IonE Wants to Know: Which species are the most Minnesotan?

“For prairie biologists, the purple coneflower is iconic,” says Waananen. 

The famous flower is so well known it shows up in the logos of conservation organizations; for Waananen, it was the subject of her dissertation research. “Katherine and I bonded over how cool it is to work on such an iconic species, one that is so emblematic of a certain ecosystem.”

The two researchers marveled about a flower so recognizable it’s been known to inspire broad interest in prairie ecosystems. From there the conversation shifted to questions: How do people decide which species are iconic? And do the general public and researchers agree?

“We’re really curious about how a species becomes iconic and if one’s sense of place contributes,” says Charton. 

“We’re also wondering how these representative species can motivate conservation action, which could be really useful information for conservation organizations.”

Research at the Minnesota State Fair

To get to the root of this issue, Waananen and Charton will conduct a study at the Minnesota State Fair through the University of Minnesota’s Driven to Discover (D2D) Research Facility, which gives researchers the opportunity to engage with hundreds of thousands of fairgoers from around the state.

They plan to show fairgoers pictures of a subset of 31 different wildlife species, including animals, plants, and fish that represent a variety of Minnesota habitats, and ask them to think about questions such as: Do you value what this species represents about Minnesota? And would you be willing to contribute to the conservation of this species?

These findings will be shared with community partners, such as the Bell Museum, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Minnesota Sea Grant, and the Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, who are interested in conservation, as well as survey participants and other fairgoers who opt-in to receive results.

“We’ll be preparing a summary that identifies which species a broad number of Minnesotans are familiar with and how much they value that species. We’ll also be including information about regional differences among survey participants,” says Charton. “This information should be very useful for folks who are doing local conservation work.”

The researchers plan to share the results through fact sheets and infographics. This kind of information can help guide conservation efforts and can even be useful in securing funding, as conservation organizations can point to data collected from Minnesotans across the state. It could also provide direction for educational campaigns as conservation organizations work to gather support from the general public for wildlife and the habitats they occupy – especially in cases where public perceptions and conservation priorities are misaligned.

“The whole goal of this project is that we want a broad cross-section of the population, not just scientists who are already thinking about wildlife the way that we are,” says Waananen. “We want to be representative of all of Minnesota.”

Want to participate?

You can find this research study, entitled Our Wildlife, Our Identity: Minnesota Wildlife Survey, at the D2D building at the 2025 State Fair on the following dates and times:

Thursday, August 21, 2:30–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 27, 2:30–9:00 p.m.
Friday, August 29, 9:00–2:00 a.m.
Monday, September 1, 9:00–2:00 a.m.

Anyone age 11 or older is welcome to participate, regardless of Minnesota residency status. The survey will take between 10 and 15 minutes, and participants can also contribute to a community art mural.

Ashley Bergman Humphrey is the Research Communications Specialist at the Institute on the Environment.