Author: Phoebe Ward
Three Friends Groups receive funding for habitat restoration in 2024
Three Friends Groups have received funding for habitat restoration in 2024. These projects will address a variety of habitat-related issues at state and regional parks, including the restoration of bird habitat around a wildlife blind, creative erosion control measures at a high-traffic picnic area, and ...
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Meet the Friends of Munger South
Dave Auchter saw a problem that he couldn’t afford to ignore. A longtime user of the historic Willard Munger State Trail, he had had front-row seats to the slow degradation of the trail’s asphalt surface. A popular thoroughfare for hikers and bikers, the trail had ...
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DNR Update: What’s going on with the MOU?
An update from Arielle Courtney, DNR Greetings, friends! Thank you as always for your dedication and service to our state parks and trails. While this winter has been abnormal, I know many of you worked hard with our staff to put on a variety of ...
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Webinar: Friends Groups & Volunteer Appreciation Events
Details Hear from Friends Group leaders Jon Slock (Gateway Brown's Creek Trail Association) and Tony Manzara (Friends of Sunfish Lake Park) about holding successful volunteer appreciation events. More Webinar Recordings
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Meet the Friends of Minnehaha
The Friends of Minnehaha Park came into being in early 2023. Susan Glenn, a resident of Kenny neighborhood and a lifelong nature and history lover and park user, spent many hours outdoors exploring the park and sharing the love of the park with family and ...
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Webinar: Habitat Restoration Panel
Details Friends Group leaders Steve Dietz (Frontenac) and Beth Hayden (Gateway), with long-distance assistance from Gitchi-Gami Trail Association's Michelle Pierson, provide advice to prospective Friends Group applicants for P&TC's 2024 grant round. More Webinar Recordings
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Mulch and mud pies: a nature play area opens at Tettegouche
After three years of hard work, the Friends of Tettegouche held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for their Nature Play Area on Saturday, August 26th. The play area, which is designed to be ADA-accessible and includes a variety of play features, is located at the park’s High ...
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Webinar: Invasive Species of Minnesota
Details Hear from Laura Van Riper, Terrestrial Invasive Species Coordinator for the Minnesota DNR, about some of the most concerning invasive plants and animals in the state, as well as what the average citizen can do to counter them. More Webinar Recordings
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DNR Update: MOUs for Friends Groups
Arielle Courtney, DNR Parks & Trails Partnership Development Consultant, shares an opportunity to offer feedback on an updated template Memorandum of Understanding agreement that will be eventually used with all Friends Groups, as well as a reminder about September events.
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Cleaning up at the Gateway State Trail
On August 5th, a group of volunteers gathered at Rotary Park in North Saint Paul to clear out an overgrown stretch of the Gateway State Trail. This event was the opening act in a project led by the Gateway Brown's Creek Trail Association and funded ...
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2023 community-driven trail projects: an update
For a period of time this spring, it was an open question as to whether the Minnesota Legislature would pass a bonding bill. After some political maneuvering from both sides of the aisle, however, the 2023 bonding bill was signed into law by Governor Walz, …
Restoring tree cover at Frontenac State Park
Emerald Ash Borer has devastated the tree canopy across Minnesota, and Frontenac State Park is no exception. Over the last few years, park staff have been forced to remove more than 250 ash trees from the area, with 30 more projected to be removed in …
The Friends of Lashbrook make space for the bees
Did you know Minnesota has a state bee? The Rusty Patched Bumblebee (B. affinis) is a charismatic little insect with a band of coppery fur on its abdomen. But it's facing some steep challenges due to habitat loss, and is currently listed as endangered in the United ...
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Looking Back At 2022: A Friends Group Impact Report
Our Friends Group Partners make many significant contributions on behalf of Minnesota's parks and trails every year. While some of it gets highlighted in emails and newsletters, much of it flies under the radar, despite its incredible value to the park and/or trail in question. ...
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