The Division of Forestry has developed silviculture strategies to inform sustainable forest management in Minnesota. These documents include information on the following key elements for each native plant community (NPC) class:

Vegetation, structure, and composition
Landscape setting and soils
Tree suitability
Tree response to climate change
Tree establishment and recruitment
Stand dynamics and growth stages
2-page silvicultural strategies for each major natural disturbance agent

Climate change is altering forest ecosystems, with many changes expected by the end of the 21st century. Forests vary widely, and not all forests are equally at risk; vulnerabilities are strongly influenced by regional differences in climate impacts and adaptive capacity.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed a Forest Ecology and Management course focused on advancing knowledge and skills for USFWS biologists, foresters and others who manage forests on refuges or partner lands to meet wildlife habitat needs and objectives.

Climate change is affecting the species and communities that make up our forests in a myriad of ways. Dr. Morelli will present a synthesis of the impacts of climate change on the wildlife of the forests that cover much of the Midwest and northeastern U.S. Based on a mix of expert elicitation and literature review, she will show what species are predicted to be most vulnerable to climate change, as well as the uncertainty around those predictions. Tools to incorporate the latest science into management decisions in order to achieve climate change adaptation will also be reviewed.

Tech Talk Replay from July 20, 2020. Jeff Duchene, Nichole Sternquist, Craig Peterson, and Amanda Deans review the use, planning, and design of commonly used practices to facilitate prescribed grazing systems. Practices covered in this webinar include: Water Well (PS642), Pumping Plant (PS533), Pipeline (PS516), and Watering Facility (PS614).

This short course looks at harvesting equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.

Tech Talk Replay from July 13, 2020. Dean Thomas, Lance Smith, Aaron Peter, Amanda Deans, and Pat Schultz reviewed the use, planning, and design of commonly used practices to facilitate prescribed grazing systems. These webinars are pre-requisites for the field training scheduled for the last week of July. Practices covered in this webinar include: Fence (PS382), Heavy Use Area Protection (PS561), Trails and Walkways (PS575), and Stream Crossing (PS578).

This course informs conservation planners about basic forest ecology and forest management practices to establish a foundation for implementing forestry and agroforestry conservation practices. Planners will learn about common objectives of forest landowners, threats to forests, the forest inventory process, forest management plans, and laws, regulations, and permits related to forest management. The course includes client stories to demonstrate the planning process with clients who have diverse forest types across the United States.

This short course looks at application equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.

This short course looks at harvesting equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.