This module provides an introduction to soil properties and interpretations. Jennifer Smith, WI NRCS State Soil Scientist, starts the presentation off with the definition of soil, a discussion of the five soil forming factors and a brief introduction to soil properties scientists use to describe and map soils. Kristin Foehringer, NW Wisconsin Resource Soil Scientist, then takes over, presenting an overview of several dynamic and inherent soil properties.

Prairie Strips: A New Conservation Practice for Farmers and Crop Consultants. Session 3 will cover prairie strips as habitat for beneficial insects.

Prairie Strips: A New Conservation Practice for Farmers and Crop Consultants. Session 2 will cover establishing and managing prairie strips.

Prairie Strips: A New Conservation Practice for Farmers and Crop Consultants. Session 1 will cover siting prairie strips for water quality and farm profitability.

This course provides and overview of the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), and instructions on how to use the WEPS model to estimate wind erosion.

This course provides an overview of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and instructions on how to use the RUSLE2 model to estimate sheet and rill erosion.

This is an updated version of the training that utilizes YouTube videos and a quiz based format. You will need a copy of the Minnesota’s Forest Management Guidelines Quick Reference Field Guide (also known as the Pocket Guide) to actively complete the course.

Bees are incredibly diverse and provide important ecological services such as pollination. However, baseline information such as faunistic surveys and habitat associations are lacking for most bee species in Minnesota. The Minnesota Biological Survey initiated a statewide native bee survey in 2015 that has increased the statewide list to well over 450 bee species and improved our understanding of the distribution and conservation status of many species.

Join Drs. Miranda Curzon and Marcella Windmuller-Campione as they discuss their work on two Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project sites. The ASCC project represents a collaboration between managers and scientists to establish experimental trials that assess forest ecosystem response to climate adaptation approaches (resistance, resilience, transition, and passive no action). Miranda will introduce a new multi-state ASCC study to be implemented on state-owned lands in the Driftless Area.

A changing climate, changes in Minnesota’s forest products industry and increasing pressure for ecosystem service have and will continue to create challenges to managing Minnesota’s forests. University of Minnesota – Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute is developing a spatially-explicit decision tool that integrates forest productivity, ecosystem services, and economic information to help land managers assess the potential costs, benefits and tradeoffs between forest management options at a landscape scale over an 80 year planning period.