Land Conservation

River Heights Park saved, restoration begins!

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September 19, 2018

After hearing from dozens of community members (including many FMR River Guardians), the Inver Grove Heights city council unanimously voted to save River Heights Park on Monday, May 14.

The council had been considering carving up and selling the 7.5-acre undeveloped natural area as three 2.5-acre lots for housing developers. Instead, the city, FMR and neighbors are going to work together to make the park more accessible — adding a park sign and bench, with details to be determined — while keeping it a natural area and restoring important bird habitat. >>

Residents and River Guardians helped save this park!

Nicollet Island

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August 1, 2018

The industrial uses that once dominated the northern half of Nicollet Island have given way to a mix of homes, trails and a beloved park where we're restoring pockets of prairie and a forest of maples and climate-adapted tree species — vital habitat for the downtown Minneapolis river corridor. >>

Skinks and pollinators returning to restored prairie

by Alex Roth

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July 6, 2018

This summer, a new prairie is taking hold at Houlton Conservation Area, and we're excited to report back on its newest residents. >>

Burn, baby, burn...but only when we say so!

by Alex Roth

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May 7, 2018

Spring has officially sprung, and with it comes those familiar signs of life: plants begin to green, flowers bloom, migrating birds return, and fires burn through the prairies at FMR restoration sites!

Learn more about how we use fire to restore wildlife habitat, and the impact of a recent unplanned fire on an FMR restoration site. >>

An April prescribed burn rolls through a blufftop prairie at the Flint Hills Pind Bend Bluffs property.

What's the best way to control buckthorn and protect native plants? FMR investigates.

by Karen Schik

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April 5, 2018

What pops to mind when you think of restoring a forest? Perhaps people planting trees? ...How about bobcat-like machines busily eating up small trees and spitting out the splinters?

If you'd visited Hampton Woods this spring, this is exactly the scene you would have come across. The machines were forestry mowers, consuming invasive European buckthorn.

Not only were the mowers benefiting the long-term health of the forest, but they're part of a new FMR research project to compare and contrast the effectiveness of different methods to both control buckthorn and support the growth of native plants and habitat. >>

A native ladyslipper plant, a mowed stretch of forest, a glossy buckthorn plant and a bobcat/forestry mower

Cheers to Flannery & her award-winning earthworm research with FMR!

by Alex Roth

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March 12, 2018

In 11th grade, Flannery Enneking-Norton went on a field trip with her class and FMR staff to Crosby Farm Regional Park in St. Paul. Their task? To identify and count certain plant and insect species, including invasive earthworms. As they wriggled from the ground, Enneking-Norton was smitten.

Since then, the St. Paul Academy high-schooler has been working hard to help FMR better understand the relationship between earthworms and their fellow invasive species, European buckthorn, at our habitat restoration sites.

The result? An interesting finding regarding an especially ecologically harmful invasive worm — the nightcrawler — and a first-place win for Enneking-Norton in the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair! Not to mention awards from the US Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Horticultural Society. >>

Flannery Enneking-Norton stands with her award-winning project at this month's Twin Cities Regional Science Fair.

Special Places: Minneapolis' riverfront Above the Falls

by Alicia Uzarek

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February 12, 2018

To celebrate our 25th year, each month in 2018 FMR staff will profile places along the metro Mississippi River that are near and dear to us, places that connect to FMR but that we also enjoy in our own downtime. By the end of our silver year, we'll have built a map of 25 special river places for you and yours to learn about, visit and enjoy.

This month: Minneapolis’s riverfront Above the Falls.

The Minneapolis riverfront north of St. Anthony Falls is an interesting juxtaposition of the natural, urban and industrial. Here you can enjoy bike and pedestrian trails, or rent a kayak to see a heron rookery, restored prairie, riverfront raingarden parks and sculptures, as well as industrial relics. You'll also want to visit often over the next decade to experience the changing riverfront, as more industrial sites are converted into public parklands.