UMN Crookston Natural Resources Club has volunteered for more than 25 years restoring pines at Itasca State Park

The University of Minnesota Crookston Natural Resources (NatR) Club has been assisting Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) specialists at Itasca State Park for more than 25 years and this fall was another opportunity to keep students engaged. NatR Club members worked on a 35-acre pine restoration project near the Mary Gibbs Visitor Center with 18 students in the field repairing and moving wire cages that prevent deer from browsing on the young pines, as well as blister rust pruning and releasing the pine saplings from competition with adjacent woody vegetation. MN DNR Parks and Trails staff supervised the operation.

UMN Crookston NatR Club students also had the chance to spend two nights at the UMN Itasca Biological Station in Shevlin, Minn., which provided additional opportunities for peer networking.

"It's great that the NatR Club has committed to returning to the Schoolcraft Pine Restoration Project each year," explained NatR Club Advisor and Lab Services Coordinator Laura Bell. "Our work on this 'adopted' stand early each fall provides a great opportunity for new students to work with and get to know some of the juniors and seniors in the program right off the bat!"

"We've worked in nearly every part of the park over the years, including many sites typical park visitors never see," added NatR Club Co-Advisor and Associate Professor Emeritus Phil Baird, M.S. "The opportunity for students to work with park staff has also led to unique opportunities, such as an undergraduate research project for a student to collect native plant material from the park and propagate it in UMN Crookston greenhouses."

The Schoolcraft Pine Restoration Project at Itasca State Park is a long-standing effort to address concerns about the park's declining pine forests. Much of the work NatR club members participate in is part of the DNR's restoration efforts to reestablish and protect pines in the park, including budcapping seedlings and installing tree cages to protect the pine regeneration from deer browsing during the winter plus pruning saplings to reduce their susceptibility to White Pine Blister Rust.

Share this story

Related Stories

See All Stories