Tuesday, March 6, Gov. Mark Dayton and Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Fredrickson announced revisions to the states proposed groundwater protection rules.

While the final rule language won’t be released for public comment until May, the announcement outlined some major changes to the state’s preliminary draft, with improvements in some areas and major risks to public health and saftey in others. >>
 

As she completes her master's in horticulture at the University of Minnesota, Elizabeth Carls will also be working with FMR ecologists Karen Schik and Alex Roth throughout the 2018 habitat restoration and monitoring season.

Elizabeth will conduct rare plant surveys, lead our monarch monitoring program at Pine Bend, and assist with bird surveys. She'll also lend a hand at our volunteer and education outings. Be sure to say hello at an upcoming FMR event!

Help your community plan for a healthier and more vibrant Mississippi River that is welcoming and accessible to all! Attend an FMR workshop about river corridor planning at the city and township level. Join us March 8 in Minneapolis or March 13 in St. Paul.

To celebrate our 25th year, each month in 2018 FMR staff will profile places along the metro Mississippi River that are near and dear to us, places that connect to FMR but that we also enjoy in our own downtime. By the end of our silver year, we'll have built a map of 25 special river places for you and yours to learn about, visit and enjoy.

This month: Minneapolis’s riverfront Above the Falls.

The Minneapolis riverfront north of St. Anthony Falls is an interesting juxtaposition of the natural, urban and industrial. Here you can enjoy bike and pedestrian trails, or rent a kayak to see a heron rookery, restored prairie, riverfront raingarden parks and sculptures, as well as industrial relics. You'll also want to visit often over the next decade to experience the changing riverfront, as more industrial sites are converted into public parklands.