A pilot project that will enhance connectivity within the Mississippi Flyway by linking urban neighborhood parks to the Mississippi River through restoration and implementation of identified habitat corridors.
This project primarily involves the design and optimization of cost-competitive, thermally enhanced and compact heat exchanger systems for deep thermo-active building foundations for Minnesota's space heating and cooling industry
Project will identify characteristics of successful artificial bat roost structures. Data will be used to optimize bat
use and reproduction in these structures to improve survival of WNS impacted bats
Collect baseline information about lower trophic fish diets, the distribution and status of rare benthic fishes, and the movement patterns of large river fishes in the Minnesota River.
Evaluate routing, safety, water management and other environmental and design issues of the Superior Hiking Trail and establish SHTA best practices methods for carrying out the resulting redesign plans.
We will build an outdoor classroom and up to an additional mile of accessible trails, including a foot bridge connecting the School Forest Trail System.
Conventional ironmaking requires massive amounts of fossil fuels and generates significant waste and CO2 emissions. Our microwave hydrogen plasma ironmaking eliminates fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions while reducing waste.
Responding to the immediate need for cohesive research efforts focused on a prion disease that is spreading across Minnesota through the formation of an innovative and multidisciplinary research center.
The Earth Science Teacher Education Project (ESTEP) will provide statewide professional development for Minnesota science teachers in Environmental and Earth Science content and pedagogy to strengthen environmental education in schools.
Wastewater treatment plants discharge effluent that contains contaminants of emerging concern, such as estrogens. Estrogens have been shown to cause ecological effects such as fish feminization and fish population collapses. Presently the treatment and discharge of estrogens into the environment via wastewater treatment is not regulated. However, it has been found that the extent of estrogen discharge from wastewater treatment correlates with how and how well nitrogen, which currently is regulated and will likely be more so in the future, is removed during the treatment process.
This research project will provide critical information regarding how to treat surface water (used by 25% of Minnesota's population) to prevent outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease and infections by Mycobacterium avium.
This project will evaluate the effectiveness of two methods to remove exotic hybrid cattail to restore fish and wildlife habitat in Minnesota wetlands.
Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area, is amongst Minnesota’s greatest natural resources providing drinking water, shipping, recreation, and tourism. Recently the lake has been undergoing significant changes including increasing water temperatures, decreasing ice cover, increasing nutrient loads, decreasing biological productivity, increasing invasive species, and changes in species abundance and distribution. The reasons behind these changes and the interactions amongst them are not well understood.
The project will evaluate the effectiveness and benefits/impacts of locally sourced woodchip, corncob, and iron-bearing minerals as alternative effective abrasive materials to lower salt use for protecting Minnesotas water resources.
With detection of coronavirus in human feces, there are urgent concerns about microbiological contamination of drinking water sources by wastewater. We will investigate this contamination, identify sources, and evaluate solutions.
Invasive carp have breached Minnesota's southern border. The last place they can be stopped is Lock&Dam 5 but time is of the essence. This proposal enables this solution.
Continue and expand a River Watch program on the Minnesota River engaging teams of high school students in water quality monitoring and reporting the data to the MNPCA
Compelling, new, interactive exhibits at North Mississippi Regional Park will spark curiosity, increase knowledge, change behavior, and inspire a diverse audience of 326,000 annual visitors to explore the outdoors.
This project will focus on creating a much more robust reuse economy throughout the State resulting in reduced solid waste, less pollution, more jobs, and small business development.
This project will: expand strategies of the 2015 LCCMR grant; establish deconstruction and building material reuse as a practice statewide; document the environmental, health, and economic benefits of material reuse.
Expand fishing opportunities in urban areas, teach more kids and families how to fish, and inventory and inform the public about safe and legal shore fishing sites throughout Minnesota.
Camp Sunrise is an integrated environmental education program for economically disadvantaged youth. This innovative camp experience allows children a hands-on program to understand their impact on the environment and nature.
The Raptor Center is proposing to build environmental literacy and engagement by bringing an integrated environmental education program featuring live raptors and standards-based curriculum to underserved communities throughout Minnesota.
This project proposes to expand the Ecological Monitoring Network by establishing an additional 250 plots to inform the conservation and management of Minnesota?s native forests, wetlands, and grasslands.
Project seeks to decrease water demand in communities at risk for inadequate ground water supply or quality by providing technical assistance to identify cost-effective ways to reduce industrial/commercial use.
The Minnesota Zoo will improve mussel conservation by rearing juvenile mussels for reintroduction, researching methods to improve growth and survival in captivity, and encouraging public action to benefit water quality.
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.
New and innovatively designed greenhouse facilities have the potential to provide sustainable food, fuel, and other products year round by utilizing ecological processes and other practices to integrate production of fish, plants, and algae in a low input, self-sustainable system. The City of Silver Bay and researchers at the University of Minnesota – Duluth are using this appropriation to expand and enhance a demonstration greenhouse facility. Refined techniques developed at the facility have the potential to be transferred and replicated at similar facilities throughout the state.
