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.

Minnesota’s forests provide critical breeding habitat for hundreds of resident and migrating bird species. Forest management provides an important opportunity to conserve and cultivate critical habitat for species of conservation concern including Golden-winged Warbler, Veery, and American Woodcock. These species have had significant population declines throughout their breeding ranges and all have a large portion of their breeding populations in Minnesota’s young forests.

Meaghan Anderson, Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, shares the top 3 considerations for terminating cover crops in the spring.

Organic producers of perennial crops are required to introduce biodiversity in lieu of a crop rotation. This webinar will cover examples of methods organic producers use to introduce biodiversity to their perennial operations, while balancing maximum benefits with minimal labor and resource concerns. Different cropping systems and climates will be highlighted.

In this session Patrick Schultz, TTCP Engineer, provides an overview of topics related to the CPS 351 Well Decommissioning. There is also a discussion of different real world scenarios, based on project experiences, as they relate to planning, design, and construction oversight of sealing abandoned wells.

While winter manure application can be beneficial for producers from a logistical, financial, and soil compaction standpoint, it has traditionally been discouraged due to concerns over runoff during spring thaws. Are there ways to spread manure in the winter months without jeopardizing water quality? This edition of The Current Webinar Series features experts from across the region discussing their research on the water quality impacts and winter manure application.

What makes a natural resource and water professional a great communicator? What can we learn from researchers and fellow practitioners to enhance the way we communicate with producers and non-operating landowners? This edition of The Current webinar series focuses on communicating conservation.