean for the current development plan on the river in Minneapolis? FMR Executive Director Whitney Clark and others think it won't change the current trajectory.