The industrial uses that once dominated the northern half of Nicollet Island have given way to a mix of homes, trails and a beloved park where we're restoring pockets of prairie and a forest of maples and climate-adapted tree species — vital habitat for the downtown Minneapolis river corridor. >>
Conservation and Restoration Blog
FMR works with landowners, government agencies and concerned residents — including hundreds of volunteers — to protect and restore bluffs, prairies, forests and other lands important to our communities and the health of our metro Mississippi.
Here's what our conservation staff are currently working on and encountering in the field.
A map of our protection and restoration sites is available here, as well as more information about our approach and program.
Conservation updates are also shared on social media (Facebook and Twitter) and in our Mississippi Messages newsletter.
January 14, 2022
FMR is very pleased to welcome a familiar face to a different role in the organization. Beginning this month, our former ecologist Alex Roth assumes the duties of conservation director, leading FMR's Land Conservation department. >>
January 7, 2022
FMR has permanently protected 45 sites in the greater metro area since 1993. Our fall 2021 Land Conservation intern, Nick Jacobson, created a tool to help us answer the question of where to focus next. Which lands can we most effectively protect, restore and enhance along the Mississippi River for its wildlife and human communities? >>
December 17, 2021
A tiny 2-acre remnant bedrock bluff prairie in Cottage Grove holds mighty habitat diversity and offers stunning 180-degree views of the Mississippi River and its surroundings. >>
December 1, 2021
Land protection and restoration for ecological diversity can keep urban areas cooler and more resilient in the face of climate change. Learn more about how our Land Conservation program fights climate change and its impacts. >>
November 12, 2021
Whether it's the return of grassland birds to a once-homogenous cropland we've restored to prairie, or the adaptive behaviors of urban foxes and coyotes, the well-being of Minnesota's wildlife can serve as a window into our ecosystems as we strive to be better stewards of the land. Get to know a few of the critters who find habitat in FMR restoration sites. >>
October 19, 2021
When we learned that Ramsey County was considering developing open space that we believe provides essential habitat, FMR requested a natural resources inventory. The final report confirms: Endangered and rare birds depend on this grassland for their survival. >>
October 14, 2021
Our latest video created by Mike Durenberger gives a bird's eye view of the Vermillion River corridor as it flows into the Mississippi River in Hastings. FMR restores six sites along this stretch in order to connect habitat and protect water quality. >>
October 13, 2021
Critical for wildlife, this 1,300-acre corridor of protected lands along the dramatic western bluffs of the Mississippi River south of the metro includes Pine Bend Bluffs SNA — our first major conservation project in the 1990s — an award-winning restoration, and one of our favorite places to bird and see the sweep of the river south of the cities. >>
September 7, 2021
Allie was a quick study and a passionate addition to our land conservation team this summer. Here she reflects on the insect drama she witnessed while monitoring, the appeal of tiny urban prairies, and her next move. >>