Over 527,000 acres of unmanaged woodlands are being used for livestock grazing throughout Minnesota. Managing these grazed woodlands based on the use of best management practices can provide environmental and economic opportunities, including improved water quality, maximized forage production, and higher-quality timber. The best management practices involved are commonly used in other parts of the country with other types of ecosystems, but have not been widely adopted in Minnesota due to a lack of knowledge and experience with implementing them within the ecosystems of Minnesota.
We will generate genome sequences of bacteria growing in wastewater treatment bioreactors, allowing us to improve phosphorus and nitrogen removal from wastewater in Minnesota and to discover novel pharmaceutical compounds.
The purpose of this project is to increase awareness of environmental stewardship practices by providing up to five subgrants to local partners to engage the public, provide education on conservation practices, and create projects, including rain gardens, vegetative buffers, and wetland restorations. Each subgrant will reduce the movement of sediment, nutrients, and pollutants to multiple water resources, retain water on the land, and increase environmental knowledge to individuals within Rice County.
