Oil Spill Impact on Loons, Pelicans Studied
A major, mutli-year study to determine the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Minnesota’s loon and pelican populations is underway, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced yesterday.
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Moose Also Struggling in Canada
Moose populations on the Canadian side of the Quetico-Superior region’s international boundary are also showing long-term declines according to aerial surveys by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Minnesota DNR Releases Moose Plan
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released its Moose Research and Management Plan yesterday, in hopes of maintaining the animal’s presence in Minnesota.
Imagining a Changed Quetico
An increase in the severity of weather in the Quetico and Atitkokan region is likely to change the area’s forests, researchers say.
Voyageurs Eagle Nesting Areas Re-Opened
Four developed campsites and four undeveloped areas in Voyageurs National Park that were off-limits due to bald eagles nesting have been re-opened, the Park announced recently.
Judge Denies Cell Tower Near BWCAW
A Hennepin County judge ruled Wednesday against AT&T’s proposed 450-foot lighted cellular communications tower which would have been visible deep into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Wild Rice Sulfate Rules Studied, Suspended
A $1.5-million study will decided whether Minnesota water quality standards for wild rice waters need to be amended, but current limits on sulfates in water where wild rice grows won’t be enforced in the meantime.
Volunteers Needed for Voyageurs Event
Voyageurs National Park is seeking participants for a two-day event September 9 and 10 to help Minnesota’s only National Park with conservation and maintenance work called the Volunteer Rendezvous.
Voyageurs to Conduct Deer Tick Survey
Voyageurs National Park officials are partnering with the Minnesota Department of Health this summer to collect data on deer ticks. Deer ticks are known to carry pathogens for Lyme Disease and other maladies.
Minnesota Reopening Parks, Campgrounds
With its state government shutdown over, Minnesota is slowly reopening parks, campgrounds, and trails across the state, including in the Quetico-Superior region.
Minnesota Changes Wolf Hunting Plans
The state environmental bill signed into law this morning by Minnesota governor Mark Dayton changed the the state’s wolf management plan by allowing establishment of a hunting season as soon as the gray wolf is removed from the federal Endangered Species List.
Glencore Buys More of PolyMet
Glencore International, the Swiss commodities and natural resources behemoth, furthered its stake in PolyMet Mining, buying an additional $13.1 million of the company’s stock. PolyMet plans a copper-nickel mine near Babbitt, Minnesota.
PolyMet EIS Slowed by Shutdown
The Minnesota state government shutdown is delaying work on PolyMet Mining’s revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement which depends on the efforts of Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency officials.
Proposed Atikokan Gold Mine Advances
A proposed gold mining venture north of Atikokan, Ontario continues to define its mineral resource and prepare for environmental permitting in an effort to be in full production in late 2015.
PolyMet Gets Loan, Buying Land
PolyMet Mining closed a $4-million loan from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and exercised its option to buy 5,375 acres of land it plans to swap with the U.S. Forest Service for its proposed mining operation.
USFWS Concerned About Stricken Bats
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday that bats stricken with white nose syndrome may warrant federal protection as threatened or endangered species. One of the species, the northern long-eared bat, is a northeastern Minnesota resident.
Minnesota Forest Service Turns 100
The first state agency dedicated to fighting wildfires and managing logging in Minnesota’s forests celebrates a century of service.
Ruffed Grouse Populations Still High
Northern Minnesota’s population of ruffed grouse remains high according to recent drumming counts conducted by Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resource.
DNR Let Lutsen Violations Slide
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources admits it repeatedly let the Lutsen Mountain ski resort draw more water from the state-protected Poplar River for snow-making than its 1964 permit allowed.
Small Fire Burning in BWCAW 2011
A small wildfire is burning on a peninsula of Gaskin Lake in the eastern portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.