The buzz of chainsaws is punctuated by a crack of wood. Though it may seem counterintuitive, even jarring, this is the sound of forest restoration—specifically, restoration of 115 acres in Lake County, Minnesota.

The owners of the property, situated directly between Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls State Parks, acquired a conservation easement in 2019, permanently protecting 950 acres dominated by forest and wetlands. Prior to the Land Trust’s involvement, they had been actively restoring the landscape, adding 2,000 new trees over the course of several years.

According to Haley Golz, Minnesota Land Trust Restoration Program Manager, “The increasing prevalence and scale of climate change-related wildfires puts forest restoration front and center, especially in the Arrowhead region where there are large sections of previously harvested forest that are often at a higher risk for fueling fires.”

Haley has been working with the landowners to address their concerns about low species diversity and a large number of dead and dying balsams due to a budworm infestation on their property. “After a disturbance, like clearcutting, infestation, or fire, aspens are one of the first trees to establish, followed closely by balsams.

Without effective management, dense, low diversity forests comprised entirely of these early establishing trees can become an incredible fuel source for fire.”

Forest Restoration Cycle

This forest restoration project cycles through three phases: cutting forest gaps to allow enough sunlight to support new trees; removing brush around recently planted trees to support them as they try to establish; and planting long-lived trees like white pine, white cedar, and red pine.

These trees’ lifespans are 200 to 800 years, and the pines’ thick, protective bark makes them naturally resistant to moderately intense fires.

Helping establish old-growth forests is part of the Minnesota Land Trust’s climate-forward restoration agenda.

According to the US Forest Service, 15–40% of Minnesota’s forested acres contained old growth trees prior to European settlement. Today, it’s only about 2%.

“Forests have the potential to offset around one-third of global emissions—as a natural climate solution they’re pretty unrivaled,” said Haley. “This permanently protected forest will benefit generations to come by helping reduce the spread of fire, preserve air quality, and sequester more carbon over the lifetime of the trees.” Learn more about the Land Trust’s habitat restoration work across Minnesota.

Article Contributors

Written by: Sarah Sullivan—Communications & Marketing Manager
Professional review by: Haley Golz—Restoration Program Manager

As Seen in the 2023 Fall Review

This restoration project was featured in the Minnesota Land Trust’s 2023 Fall Review print newsletter, highlighting the importance of preserving clean air and forests.

Thank you for your continued support of habitat conservation, restoration, and nature engagement in Minnesota.

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More Private Lands Restoration Projects

• 
  Restoration Improves Forest Health, Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Northern Minnesota
  The buzz of chainsaws is punctuated by a crack of wood. Though it may seem counterintuitive, even jarring, this is the sound of forest restoration—specifically, restoration of 115 acres in Lake County, Minnesota. The owners of the property, situated directly between Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls State Parks, acquired a conservation easement in 2019,… Read more: Restoration Improves Forest Health, Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Northern Minnesota
• 
  A Century Old Farm’s Greatest Yield Yet
  The property in the Minnesota Land Trust’s Rum and St. Croix River Conservation Priority area includes the forested northern shore of Rock Lake and is situated between a Walmart Supercenter, golf course, and two residential developments near the growing community of Pine City, Minnesota.   The most obvious and, likely lucrative, opportunity for retired farmer… Read more: A Century Old Farm’s Greatest Yield Yet
• 
  Goats Help Restore Resilient Lands in Southeast Minnesota
  Goats are known for all kinds of antics, including yelling, fainting, and of course, climbing into everything from delivery trucks to trees. In Southeastern Minnesota, on a Winona County property permanently protected by a Minnesota Land conservation easement, these functionally majestic animals are being leveraged for another one of their innate talents-their ability to destroy… Read more: Goats Help Restore Resilient Lands in Southeast Minnesota

This permanent conservation easement was made possible thanks to the members of the Minnesota Land Trust and Hennepin County with funding from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature and recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC).

Big problems require a champion, someone with a specific mix of skills, connections, and vision, who can systematically and patiently work a process and stay connected to the larger purpose to bring the vision into reality.

In 2019, Interstate Island and its Common Tern colony needed a champion. The 6-acre dredge spoil island in the Duluth-Superior Harbor began disappearing under dramatically rising water levels starting in 2015.

Interstate Island was created in the 1930s as a dredge spoil disposal site. It has been a designated Wildlife Management Area (WMA) since 1983 and is jointly managed by both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Common Tern monitoring on the island began in 1977; a banding program was implemented in 1989 and continues today.

The increasingly submerged island meant a loss of habitat for the terns and their island co-habitants, about 20,000 Ring-billed Gulls. This put the terns and gulls in more direct competition for resources, with the terns on the losing end of things.

Common Terns in the Superior Region

The Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is a North American long-distance migrating bird that travels between wintering sites as far as 6,000 miles to the south in Argentina, and breeding sites in the northern United States and Canada. The Interstate Island population is known to overwinter on the coast of Peru.

In the Lake Superior Watershed, they return to one of only two remaining colonies. The Interstate Island colony is home to about two hundred birds representing half of the Lake Superior Common Tern population.

Historically, Common Terns were found all over the Lake Superior region and throughout the Duluth-Superior area. However, human activity, including development along the Lake Superior shoreline, displaced them from many of their traditional nesting habitats. In 1989, they were encouraged by wildlife managers to relocate to Interstate Island, which is relatively free of human interference and predation.

According to Audubon, terns are relatively resilient in the face of climate change, though if the climate warms between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius it will shift their summer breeding habitat further north into Canada, which could result in the loss of Minnesota’s Common Tern colonies. Terns nest on the ground and lay between one and four eggs.

A Good Turn for the Common Tern

Interstate Island and its Common Tern colony found a champion in the Minnesota Land Trust and Gini Breidenbach, Restoration Program Manager. Breidenbach and Minnesota Land Trust’s involvement was critical to launching this project by bringing much needed organizing capacity and restoration project management expertise to the initiative.

“Minnesota Land Trust was the missing piece in getting this project done,” said Breidenbach, “We had the capacity to write grant proposals and secure funding, bring together the strategic partners to design the project, work through the permitting processes in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and manage the construction process – it was no small feat!”

Breidenbach managed a strategic coalition of partners, including the Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Minnesota – Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private design and construction firms to get the project completed in two years.

Adding Interstate Island to the larger St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan further elevated it as a priority initiative.

Breidenbach and partners also identified an opportunity to reduce cost, increase project scope and beneficially use 40,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the navigation channel by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Since 2011, Minnesota Land Trust has played a key role in restoration work in the St. Louis River Estuary. A primary goal of the work being done in the region is to be able to remove the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) from the binational list of most impaired regions on the Great Lakes. Minnesota Land Trust’s estuary projects include Radio Tower Bay, Chambers Grove, wild rice restoration, Perch Lake, and Grassy Point and Kingsbury Bay. Learn more about Minnesota Land Trust’s impact in the St. Louis River Estuary.

Expanding Interstate Island

For years, wildlife managers at Minnesota DNR and Wisconsin DNR have supported the tern colony by maintaining a perimeter of chicken-wire fencing around the nesting area and a three-foot tall string grid overhead. This protects the tern nests because they can hover over the grid’s openings and land safely while gulls can’t navigate the openings as easily and tend to be deterred by the string.

Studies show that these measures have a positive impact, however, the loss of habitat due to flooding on the island made increased contact between the terns and gulls unavoidable, and that resulted in higher rates of predation on tern eggs and chicks by the gulls. In order to not just help the tern colony survive but meet recovery goals set by Wisconsin DNR, it was imperative to expand the island habitat.

The Interstate Island project includes several objectives that all support the goal of restoring the largest Common Tern nesting colony in the Lake Superior Watershed.

By fall 2020, woody vegetation had been removed from the island and the tern nesting area was raised by 3-4 feet. Additional protection was added for the vulnerable nests, including an upgraded permanent perimeter fence and rock berm.

The areas of the island subject to flooding were elevated, expanding the island from 2.5 acres to 6.7 acres of viable habitat during extreme high-water levels, and 8.7 acres during ordinary high-water periods. Expanding the island’s footprint added 900 feet of shoreline to the island.

Shorebirds Benefit too!

Bird experts suspected Interstate Island was important habitat for shorebirds, but there was no data to support their suspicion. During a 4-year pre- and post-restoration study, an impressive and previously unknown array of shorebird species were documented using the space, 25 shorebird species and 35 other migratory birds in all, including the black-bellied plover​, American golden-plover​, killdeer​, and stilt sandpiper​.

The study findings and other observations of bird behavior on the island demonstrate how important this remote habitat is for birds. According to Steve Kolbe, University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) Avian Ecologist, “Birds on Minnesota Point, where there are lots of people, are always flying around, head up, alert. But on Interstate Island we see them sleeping, heads tucked under their wing, sometimes for days. It’s a safe haven.” Whether it’s a stop-over point on a thousand-mile long journey or a place to raise young, the restoration investment is already paying off.

With this new information, conservationists and biologists can raise awareness about the habitat needs of shorebirds and seek further opportunities to support them.

Adding Native Vegetation

The final phase of the restoration work began in the summer of 2022 and included planting three areas of the island with low-growing native vegetation, like beach grass, to help slow wind erosion and support the migrating shorebirds.

Keeping the island free of large woody vegetation like trees is important to protect the tern colony from predators, including owls, who would find a substantial population of easy prey on the island if given the opportunity to hunt there.

Briedenbach says, “Statewide there are less than 900 nesting pairs of the Common Tern, and with this coalition of partners working together, our hope is this threatened bird will have its place to nest and thrive into the future.”

The Common Tern found a champion in Minnesota Land Trust and the group of partners and supporters that rallied around their cause. And as tends to be the case with interdependent ecosystems and habitats, impact has a ripple effect. The sustained and intentional work done on behalf of the Common Tern also positively impacts a host of migratory shorebirds.

Funding for this restoration project was provided through Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature and recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC), the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (NOAA, USEPA, USFWS), and Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Restoration Act.

“For me, it was very fortunate to be able to give that back to the natural world so it will always be protected and so it can’t be developed,” Dick said.

Thompson Lake shoreline

The property encompasses 38 acres, including 4,115 feet of shoreline of Thompson Lake, and much of it has been identified by the Minnesota Biological Survey as being of Outstanding Biodiversity Significance, the highest such designation recognized. The lake itself is a DNR-designated shallow lake, considered a “critical habitat component for Minnesota’s wildlife.” It’s home to panfish, northern, crappies and bullheads, and the streams that feed it are home to brook and rainbow trout.

Among the blooming species on the property are lady’s slipper, marsh marigold and swaths of Labrador tea. Mosses dominate the ground layer of the spruce bog, giving species sensitive to high water, like the black spruce, places to grow. Bogs are extremely valuable — they prevent flooding, capture carbon, filter impurities, and help keep our water cool and clean.

Island of Trees

Surrounded by the spruce bog is a high knob — an island of trees — that includes some very old white pines and nesting bald eagles. Bill Penning, Conversation Programs Consultant for the Minnesota Land Trust, said those old trees are an important component of the property, especially since the area is surrounded by public land used for timber production of mostly young aspen and red pine. “This helps to provide some ecological diversity within the context of the larger block,” he said.

Bill said that the protection of this property, including about 20% of the shoreline of Thompson Lake, will keep land intact that is ranked very highly by the Minnesota Biological Survey. “This whole area is under a fair amount of development pressure, so it’s unusual that we get to protect such a large piece of high-quality lakeshore in one shot,” he said.

Dick and his wife Patricia were married on this beautiful property in 1993 and called it home. It brought him joy to watch his wife become part of the natural world. “I call her a city girl who became a country woman,” he said, noting how special it was to watch her grow to love the seasons.

Patricia passed away in 2015, but Dick still shares the forest and shoreline with his children and grandchildren, as well as students from the University of Minnesota Duluth Recreational Sports Outdoor Program. Dick created the program in the 1980s, and each December students and staff come to the property for a celebration.

It’s quiet enough to hear the wind in the trees and listen to birds sing. Dick said wildlife is plentiful. The lake provides a summer home to a pair of trumpeter swans as well as a pair of loons. Porcupines, raccoons, skunks, foxes, whitetail deer and badgers are all present, and occasionally moose and wolves pass through. Songbirds also return each year, though Dick said he has noticed a decline in the last few springs — fewer voices amid the trees.

Dick is grateful to have come along at the right time to make this property home, and fortunate to have been able to protect it through the Land Trust. “If you love and respect the natural world, it’s a wonderful place to be,” he said.

By volunteer journalist Genna Souffle

Working to reverse this trend, the Minnesota Land Trust, along with The Conservation Fund, St. Louis County Lands & Minerals Department, and PotlatchDeltic Corporation, celebrated the transfer of 4,379 acres of PotlatchDeltic land to St. Louis County. Under county management, this forest land will increase opportunities for public access for recreation, hunting, and fishing — all while providing natural habitat for Minnesota’s wildlife and sustainable wood harvest.

Every year in Minnesota, thousands of acres of this natural habitat are developed, subdivided, or degraded. This reduces habitat available for many of Minnesota’s iconic forest wildlife species and can lead to increased runoff in our rivers, lakes, and streams. The Minnesota Forest Resources Council identified parcelization of industrial forest lands as the primary threat to the ecological and economic health of Minnesota’s forests. To ensure healthy game and non-game wildlife, and to maintain historic public access points for hunting and fishing for future generations, the integrity of large forest tracts must be preserved.

Faced with this challenge, the Minnesota Land Trust and The Conservation Fund collaborated with St. Louis County to protect some of the largest blocks of remaining forest land by purchasing the land from the PotlatchDeltic.

“PotlatchDeltic was one of the largest private industrial forest landowners in St. Louis County, and the impact of that land being sold and developed would reverberate across the North Woods,” said Daryl Peterson, director of restoration programs with the Minnesota Land Trust. “Once land is sold off to a hundred different parties, it is nearly impossible to manage the incredible forest ecosystems native to northern Minnesota.”

With funding from the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Fund, The Conservation Fund and the Minnesota Land Trust were able to successfully purchase and donate the land to St. Louis County for permanent and sustainable forest management.

“We’ve worked with PotlatchDeltic since 2013 to protect working forestlands that support northern Minnesota’s long tradition of timber production and outdoor recreation,” said Kim Berns-Melhus, The Conservation Fund’s Minnesota state director. “With this transaction and others underway, including our 72,000-acre Minnesota’s Heritage Forest, this partnership has been the catalyst to conserve more than 200,000 acres in the state of Minnesota for various conservation purposes, including forestry jobs, protection of important habitats and public access.”

“This sale is another favorable outcome for Minnesotans that is related to our close working relationship with The Conservation Fund,” said Bill DeReu, Vice President of Real Estate for PotlatchDeltic. “This property is ideal for conservation and working forest protection, similar to our recent sale of 72,000 acres called ‘Minnesota’s Heritage Forest,’ as well as our ongoing ‘Plan B School Trust Lands’ project in St. Louis County that benefits the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. PotlatchDeltic values environmental stewardship, and we are proud to work with The Minnesota Land Trust and The Conservation Fund toward conservation outcomes like these that have positive impacts on jobs, wildlife and public use.”

These lands will be made available for public use, including hunting and fishing, just like other County-owned and managed lands in St. Louis County.

“The lands transferred to St. Louis County by the Minnesota Land Trust through the Northern Forest Habitat Conservation Project grant are truly special and will benefit the residents/citizens of the county and the state of Minnesota,” said Jason Meyer, Deputy Director of Forest Resources at the St. Louis County Land and Minerals Department. “The 4379 acres acquired consists of large, contiguous blocks of northern forests which will be permanently maintained by the county for sustainable forestry, wildlife habitat, water quality and will be available to the public for outdoor recreation. The county appreciates and is grateful for the efforts undertaken by the Minnesota Land Trust who, in concert with The Conservation Fund, partnered in making this land transaction happen. County foresters will be visiting these lands over the coming months to assess the condition of the forest and public access opportunities in the development of sustainable management plans. This project is a valuable enhancement to the public forest lands of St. Louis County.”

In the long term, these contiguous parcels of land will provide important habitat for species such as white-tailed deer, gray wolves, Canada lynx, and ruffed grouse, a favorite game species of hunters that travel to northern Minnesota each fall to enjoy the remote hunting experience. Sustainable forest management provided by the County will ensure this land remains high-quality habitat, and publicly accessible — forever.

“This is the largest land protection project in the history of the Minnesota Land Trust,” added Kris Larson, executive director of the Minnesota Land Trust. “Thanks to our partners and supporters, we can today celebrate an incredible addition to our state’s legacy of conservation and care for our great outdoors.

Northern Forests Project Map

Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding PotlatchDeltic’s real estate strategy and expected real estate closings in Minnesota. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. There is no guarantee that any of the events anticipated by these forward-looking statements will occur. If any of the events occur, there is no guarantee of the effect they will have on PotlatchDeltic’s operations, financial condition or results of operations. The company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements after the date of this news release.

photo by Dennis Udovich

The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary stretches over 600 acres in the North Woods of Minnesota near the town of Orr, and it has grown over time thanks to land acquisitions and generous donations. It grew again recently thanks to a 160-acre donation by co-founders Bill and Klari Lea. Named after the original founder Vince Shute, the Sanctuary is now managed by the American Bear Association (ABA) with a mission of teaching humans about the unique habits of bears. In lean years, bears visit the Sanctuary for food, and from an elevated viewing deck, visitors can watch as they go about their lives. The Sanctuary also works to expand our knowledge of the bears; researchers tag and track visiting bears to learn more about their habits and range.

By protecting the Sanctuary land with a conservation easement through the Minnesota Land Trust, the American Bear Association has secured a future for the wildlife that rely on the land and helped preserve this one-of-a-kind visitor experience.

photo by Dennis Udovich

“This is a truly unique property, not just because of the safe haven it offers bears, but because of the well managed forest it contains,” says Kris Larson, executive director of the Minnesota Land Trust. “By protecting this land forever, the ABA has preserved an incredible resource for the people of Minnesota.”

As the Sanctuary has grown in popularity, so has its footprint. Originally started on Vince Shute’s 80 acre land, the Association has added on several nearby properties for protection.

“The properties protected by the American Bear Association and Minnesota Land Trust include a variety of habitat types including aspen-birch forest, northern coniferous forests, lowland hardwood swamps, white cedar swamps, riparian habitat, bogs, sedge meadows and ponds,” says Carl Racchini, retired Wildlife Biologist and former American Bear Association board member. “These habitats provide for a diverse plant and animal community that is now protected and managed for the benefit of these northern biomes.”

photo by Dennis Udovich

The Sanctuary continues to grow in popularity – in 2019, thousands of people visited and learned more about Minnesota’s bear population. Long term, the Association hopes to expand the size of the observation deck and add new and varied educational programming to the Sanctuary, further connecting people to the bears that mattered so much to Vince Shute.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Bear Association, no matter what the future holds for the Sanctuary, this piece of land will always be here for the bears and other wildlife that rely on it,” says Larson. “That’s a win-win for them, and for all Minnesotans.”

Thank you to members of the Minnesota Land Trust and the American Bear Association for protecting this unique property forever.

Over the past decades more and more private land along the North Shore has been developed, negatively impacting the wildlife habitat, waterways and scenic beauty of one of Minnesotas gems. The Minnesota Land Trust has long been working with landowners in the Arrowhead region to balance this new development with the need to conserve the natural attributes that make this area so special. By protecting his unique property, the Weidemans have helped to connect a large block of habitat between two of Minnesota’s favorite state parks and continue the North Shore’s conservation ethic.

“Our goal was to be able to enjoy the property with our family,” says Kyle Weideman. “That included work on a preservation plan to preserve the properties essentially undeveloped tracts that have provided unique ecological communities for decades.”

This unique property fills in a “donut hole” of protected public lands. Surrounded on all sides by County administered lands, the Weideman property was the last privately developable parcel in a larger complex of public lands. “Properties like this serve an important role in expanding wildlife habitat adjacent to public lands,” says Bill Penning, program manager at the Minnesota Land Trust. “The previous landowners worked diligently to protect and preserve the natural features of the land, and conveyed it to its new owner with the hopes that it would continue to be protected. With most land in Minnesota in private hands, having individuals step up and protect these natural places is a vital part of conservation in our state.”

By protecting private land with a conservation easement, the property is still owned by the individual property owner, but future development is limited. “As more and more landowners realize the benefits of protecting their land with a conservation easement, we’re making sure the waters and lands we all rely on will be here for future generations,” says Penning. “By using a conservation easement, we’re also ensuring the land will stay in private hands, and that landowners will continue to pay taxes, recreate on the land, and sustainably manage the land for timber through a professionally designed habitat management plan.”

More than anything though, the property will ensure that the natural habitat between Gooseberry Falls State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park will stay the way it is for all Minnesotans to enjoy. But perhaps just as important, because this property lies at the headwaters of the Gooseberry River, protecting it will also help ensure that the river itself will continue to have high water quality and cold temperatures needed to sustain its trout population. Whether it be the Gooseberry River, the Superior Hiking Trail or the scenic lands along Highway 61, private landowners’ actions are key to the future of the region.

“The part that I really found beneficial working with the staff at the Minnesota Land Trust was being able to tailor a conservation easement that fitted both of our short and long term visions for the property,” says Weideman. “The organization was very receptive in my concerns for activities, restrictions, and uses for the property; ultimately, we were able to work together for a desirable outcome fairly easily.”