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Climate change could lead to the widespread loss of common plants and animals around the world, according to a study released Sunday, May 12, in the journal Nature Climate Change. .. The study's conclusions are "entirely consistent with what others are finding around the world," said Peter Reich, professor of forest ecology at the University of Minnesota, who read the report.
Pioneer Press
Orlando Sentinel
Students and others showed their best forestry skills for the 78th year in a row Friday as part of the University of Minnesota’s annual Forester’s Day Celebration.
Forestry Club members demonstrated traditional timbersports such as cross-cut, underhand chop, bolt toss, pulp toss and modern tree climbing techniques.
Other festivities included a contest where teams of two competed in four events including match split, cross-cut, pulp toss and tree identification.
KSTP
Students on the agriculture campus at the University of Minnesota celebrated Forestry Day with some plaid flannel and axes.
Friday marked the 78th year the university has celebrated Forestry Day.
The event traditionally involves some lumberjack demonstrations.
WCCO
Thank goodness for people like Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology. Frelich reminded a group that gathered in St. Croix Falls recently that the snow lingering on the ground in parts of the state this year is as much a sign of climate change as the extreme heat of last spring. The new normal is dramatic weather swings. The Wisconsin native and UW-Madison graduate has spoken about climate change across the U.S. Much of his research has focused on the Upper Midwest.
Capital Times (Madison, Wis.)
Minnesota's lakes are a precious natural resource, but nature itself might be damaging Como Lake in St. Paul. That's where a group of University of Minnesota researchers and the public can help.
U of M ecologists are looking for 25 volunteers in the Falcon Heights and Como Park neighborhoods to monitor trees for buds and leaves. ... "The water and cars driving over them break them down, and the nutrients come out of those leaves into the water that then flows into the lakes," said U of M ecologist Rebecca Montgomery.
KSTP-TV
KAAL-TV
Things are only getting worse for the formerly innocent earthworm. After being cited by a University of Minnesota forestry professor as a threat to northern forests, the earthworm — long a symbol of earthy richness and fishing-hole fun — is now being blamed in a study for possibly helping to increase greenhouse gas emissions. ... “My guess is, on balance, they’re emitting,” said Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, when asked about the study.
Star Tribune
Only in Minnesota would you consider temps below -40F and deep snow "good weather." But if you're a tree in northern Minnesota, that's exactly what you'd be thinking now about the "real winter" of 2012-'13. I asked Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Forest Ecology if our colder weather is a good thing for the forests "up north."
Minnesota Public Radio
Group discusses state’s environment
Students and others worked together to set environmental goals for the state.
. . .Urban forestry junior Luke Midura discussed land issues like storm water and resource management at the event, he said.
Though the discussions brought out a variety of viewpoints, Midura said educating people on the political process may have made them more efficient.
Minnesota Daily
The downed limbs and other woody debris that are inevitable byproducts of timber harvest could be among the most important components of post-harvest landscapes, according to a new study led by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station....The study was conducted in collaboration with Robert Slesak, University of Minnesota.
Science Daily
As the subject of changing-climate impacts gathers more urgency, U of M professor Mark Seeley and his data are much in demand. And on Monday evening he was the opening panelist for Climate Change: Right Here, Right Now, a special public-affairs event presented by MinnPost's Earth Journal Circle at Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis. Joining Seeley onstage were Lee Frelich, a towering redwood among the U's forestry experts, to discuss climate change's impact on Minnesota's woodlands, and J. Drake Hamilton, longtime science policy specialist at Fresh Energy, to talk about how climate issues are shaping Minnesota's "policy landscape."
MinnPost
Minnesota is blessed with a conservation ethic and interest unlike anywhere in America. So it’s no surprise, and a good thing, that there are always lots of ideas on how best to invest in our outdoors. Yet one approach that singularly serves all interests is the faithful adherence to a statewide conservation strategy.... (co-author) Michael A. Kilgore is a professor and director of graduate studies at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Forest Resources.
StarTribune
As winter approaches its Groundhog Day midpoint, this season might have seemed unusually cold to people. But native and invasive plants and insects have hardly shivered. "It hasn't been cold enough to come anywhere close to killing insect pests," said Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Forest Ecology.
Star Tribune 02/01/2013
Officials at the state Department of Natural Resources are setting aside a 20-year-old forest management policy that delays logging operations on some parcels of land to ensure that up to 15 percent of state forests grow old....Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Forest Ecology, thinks the new policy is a good one. But he said the DNR should take the time to measure the ages of state-owned forests separately.
Minnesota Public Radio 01/30/2013
Threatened by long-term declining participation in shooting sports, the firearms industry has poured millions of dollars into a campaign to ensure its future by getting guns into the hands of more, and younger, children…The confluence of high-powered weaponry and youth shooting programs does not sit well even with some proponents. Stephan Carlson, a University of Minnesota environmental science professor whose research on the positive effects of learning hunting and outdoor skills in 4-H classes has been cited by the gun industry, said he "wouldn't necessarily go along" with introducing children to more powerful firearms.
Star Tribune
Edina parents are intensifying pressure on school leaders before a decision Monday on whether to start school in August–a controversial pre-Labor Day start that hundreds of parents oppose…Last year, a University of Minnesota Tourism Center study concluded that starting school before Labor Day decreases the chances by 50 percent that families will take a trip in August or September, and 30 percent across the summer.
Star Tribune
Mark Seeley, Peter Reich and Nick Jordan, gave a room packed with legislators a quick but sweeping summary of the global environmental problems facing the state.
Star Tribune
WCCO-TV
More schools across Minnesota are petitioning to begin their school year before Labor Day, pitting the tourism industry and parents against schools that want to give students more time to prepare for crucial state and national exams...Last year, a University of Minnesota Tourism Center study concluded that starting school before Labor Day decreases the chances by 50 percent that families will take a trip in August or September, and 30 percent across the summer. And at the State Fair, officials expect a drop in attendance if more schools start in August.
Star Tribune
