Northeastern Minnesota Climate-Smart Trees

Building Climate-Resilient Forests

As one of the most rapidly warming geographies in the U.S., northeastern Minnesota is a strong
candidate for climate adaptation strategies favoring species and genotypes adapted to future conditions.

University of Minnesota research shows that locally sourced bur and red oak seedlings are already mismatched to current conditions – they were outperformed by southern genotypes for growth and survival. However, state forest regeneration practices are dictated by outdated seed sourcing policies which may result in the distribution of maladapted and less genetically diverse trees across the landscape.

To address this issue, this team coupled research and intersectional entrepreneurship (forestry
and agriculture) to create a network of tree growers that produce genetically diverse, climate-forward seedlings for forest regeneration.

Outcomes

• Engaged with 17 farmers across northeast Minnesota
• Established seed collection protocols, seedling growth protocols and networking lists for project growth
• Held seed collection and seedling growth workshops monthly
• Successfully obtained funding to continue this work with The Nature Conservancy, with the new project title of the “Minnesota Million,” for their goal to reforest one million acres of the state

This project has gained widespread media attention, including on KARE-11.