The mission of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is to work with Minnesotans to conserve and manage the state's natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.

The vision of Minnesota State Parks and Trails is to create unforgettable park, trail, and water recreation experiences that inspire people to pass along the love for the outdoors to current and future generations. This includes natural resources restoration and management. When you buy your permits or anything from our Nature Stores you're supporting our conservation work. In this issue, we share just a few highlights of this work, along with some tips to do your part.

Here's to a new year with more time outdoors, caring for our land and each other. Best wishes for 2022! 

Arriving on scene and witnessing an active wildfire all around Itasca State Park’s towering red and white pines filled me with respect, awe and adrenalin. Although most folks view wildfire as destructive, it's a natural process that's critical for the health of fire-dependent plant communities such as pine.

However, when there's a wildfire, the safety of my fellow firefighters and the public is always a top priority. On this fire we utilized suppression techniques to steer the fire and reduce the potential for a larger spread. When we came back the next day to ensure the fire was cold, I marveled at how the thick bark on many of the old trees insulated them from the fire’s effects. A burned tree isn’t necessarily a wasted tree. It could provide future nesting sites for birds or homes for wildlife.

Growing up in central Illinois, I didn’t have access to a lot of open land. Only as an adult did I begin to appreciate the access to public lands we have in the United States, and all the benefits and opportunities that go with it. Natural landscapes act as a filter for the water we drink and the air we breathe, provide economic benefits, and are home to animals and plants.

When we don't protect public lands, access and benefits are negatively impacted. That's why it’s important for me to get out there, roll up my sleeves, and give back to the places that give so much to me.

One way Minnesota State Parks and Trails helps to maintain healthy prairies is through prescribed burns. Prescribed burns help maintain and improve habitat quality for Minnesota’s rare prairie species. Some of these species are vulnerable to fire so burns are carefully planned to burn only portions of a habitat. This leaves the rest of the habitat to be used as a refuge to ensure that the species’ populations and the habitats are maintained. 

Minnesota state parks have restored 5,589 acres of prairie using funds from the 2008 Clean Water and Land Legacy amendment. Come see the results at Big Stone, Blue Mounds, Camden, Glacial Lakes, Lake Bronson, Sibley and Upper Sioux Agency state parks.

We’ve partnered with the Minnesota Zoo, the University of Minnesota, and the Nature Conservancy in Minnesota to research the decline of some of Minnesota’s prairie butterfly populations. This partnership is also exploring ways to reverse the trends and recover these threatened populations.

This continued research of rare prairie butterflies at state parks may help scientists better understand how to manage other butterfly species that are vulnerable to population declines.

Because it features large remnants of high quality prairie that once covered much of western Minnesota, Glacial Lakes State Park is home to several long-term research projects that are related to rare butterflies and their habitat preferences. Pictured, a male Dakota skipper butterfly.

Some birds are also pollinators. Like hummingbirds! Roughly 5 percent of plants that humans use for food and medicine worldwide are pollinated by birds.

In May, Minnesota said goodbye to DNR Conservation Officer Sarah Grell, who died in the line of duty following a two-vehicle crash near Grand Rapids. Grell was a devoted wife and mother, and beacon of light in her community. She served as a conservation officer since 2005 and had a deeply held dedication to serving Minnesota’s people and natural resources. She was part of a proud family legacy – her uncle, father and grandfather also worked as conservation officers.

Conservation officers have protected Minnesota’s natural resources and people since 1887. Officer Grell is the 23rd Minnesota conservation officer to die in the line of duty.

Spotted knapweed is an invasive species that has been found in Cuyuna Country State Country State Recreation Area (SRA). This plant species competes for space and resources with rare types of fern, like moonworts, found in the same area.

Rather than use herbicide to reduce the invasive species, the Minnesota DNR worked with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to release 500 knapweed root-boring weevils (a type of beetle) in select gravel areas in Cuyuna Country SRA. The weevils lay eggs on the knapweed and the larvae burrow into the roots and destroy the invasive plants while leaving other species, like the rare moonworts, alone. Pictured, a Botrychium simplex moonwort.

Gopher snakes are one of the largest snakes found in Minnesota. A typical adult can grow to be between three and six feet long (one to two meters). Because of its large size and behavior, the gopher snake is often mistaken for a rattlesnake. Many harmless species of snake mimic rattlesnakes by vibrating their tails to keep predators away.

If you come across a snake when enjoying the outdoors make sure to give the animal lots of space and leave it be. Remember, you’re a visitor in its home.

Why would a photographer take hundreds of shots of the same scene? Find out in the visual essay The Changing View, which appears in the latest edition of MCV. Full story.

Minnesota Conservation Volunteer is a print magazine dedicated to Minnesota’s wild places and creatures. For more stories, visit mnDNR.gov/MCV or subscribe.