The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota

08/19/2026

We're celebrating another record-breaking year of tree planting in northern Minnesota.

Our crew members planted 3.2 million trees in just seven weeks this spring!

These trees were planted in areas where they were really needed, including lands burned by recent wildfires, forests that have been wiped out by pests like emerald ash borer, and along streams and rivers that flow into Lake Superior.

These little seedlings will grow into the resilient forests of the future. Visit the link in the comments to learn how. 🌲

08/18/2026

Moose once thrived in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. We’re working with partners to restore the forest habitat that moose need, like mature trees that provide cover from extreme weather and predators and young trees that are easy to reach.

📸 Mark Godfrey/TNC

08/14/2026

Our latest win for nature 👇🎊

A 1,900-acre Clay County property will be restored to prairie and grasslands, with land transferred to The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

08/12/2026

Peatlands may not look dramatic, but they’re some of the most powerful ecosystems on Earth. 🌍 These waterlogged landscapes store massive amounts of carbon, help regulate water and support unique plants and wildlife found nowhere else.

This podcast takes you into the world of peatlands—from northern Minnesota’s bogs to places around the globe—to explore what makes them so important.

🎧 Listen here:

Podcast Episode · Talk North - Souhan Podcast Network · 5 June · 1hr 3min

08/10/2026

Bees help produce one out of every three bites of food we eat. 🐝

But many native bee species are declining as grasslands disappear. One solution? Restoring prairies that provide the flowers, nesting sites and habitat pollinators need to thrive.

Watch how prairie restoration supports bees and other pollinators:

USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider, Employer and Lender.

08/08/2026

Young trees are struggling to reach maturity in Minnesota’s forests because of deer browsing. Hungry deer can quickly bite the tops off easy to reach young seedlings, which can’t recover from the damage. That’s why we aren’t just planting trees, but we’re also tending to young trees to give them the best chance of surviving to maturity. Learn how we’re protecting young trees from deer browsing:

Research shows that the eating habits of white-tailed deer are reducing diversity in our forests, with consequences for nature and people.

08/06/2026

We need to rapidly transition to a clean energy future. To do that, we’re going to need to develop a lot of clean energy infrastructure.

Up to 75% of the nation’s new large renewable energy projects will occur in the central U.S., home to much of the nation’s most promising wind and solar resources. This region also provides our best remaining grassland habitat in North America.

The Site Renewables Right map identifies places renewable energy can be developed in the central U.S. while still conserving important wildlife habitats and natural areas. It’s a win-win.

https://nature.ly/4uOKKYl

To help tackle climate change, we must accelerate deployment of clean energy sources, like wind and solar power. So, how can we do that in ways that ensure that allows people and nature to thrive? This online map will help.

08/04/2026

08/04/2026

Fire is a natural part of grassland ecosystems. In fact, these ecosystems depend on routine fire for:

🌱 Stimulating new growth (some seeds need fire to germinate!)

🔥 Preventing wildfires (it helps clean up layers of dead grass)

🌲 Controlling the spread of trees (trees aren’t always a good thing!)

🐝 Providing food for pollinators (fire can improve the diversity of flowers for bees and butterflies)

🐦 Sustaining critical habitat for wildlife (especially grassland birds, which have seen dramatic declines)

Learn how we use fire to revitalize grasslands in Minnesota:

Prescribed fire can revive wildlife habitat, prevent wildfires and maintain healthy grasslands that once covered much of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

08/01/2026

The Great Plains was once like a vast, endless blanket of grass, connecting habitat for plants and animals as far as the eye could see.

That enabled prairie grasses to spread their seeds far and wide, ensuring their populations were genetically diverse and resilient in the face of stressors.

Today, our prairies are fragmented, separated by acres upon acres of farms, highways and housing developments. That has had a lot of impacts, especially on genetic diversity in the prairie.

To help strengthen our prairies and bring back some of that natural resilience, we’re making sure that the seeds we’re restoring prairies with are genetically diverse and sourced from many locations to help strengthen the prairie in the face of threats like climate change.

https://nature.ly/3SXZEhn

We know that species diversity is critical to successful restoration work. But when it comes to grassland management, what we’re not talking about enough lies even further beneath the surface.