Crane Lake Township is applying for LCCMR funds to construct up to a 7,000 square foot Visitors Center to serve as an access point to the Voyageurs National Park.
Wolf predation in summer is almost unknown but critical to deer, moose, wolf, and disease management. We?ll measure wolf predation rates on these species and promote Voyageurs? region wildlife.
Endocrine disrupting contaminants are chemicals that may interfere with natural hormones in humans and wildlife and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects. These chemicals occur in a variety of everyday products, including pharmaceuticals, plastics, detergents, flame retardants, cosmetics, and pesticides. As these chemicals get discharged into the environment, humans and wildlife are exposed. The U.S. Geological Survey and St.
Acquire 157.75 acres for river corridor conservation and future development of Wannigan Regional Park, where the Heartland State, North Country National, and Otter Tail River Water Trails will meet.
Provide industrial, source reduction technical assistance to reduce nutrient discharge to wastewater treatment facilities through industrial process optimization. Document impact of nutrient reduction on wastewater operations and discharge quality.
Implementing the outcomes of our past project to research optimization activities in Minnesota wastewater ponds. This project will employ technical assistance and grant funds to improve nutrient removal and performance.
Minnesota Sea Grant seeks to create a science-policy fellowship program to train Minnesota's science-policy workforce and advance Minnesota's water resource policy, emulating Sea Grants successful federal-level fellowship program.
We propose robotics-based educational activities for middle-school youth on water quality in Minnesota. Youth will gain skills for measuring water quality and communicating results through group study and hands-on projects.
To support Minnesota?s climate resiliency investments, we will generate critical water resources information and share it with impacted communities and individuals to guide adaptation planning and water resources management.
Effective groundwater management requires accurate knowledge about the water budget, which is the amount of water stored within the system in aquifers and the amount of water flowing through the overall hydrologic system including water flowing at the surface, water flowing from above ground down into aquifers, and water flowing between aquifers below the surface.
This project builds capacity in soil water conservation districts and Mille Lacs Band with BWSR and DNR to accelerate tree planting for water quality and carbon sequestration by private landowners.
Minnesota has widespread water quality impairments due to nonpoint-source pollution generated by agricultural, urban, and other human-altered lands. Mitigation of these impairments requires implementing best management practices (BMPs) that are designed to limit soil erosion and nutrient transport from lands to receiving waters. Long-term data sets of water quality and land-use history are needed to tease apart the many factors that affect water quality. In particular, data sets that span periods before and after BMP implementation are needed to determine BMP effectiveness.
Examine the relationship between insect abundance, timing of insect availability and breeding success for multiple bird species across land-use intensities to develop comprehensive guidelines to conserve bird and insect diversity.
Project will purchase 13.8 acres and construct water quality, habitat, and recreational improvements to protect
the Mississippi River from contaminants in the 400-acre, highly impervious watershed in Baxter Minnesota.
Project goals include installation of a 200-kW White Earth community-owned solar garden reducing GHG emissions, increasing economic development through environmental education and solar workforce training, and improving energy resilience.
Testing of best biocontrol microbes for controlling white nose syndrome (WNS) in bats: Mapping of fungal pathogen in environmental reservoirs and field testing with biological control candidates.
Our project aims to better understand white-tailed deer movement, habitat use, and disease dynamics at the suburban/agricultural interface to inform more efficient deer management and disease control.
Wild bees are important for their pollination services and for their contribution to species diversity; for example, many prairie-grassland plant species require pollinators for seed production. However, while the importance of plant-pollinator interactions is well recognized, there are large gaps in our knowledge of Minnesota’s wild bees. The only statewide list of bee species was published in 1919 and it reported only 88 species, whereas it is currently estimated that there are approximately 350-400 native bee species in the state.
Increasing wildfires in Minnesota are mobilizing mercury and degrading water in wilderness lakes, potentially causing increased mercury concentrations in fish. We will develop approaches to protect our lakes and fish.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
Wildlife is an integral part of the complex interrelationship between human, animal, and environmental health, yet there is no centralized system for collection of wildlife health data. The study of wildlife health is limited by the logistics and expenses involved with sample acquisition. Wildlife rehabilitation centers represent an untapped resource as they admit a larger number of wild animals with a greater variety of species than any other resource.
Wolves are a hot topic in Minnesota, with the public sharply divided on management issues such as wolf hunting. The complexity of the topic lends itself to a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation that is not always helpful to resolving the polarized debate.
This program will provide hunters with information and hands-on experience involving non-toxic rifle ammunition and promote voluntary change in hunter ammunition choices to reduce unintended wildlife deaths.
Youth Energy Summit (YES!) expands its successful model to improve local waterways by mobilizing over 20 youth-led teams in Minnesota communities to complete water quality related projects, moni-toring and reporting.
YES! (Youth Eco Solutions) will empower 300 Minnesota youth to connect with natural resource experts, identify ecological challenges in over 50 communities, and TAKE ACTION to complete 80+ innovative projects.
Students from YES! teams in over 20 communities will help fill the urgent need for citizen participation to protect and clean-up Minnesota waters through hands-on youth-led water related action projects
There has been a sharp decline in participation in outdoor recreation and education amongst youth, particularly in urban areas. Some argue that youth who have meaningful outdoor education experiences are more likely to become engaged in environmental stewardship and invested in outdoor resources as adults.
UMN Extension Center for Youth Development will partner with Winona and Rochester ALCs to engage 40 youth in year-long activities that connect, engage, and empower youth as environmental change-agents.
Adoption of renewable energy technologies and energy conservation practices can contribute in a variety of ways to the environmental and economic health of rural Minnesota communities through costs savings and emissions reductions. Engaging and coaching students as the leaders in the process of implementing such practices provides the added benefit of increasing knowledge, teaching about potential career paths, and developing leadership experience.
