FMR Updates

Best of 2015: a photographic year in review

by Amy Kilgore

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December 8, 2015

Thank you once again to our dedicated, enthusiastic volunteers! We had a record breaking year and couldn't have done it without you! Take a minute to check out our Best of 2015 Flickr photo album for a glimps of our year in review. We are working away to get the volunteer event schedule for 2016 set and hope to see many new and familiar faces at our upcoming events. FMR would also like to extend our thanks and gratitude to all of our event partners, sponsors and contributing members who help make these events possible.

Not a creature was stirring...

by Karen Schik

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December 8, 2015

Not even a...vole? An evening visit to the compost bin turns into a deadly encounter with a native rodent.

World's largest cellulosic ethanol plant opens in Iowa

by Trevor Russell

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November 10, 2015

DuPont recently announced the opening of the world's largest cellulosic biofuel facility in Nevada, Iowa. The plant, which uses corn stover (the stems, stalks, leaves and husks of the corn plant) to produce ethanol, aims to produce approximately 30 million gallons of fuel per year. And it might not be good news.

DuPont's 30-million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa

FMR to file amicus brief in favor of pollution lawsuit

by Trevor Russell

article

November 10, 2015

FMR, along with our friends at Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) and the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, will soon file an amicus brief in support of a recent lawsuit charging the state with failing to adequately control pollution to the Mississippi River. The lawsuit, filed by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), faults the state for doing too little to protect the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin, and calls into question the state's plan to allow the "big five" metro-area wastewater treatment plants to increase their phosphorus pollution into the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin by 35%.

The "Big Five" Wastewater Treatment Plants included in proposed pollution permit

A record year for river volunteers!

by sue rich

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November 10, 2015

As the outdoor volunteer season comes to a close, we stand in awe of our river stewards' accomplishments. In 2015, some 3,637 people — individuals, families, church, school and neighborhood groups — came together from throughout the metro area to help the Mississippi River at 135 FMR volunteer events. Together they stenciled over 3,000 storm drains with educational messages helping residents connect their yards and streets to our local waters, removed over a thousand bags of invasive species from local parks and natural areas, removed litter from over 20 riverfront sites and installed native prairies and raingardens at six riverfront parks. At the end of our busiest restoration season on record, our community's ability to act on behalf of our local waters and wildlife continues to amaze us.

Friends of the Mississippi River volunteers help protect water quality and wildlife habitat

More development coming to Saint Paul's West Side

by Irene Jones

article

November 9, 2015

An exciting new riverfront development project planned for Saint Paul's West Side Flats will add commercial space with a strong pedestrian connection to the river esplanade, plus market rate and affordable housing.

The green amidst the gray: the distinctive phenology of non-native shrubs

by Alex Roth

article

November 9, 2015

It’s finally (or already!) November and the leaves have fallen from the trees. Well, not quite all of them. If you take a close look at a nearby forest, you’ll likely notice a dense layer of green still present in the shrub layer. What are these shrubs and why are they still green when other species have all dropped their leaves? In and around the Twin Cities, it’s a good bet that these shrubs are either common buckthorn or one of a few species of bush honeysuckles, and their “distinctive phenology” actually plays a large part in their success in Minnesota’s forest ecosystems.