Updates & Stories

Have you ever heard anyone say to just “let nature take its course?” Whoever first said it probably wasn’t speaking literally, nor did they understand the ecological implications of an invasive species on a native species. The infamous buckthorn, for instance, is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of invasive species. Many more continue to prosper and take over the land. Some of these invasive species, much like native species such as poison ivy, have certain defenses that are unfriendly towards humans. In the last few months I’ve had to learn how to identify poison ivy and other noxious weeds. In fact, for more than two weeks we spent our days armpit-deep battling against wild parsnip, which is an invasive weed that is quite hazardous to humans although its taproot is, in fact, edible. So what’s bad about wild parsnip? Read More

The sun rose quickly through a clear sky, burning off all the dew that settled earlier in the morning. We were walking through a wooden trail, following our project host in the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge to look at the work site, when the woods suddenly opened up to a prairie like a sea of grass spreading outward, the horizon only broken here and there miles in the distance by aspen and oak forests. Our job was to help create an oak savannah landscape by painting herbicide onto the aspen trees in one section of the land. We became familiar with the location, ate lunch, and began painting trees that afternoon. Read More

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa is the largest AmeriCorps program in the state of Minnesota and the only one with corps members trained and equipped for immediate disaster response.Our corps members represent roughly 1/4 of the state wildfire response team. The Corps is involved in suppression of roughly 40 wildfires statewide annually, totaling roughly 13,000 hours of assistance. In addition, the Corps is able to provide the largest, fully-equipped and trained chainsaw response team in the State of Minnesota. Read More

“The Land of 10,000 Lakes” they say.  The 800,000 registered boats in the state only need an average capacity of 6.75 persons to take the entire population of Minnesota for a boat ride this weekend.  And with the actual number of lakes at 11,842 there should be plenty of room.  Wow, the feasibility of this plan is pretty amazing. Just be sure to clean any plants off your boat and check for zebra mussels before you leave the boat landing! Read More

Alright, not quite sailed. Drove for hours with many stops for restrooms and refreshments would be more accurate, but sailing is both more romantic and more true to our general spirit of adventure.  There were marvelous sea…er, lake…monsters, and long vistas of unending waves stretching to the horizon. But most especially, there were storms. Storms that poured upon the seas and shook our wayward crew on our beautiful voyage in the Dakotas. Read More

During a two-part cleanup effort at the St. Croix Boom Site near Stillwater, more than 90 volunteers helped beautify five areas of public access and historical significance along the St. Croix River.  Read More

Though June rains were big news all over Minnesota, the effects of 2012 rainstorms are still making headlines in the northeast area. This spring and early summer at Jay Cooke State Park, Conservation Corps young adult and youth crews worked together to help clear a two-year-old logjam from one of the park’s most popular and scenic areas along the St. Louis River. Read More

At left, Tony Ambrose, who has volunteered at the cleanup for five years as a U.S. Bank employee, picked up trash. Read More

Conservation Corps crew and staff members worked with volunteers to clean up the Big Sioux River during Project AWARE. For… Read More

Raymond Staffa, who is serving as a summer EcoRanger through Conservation Corps, took photos of macroinvertebrates at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary. Read More