Expansion of Minnesota Wildflowers Online Botanical Reference
The average Minnesotan and even most natural resource managers are not skilled in plant identification, yet the ability to positively identify plants is crucial to a number of conservation activities, including identifying areas that need protection, recognizing new or existing invasive species, monitoring restoration projects, and delineating wetlands. The Minnesota Wildflowers project attempts to fill this need with a free web-based field guide ultimately aimed at providing profiles for each of the over 2,100 vascular plant species in Minnesota. Minnesota Wildflowers Information is using this appropriation to continue to update and expand the information contained on its online field guide by doubling the number of new species profiled. Information will be freely available to the public, students, and natural resource professionals as a learning reference and to assist in plant identification.
$150,000 the second year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Minnesota Wildflowers Information to accelerate field work for surveying and imaging of plant species and publication of species profiles to a plant identification reference Web site available to the public and land managers. Images acquired and information compiled using these funds are for purposes of public information available on a Web site. If the organization is no longer able to maintain the Web site, the organization shall work with the state and the University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History to ensure the materials remain publicly available on the Web. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2017, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Click on Work Plan under Project Details.
Click on Work Plan under Project Details.