A Little Spring Cleaning
The UMC Natural Resources Club wrapped up spring semester on Wednesday afternoon, May 7, as they did a final aluminum can recycling pick-up, and then tended to their section of US Highway 2 between Crookston and Grand Forks. Pictured below from left to right: Tom Feiro, Cheryl Isder, Jacob Stich, Chris Alford, Andy Barnum, Reed VanEps, Mike Stanley, Jessica Larson, Jeremy Nguyen, and Kati Klaverkamp. Also helping with the campus can recycling were Ben Feiro, Jon Hansen, and Adam Cook.

05/08/03

Planting Tomorrow's Forests
Members of the UMC Natural Resources Club took part in the 21st Annual Chippewa National Forest Tree Planting Trip this past weekend.  Seventeen UMC students hand planted 3,500 white spruce seedlings at the Deer River Ranger District northeast of Lake Winnebigoshish. The club also removed 1,500 budcaps from white pine seedlings.  They had installed the caps during a trip to the Chippewa this past fall to prevent white-tailed deer depredation.

Students taking part in the trip included (front row from left): Nico Bennett, Clayton Schmitz, and Erik Shaffer; (middle row): Shawna Campbell, Adam Cahanes, Johnny Wente, Jenny Linder, Kati Klaverkamp, and Reed VanEps; (back row): Patrick Kjemhus, Chris Alford, Jacob Stich, Ryan Gilbertson, Jeremy Nguyen, Cheryl Isder, Stephanie Powell, and Jessica Larson.
04/28/03

At the annual UMC Student Awards Reception, held Tuesday, April 15, two students were recognized with the year’s top academic, service and leadership award.  The UMC Man and Woman of the Year for 2003 are Dan Oberg, a senior majoring in wildlife management, and Cheryl Isder, a junior double majoring in water resource management and natural resource management.  Listen to an interview (RealMedia file) with Dan Oberg and Cheryl Isder.

Also at the Awards Reception Phil Baird, associate professor of natural resources, was named Outstanding Educator.  This award is significant in that the entire UMC student body votes to select the award recipient.  
04/17/03

UMC's Cheryl Isder Earns Recognition from Minnesota Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society
04/07/03

Preparing for the Wood Duck Breeding Season
On Thursday, March 20, members of the The Wildlife Society and Natural Resource Club helped repair, clean, and prepare wood duck boxes for the upcoming breeding season.  Wood ducks nest in trees, and these boxes provide a perfect cavity for them to lay their eggs in. UMC maintains 15 wood duck boxes at the Red River Valley Natural History Area.  Many of these boxes are in trees which are surrounded by water.  Therefore, the students needed to complete this project while the ice was still thick enough to support them.
03/24/03

UMC Faculty Attend Wildlife Tourism Roundtable
Dave Arscott, Research Assistant Professor of Natural Resources, and John Loegering, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, spoke at the Minnesota Wildlife Tourism Roundtable, hosted by the Minnesota Office of Tourism at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Bloomington on Friday, March 7.  They presented “Nature Northwest – A Minnesota Success,” detailing some of the strategies they have been using in developing their inventory of nature-based recreational opportunities in the 21 counties of Northwest Minnesota.  They also reported on a survey they conducted of visitors to the Pine to Prairie Birding Trail that runs from Fergus Falls to Warroad.  The roundtable was attended by Minnesota Tourism personnel, wildlife tour guide operators, chamber of commerce and convention and visitor bureau directors and personnel, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources personnel, birding festival organizers, and other wildlife enthusiasts.
03/14/03

UMC, NWROC Sign Red River Basin Institute Memorandum
Agreement provides framework for cooperation among regional research institutions on the issues of water management

(Above from left) UMC Professor of Natural Resources, Dan Svedarsky; Red River Basin Institute Board Chair and Former North Dakota Governor George Sinner; UMC Chancellor Don Sargeant; NWROC Head Larry Smith; Chuck Fritz, Director of the Red River Basin Institute; and Dave Arscott, UMC Research Assistant Professor, Natural Resources, were all present for the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, March 11.
Posted: 03/12/03

The "Opposite" of Spring Break?

While others head to warmer climates for spring break, members of the UMC Natural Resources club kicked off spring break last Friday, March 7, with a three-day field trip to the Duluth area.  The group visited the U.S. Forestry Service / Minnesota DNR Interagency Fire Cache in Grand Rapids (one of only eleven in the country and also the official national distribution center for all Smokey the Bear promotional items). They also hit shows on Lewis and Clark and Pacific Coral Reefs at the Omnimax Theater in Duluth, as well as visiting the Great Lakes Aquarium and Great Lakes Maritime Museum on the Duluth Harbor.  The photo of the group (below) was taken on Sunday morning, March 9.  The weather was certainly non-Floridian: -10ºF with "unmentionable" wind chill.  According to club advisor Phil Baird, Lake Superior is over 90% ice covered this year.  That's cool--quite literally!

03/10/03

UMC Alumni Attend State Aggregate Conference
Current and former UMC natural resources students attended the state-wide aggregate conference held March 6 and 7 at the Civic Center in St. Cloud. The meeting addressed the “importance, regulations, and environmental effects” of aggregate mining with a primary focus on Minnesota.  Aggregate includes sand and gravel resources as well as crushed stone from quarries.  It is used in home construction and repair, road development and maintenance, and as an ingredient in many products.
(Above from left) UMC Professor of Natural Resources Dan Svedarsky, current UMC student Daniel Weber, and alumni Rob Sip '96, Environmental Services Supervisor with Stearns County; Brian Winter '78, Director of Science and Stewardship with The Nature Conservancy for prairie regions of Minnesota and the Dakotas; Gordon Olson '72, Planning and Zoning Administrator with Jackson County; and Brad Vierkant '99, Restorationist, Prairie Restorations, Inc. based in Princeton, Minn.
03/10/03

Crookston’s Ross Hier and UMC's Dan Oberg Receive Top Awards at Wildlife Meeting
Awards represent the premier recognition by the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society
03/03/03

State Director of Natural Resources Conservation Service Meets with UMC Students
William Hunt, State Conservationist with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, visited the UMC campus February 7 and met with students who are currently in the Student Career Employee Program (SCEP) and others who have recently applied. Under this program, students work summer internships with the agency at different field offices and then upon graduation become permanent employees.  Pictured below are (from left) Jeremy Nguyen, Dan Beitzel, Clayton Schmitz, Jaime Schaunaman, William Hunt (standing), Cheryl Isder, Dan Weber, and Meghan Ulrich.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical assistance to private landowners on matters involving soil and water conservation practices as well as a number of wildlife habitat programs.  “This agency is really where it’s at right now as far as habitat programs on private land,” according to Dan Svedarsky, Professor of Natural Resources at UMC. “They will be assisting with the implementation of the new Farm Bill conservation programs, and if funding levels come through as slated, NRCS folks will be swamped with program implementation.”

The Natural Resources program at UMC is a major supplier of personnel who go on to work with the NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation Districts.  “We have enjoyed a very productive relationship with the program here at Crookston and look forward to future progress as well,” noted William Hunt.  Not only does UMC provide a pool of applicants for NRCS positions but, in conjunction with the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, offers in-service training for agency staff. Training workshops in prescribed burning and wetland plant identification have been offered in the past, and a special session in wetland plant identification as an aid to delineation is slated for the summer of 2003.
02/10/03

Feiro Receives Recognition for Service to North American Bird Survey
Tom Feiro, Laboratory Services Coordinator for UMC’s Natural Resources Department, recently received a certificate of achievement from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, a program under the U.S. Geological Survey.  The certificate was in recognition for over 20 years of service to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. 

For the last 22 years, Tom has provided coverage for their designated Breeding Bird Survey route in Polk County.  Routes are pre-determined, 25 miles in length, and cover a variety of habitats representative of the local area.  Tom’s reporting route begins southwest of Beltrami, MN, and ends southeast of Fertile, MN.  It consists of 50 stops (points) along the route where the observer records all bird activity over a three-minute time period.  The survey, conducted in June, must begin at 4:58 a.m. and be completed by 9:30 a.m.

Survey information provides the nation’s natural resource managers, scientists, and policy makers with reliable information on the status of North American bird populations.  These surveys, conducted across the U.S., have been responsible for identifying long-term declines of neotropical migrant song bird populations in eastern woodlands in the 1980s.  More recently, the decline of grassland bird populations has gained national attention. 
02/05/03

 

Svedarsky Serves as Panelist at Pheasants Forever Conference
Professor shares his expertise on the greater prairie chicken
01/29/03

Arscott Presents at Red River Basin Land and Water International Summit
Research assistant professor reports on River Watch Project
01/22/03

Nature Northwest Secures Additional Grant
Project receives $30,450 grant from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation  
01/09/03

Guest Lecturer on Wetland Ecology November 26
Ned H. Euliss, Ph.D., of the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, ND, will present two lectures in Youngquist Auditorium, Agricultural Research Center. Read More. 
11/25/02

"Busting Skulls"
UMC students in John Loegering's wildlife class spent the day cracking the jaws of deer to analyze the teeth.  This is sometimes the only way to reliably determine age and other characteristics of the animal.  The technique is frequently used during deer hunting season.  Cheryl Isder is pictured at right.  Posted 11/12/02

MULCH Ado About Something

On October 24 the Soil and Water Conservation class assisted the West Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District with a half mile of a new field windbreak planting and surrounding mulching at the North Farm of the NWROC.  Students observed the tree planter and assisted in planting and laying mulch down over the new field windbreak. 
Posted: 10/28/02

Bud Capping at the Chippewa National Forest

The UMC Natural Resources Club spent this past weekend on a volunteer/service trip to the Chippewa National Forest. The club stapled paper bud caps on approximately 5,000 white pine seedlings on the Deer River Ranger District of the forest. Bud caps are designed to prevent deer from browsing on the leader of the seedlings and damaging the seedlings. This has been a serious problem in the state's efforts to re-establish white pine stands in Minnesota. Above photo: Students Jeremy Nguyen, Chris Alford, and Jacob Stich refine their bud capping technique.  Posted: 10/21/02

UMC Faculty and Students Assist with National Wildlife Meeting

The national conference of The Wildlife Society was held in late September in Bismarck, North Dakota
Posted: 10/14/02

September 26, 2002 -- Phil Baird's class, Hort 1021 "Woody Plant Materials," took a field trip to Agriculture Canada's Morden Research Centre, in Morden, Manitoba.  The class spent the day with Centre Manager Campbell Davidson and his staff touring the research arboretum and discussing woody plant selection.

Wildlife Ecologist to Discuss Chronic Wasting Disease September 20

Karl J. Martin, Forest Wildlife Research Ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, will speak at 10 a.m. in Younquist Auditorium
Posted: 09/12/02

 

UMC Natural Resources Insight 

Over the summer, the weekly radio show will focus on natural resource and nature-based recreation topics
Posted: 06/03/02

 
May 7, 2002 --  About twenty-five UMC natural resources students recently volunteered time over two days to help post Wetlands Reserve Program conservation easement boundary signs at the Glacial Ridge project, east of Crookston.  The students assisted Project Manager and NRCS District Conservationist Raymond Reading, based in Ada, with the posting work.  Students gained experience discussing the background of the project and the use of GPS for project boundary locations, and they observed a variety of wildlife in what is the largest prairie/wetlands restoration project in the lower 48 states.  To learn more about the Glacial Ridge Project, go to <http://midwest.fws.gov/planning/glacialtop.htm>.
Above: Lance Readel and Jeremy Pape rivet a sign to a freshly pounded post.  Below:  Raymond Reading (NRCS and UMC NatR alumnus) works on boundary posting with UMC students Dustin Brodina, Dan Oberg, and Nico Bennet 
 

UMC Students Plant a Forest 

Twentieth anniversary tree-planting trip brings total to 140,000 trees planted
Posted: 05/16/02

 

UMC Students Compete at Wildlife Conclave 

UMC's quiz bowl team took Fifth Place in their first-time competing in this event
Posted: 04/24/02

Dan Oberg Receives Wildlife Leadership Award from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation 

Oberg is a junior majoring in Wildlife Management at UMC
Posted: 04/18/02

John Loegering Researches Bird Feeder and Seed Types 

Research project involves native finch species
Note: the link is to an mpg file (32,908 KB). You will need a media player like RealPlayer or Windows Media Player to view.
Aired: 03/25/02 on KVLY TV
Used with permission from Mel Stone and KVLY TV 11

Dan Weber Receives Soil and Water Conservation Society Award

Weber is a junior majoring in Water Resource Management at UMC
Posted: 03/15/02

David Arscott  Hired as Assistant Professor

Focus will be on research and the Northwest Regional Partnership 
Posted: 02/01/02

Students Present at Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

Three UMC NatR students present at the Student Leaders Forum 
Posted: 12/17/01

Svedarsky recognized by The Wildlife Society in Reno

He was recognized for completion of his 3-year term on the national council
Posted: 12/04/01

John Loegering Certified as Wildlife Biologist

Certification awarded by The Wildlife Society
Posted: 11/07/01

UMC Alum B. J. Kratz on Magazine Cover

Alum works with North Dakota fisheries
Posted: 06/25/01

Daniel Weber is 2001 Pankratz Conservation Award Winner 

Award has been presented annually since 1971
Posted: 05/03/01

Zluticky Receives First Annual Cabela’s Conservation Award

Award celebrates the role of hunting and fishing in conservation
posted: 05/02/2001

 

Dan Svedarsky Presents 2001 Paur Wildlife Lecture 
at UND

Memorial lecture was presented on February 15
posted: 03/13/2001

Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society Established

The UMC Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society recently received its charter
Posted: 01/16/2001

UMC’s Spinler Named Minnesota Wildlife Society’s Student Conservationist of The Year

Spinler is a senior majoring in Wildlife Management at UMC
Posted: 12/14/2000

UMC’s Wildlife Management Program Evaluated by National Expert 

James E. Miller of the USDA gives favorable review to new program
Posted: 12/07/2000

UMC's Feiro Receives U of M President’s Outstanding Service Award

Tom Feiro was cited for exceptional service to the University and the region
Posted: 05/08/2000

 

Urban Forestry Workshop Set for March 10 

Workshop is open to anyone interested in urban forestry issues
Posted: 03/02/2000

Svedarsky Receives the Wildlife Society’s Minnesota Award 

Award was presented by the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society at their annual meeting in St. Cloud
Posted: 02/29/2000

Osborne Receives Student Conservationist of the Year Award

Osborne is a fall 1999 UMC graduate in Natural Resources
Posted: 01/31/2000

UMC Signs Cooperative Agreement with North Dakota NRCS

UMC Natural Resources major will have an opportunity to work for the agency in the summer at different workstations 
Posted: 01/31/2000

UMC's Baird Receives Outstanding Service Award

Award recognizes faculty and staff who have provided exceptional service to the University
Posted: 06/09/1999