Updates and Articles

The Atlantic takes on Minneapolis 2040

January 29, 2024

Because of our advocacy for climate-smart dense urban development, national magazine The Atlantic reached out to FMR Land Use & Planning Director Colleen O'Connor Toberman to get our perspective on Minneapolis 2040. Read more

Can pockets of habitat tip the scales in degraded wetlands?

January 25, 2024

Invasive reed canary grass forms dense monocultures in many wetlands across the Upper Midwest, but we're experimenting with ways to give native wetland plants a better foothold. Read more

Vermillion River flows through reed canary grass

Just released: Read the landmark new report 'Putting Down Roots'

January 19, 2024

The report, which measures the environmental impact of crops that provide continuous living cover, was produced by FMR, Ecotone Analytics and the Forever Green Partnership. Read more

A hand prods at the bare dirt, prepping for a seed planting. Text says "Putting Down Roots: Analyzing the economic and environmental benefits of continuous living cover for MN’s farmers, water and climate"

Long-awaited DNR carp action plan released

January 18, 2024

The DNR has pulled together a roadmap for prevention and management of invasive carp. Is it enough? Read more

Five things we learned from stream monitoring in 2023

January 16, 2024

Three teams of volunteers pulled hundreds of samples from streams in 2023, detailing insects and crustaceans present — a key to analyzing stream health over time. Here are five takeaways from our work. Read more

How does FMR evaluate development plans?

January 11, 2024

What do we consider "good" development? FMR keeps tabs on riverfront development proposals and community response to them. Here's an overview of our process and the criteria we use to evaluate potential big changes to our river and its banks. Read more

Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis with buildings, bridge and Pillsbury Flour sign

Media shines spotlight on FMR staff and creative solutions for vexing river issues

January 11, 2024

Whether clean-water crops, carp or buckthorn, the expertise of FMR staff has been on full display. Read more

More than 3,000 pollinators — and other interesting findings from our 2023 monitoring

January 9, 2024

How much more often did pollinators visit native flowers than non-native flowers? And why are cuckoo bees a good sign? Find out more about our 2023 pollinator surveys, plus new opportunities to get involved in monitoring efforts. Read more