FMR Updates

FMR graduates its first Youth Empowerment Program participants

by Sophie Downey

article

September 9, 2019

Through canoe trips, guest speakers, pollinator surveys and more this summer, we worked with high-school aged youth from the metro area to explore career possibilities and build skills in the environmental field. Learn more about our new Youth Empowerment Program and see these leaders' capstone projects (which included monarchs, jars of river water, and even a baby painted turtle). >>

One of the program participants removes invasive species on a rainy day at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary

It's monarch migration season!

by Ellie Rogers

update

September 6, 2019

Fall brings chances to spot monarch roosts — dozens of butterflies gathering together on their migration south. FMR ecologist Karen Schik found hundreds earlier this week and sent these videos back from a visit to our prairie restoration at Pine Bend Bluffs in Inver Grove Heights. >>

FMR's ecologists investigate how to suppress buckthorn

by Betsy Daub

update

September 5, 2019

As anyone who's joined FMR at a restoration volunteer event knows, buckthorn is particularly difficult to eradicate. This invasive plant often thwarts restoration efforts by returning to sites where it's been pulled and hauled away. What if we could find a way to suppress its regrowth? >>

UN: Global warming is splintering our food supply

by Peter LaFontaine

update

September 4, 2019

Agriculture is a major driver of climate change, but it can also be a big part of the solution. The future of the planet relies on shifting to sustainable practices more rapidly than ever before. >>

"Workhorse" Minnesota River needs our help

by Peter LaFontaine

update

September 3, 2019

The Star Tribune recently highlighted the state's $360 million plan to turn things around for the Minnesota River and cut the river's sediment levels in half. Will it be enough? >>

by sue rich

update

August 29, 2019

This small, striking songbird is a fearsome prairie predator. Sadly, it's considered endangered in Minnesota. Read more

A loggerhead shrike perched on the tip of a bare branch, with a grassy field in the background.

FMR voices concerns around Upper Harbor Terminal process

by Colleen O'Connor Toberman

update

August 19, 2019

As we've watched recent Upper Harbor Terminal community engagement activities unfold, we've seen a rushed, confusing and inadequate process that's failing to center community vision. We've written a letter to the Minneapolis City Council and mayor outlining our concerns. >>