The annual Biodiversity Highlights is hosted by the Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS), Nongame Wildlife Program (NW), Scientific and Natural Areas Program (SNA), Conservation Management and Rare Resources Unit (CMRR), and Invasive Species Program (IP) at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The purpose of these presentations is for these programs to highlight new biodiversity information from the past year or so that is relevant to natural resource professionals working to conserve, manage and better understand biodiversity in Minnesota. Speakers will present on new plant and animal discoveries, monitoring and research outcomes, management and protection accomplishments, community science initiatives, policy updates and emerging threats facing biodiversity. This year there are 3 online events, each about 3 hours in length with about 10 speakers for each session.
See links below for each day’s agenda (agendas are subject to change, check back the day-of for the final agenda).
- Agenda 1 of 3: Feb. 5th 12:30-3pm CST. Agenda.
- Agenda 2 of 3: Feb. 11th, 9am-12:30pm CST. See agenda below.
- Agenda 3 of 3: Feb. 25th, 9am-12:30pm CST. Agenda.
Agenda
| Start Time (~) | Length (minutes) | Speaker | Position | Program | Title of Talk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00am | 10 | Lacy Levine | CMRR Supervisor | CMRR | Program emcee and introduction to the day |
| 15 | Lisa Gelvin-Innvaer | Regional Nongame Wildlife Specialist | NW | Assessing Effectiveness of Adaptive Grazing and Fire for Bumble Bees and Butterflies on Hole-in-Mountain Complex | |
| 15 | Michael Worland | Regional Nongame Wildlife Specialist | NW | Monitoring Migratory Birds With Audio Recorders | |
| 20 | Amy Westmark | Northwest Region Nongame Wildlife Specialist | NW | Piping Plover Monitoring in Northwest Minnesota | |
| 15 | Gaea Crozier | Regional Nongame Wildlife Specialist | NW | Wood Turtle Project in Northeastern Minnesota | |
| 20 | Rebecca Holmstrom | Plant Ecologist/Botanist | MBS | Vernal Pools: Pilot Vegetation Surveys and Four-toed Salamander Nesting Habitat | |
| Spencer Rettler | Regional Nongame Wildlife Specialist | NW | |||
| 10:35 | 10 | BREAK | |||
| 10 | Kelly Randall | Statewide Outreach Consultant | SNA | SNA Outreach Overview | |
| Stephanie Hummel | Statewide Volunteer Outreach Specialist | SNA | |||
| 20 | Bill Bleckwenn | Statewide Land Acquisition Coordinator | SNA | SNA Program Land Protection Accomplishments | |
| Tyler Janke | Prairie Biologist | ||||
| 15 | AmberBeth VanNingen | NE Regional Specialist | SNA | Icelandite Coastal Fen: Persistence Pays Off | |
| 10 | BREAK | ||||
| 20 | Tyler Janke | Prairie Biologist | SNA | Effects of Grazing on Restored Prairie Vegetation at Prairie Smoke Dunes SNA | |
| 15 | Ethan Perry | Plant Ecologist/Botanist | MBS | Population Status of Tsuga canadensis at Hemlock Ravine SNA and Jay Cooke State Park | |
| 15 | Nicholas Jensen | Regional Forest Ecologist | CMRR | Woodlands and Wonders in the NW Region | |
| 12:30 | ADJOURN |