Biochar forestry could reduce wildfire risk and capture carbon
Project studies potential of converting excess fuel for forest fires to useful material for several purposes.
research
Scientists search for cyanobacteria in Boundary Waters: Part I
Intense study of several northern Minnesota lakes seeks answers about past and future of region’s famous waters.
Experiment tracks long-term connections between climate change and Minnesota peatlands
Study seeks information about how warming affects peatlands, and how bogs could respond to climate change by releasing more carbon gasses, making the problem worse.
Den boxes could help falling numbers of fishers in Minnesota’s north woods
Researchers are deploying dozens of artificial tree cavities across the region, hoping the secretive predators will find a suitable substitute for reduced natural habitat next spring.
Microplastics found in Boundary Waters may threaten wilderness wildlife
Researchers find plastic particles at numerous sites in the wilderness, confirming another way humans are affecting the wilderness and its ecosystem.
How do wolves hunt beavers?
How do you catch a semi-aquatic rodent that spends very little time on land? Turns out, with patience and a lot of waiting. Researchers use GPS-collars to reveal a predator-prey relationship…
University researchers working in the Boundary Waters face an uncertain future
The Hubachek Wilderness Research Center sits on the edge of northern Minnesota’s vast wilderness, a launching point into the Boundary Waters. The region has become a focus of controversy. The facilities, which date back to the 1930s, moved to the Fall Lake location…
What is Wilderness? Examining tree rings, researchers reconsider the history of human influence in the Boundary Waters
“By examining annual growth rings in increment cores taken from tree trunks, we found that many pines at this site were more than 250 years old. Distinct injuries recorded within their rings denoted the passage of multiple low-severity surface fires that damaged but did not kill many of these trees…”
Sturgeon Numbers Increasing in Rainy River Region
The ancient species is returning, thanks to careful management and cleaner water.
Hub’s Place – The Wilderness Research Center
The landscape of northeast Minnesota would look different today if not for the efforts of a Harvard educated, Chicago lawyer by the name of Frank Hubachek. Born in 1894 to parents of means and influence, Hubachek spent his boyhood holidays in northern Minnesota and learned at a young age the need to experience nature in unspoiled, unfenced settings. It may be tempting to assume that rich people don’t get their hands dirty, that Hubachek’s support was purely financial or legal and that the real firebrands of the wilderness preservation effort were the likes of Ernest Oberholtzer and Sigurd Olson, but you would be wrong.
Using Science for Sustainable Forest Management
The long-range health of Minnesota’s forests will some day be improved by management decisions that better recognize the opportunities for restoring ecological forest health while maintaining economic productivity. The Minnesota Center …