UMC to Host Quarterly Board Meeting of Nature Conservancy of Minnesota Sept. 19
The Natural Resources Department at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) will host the quarterly retreat and board meeting of the Nature Conservancy of Minnesota Friday, September 19.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is the largest private conservation organization in the world and focuses on the preservation of unique natural areas. Two of the prime prairie areas under the group’s management lie in Polk County just east of Crookston. They are the Pankratz Prairie, named after UMC alumnus Norman Pankratz, and the Glacial Ridge Project, which, at 25,000 acres, is the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in North America.
One of the reasons TNC chose to hold their meeting at UMC is the close proximity of the campus to these two prairie projects and other prairieland reserves. Board members will tour the Pankratz Prairie, the Pembina Trail Preserve, and the Thorson Prairie the morning of September 19.
The group will meet on the UMC campus at noon for lunch in Sahlstrom Conference Center’s Brown Dining Room, with the quarterly business meeting following.
That evening three speakers will present information sessions for TNC Board Members and other interested individuals starting at 7 p.m. in the Youngquist Auditorium of the Agricultural Research Center. These presentations are open to the public.
Rhonda McDougal, associate scientist at Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, will present “Landscape Mosaics for Healthy Watersheds”; Dan Svedarsky, wildlife biologist for the Northwest Research and Outreach Center and UMC professor of natural resources, will present the history of the Glacial Ridge Project; and John Loegering, UMC assistant professor of wildlife ecology, will discuss existing nature-based trails, facilities, preserves, and other nature-based attractions in Northwest Minnesota.
Posted 09/18/2003