Plant For The Future started as a conversation with land managers, river organizations, and community members in 2017. We heard about dramatic loss of tree canopy due to the emerald ash borer, and issues with cottonwood regeneration. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area’s urban canopy also faces increasing pressure from displaced plant species like buckthorn and a changing climate.
Together we set out to not only begin filling in these gaps with new trees but also to ensure that we planted a compilation of species that would increase biodiversity and resilience to climate change within the Mississippi River’s floodplain and surrounding urban forests and green spaces.
Learn more about our efforts:
Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change Initiative
In 2019, Mississippi Park Connection joined with partners to address climate change in the Mississippi River’s floodplain forests. Working collaboratively with the National Park Service, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, City of Saint Paul, University of Minnesota, and Colorado State University, we seek to understand and create meaningful change in the river’s forests that will prepare them for a future that includes climate change.
Cottonwood Restoration
In 2011, the National Park Service surveyed vegetation in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The results showed that cottonwood trees have not been regenerating in many areas of the river’s floodplain for decades, for a number of reasons including changes in the intensity and timing of floods and increased browsing by animals such as deer and beaver. The National Park Service is working with partner organizations, like Mississippi Park Connection, Minnesota GreenCorps, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, and the University of Minnesota, to determine which approaches will add younger cottonwoods to the riparian ecosystem. The different plantings will be monitored over time and the results shared with other parks.
Emerald Ash Borer Impacts Study
The Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Saint Paul in 2009. In areas where EAB is present, green, white, and black ash trees have a nearly 99% mortality rate. Ash trees make up nearly a quarter of the trees in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Community Tree Nurseries
A gravel bed tree nursery, also known as community tree nursery, is an irrigated bed of small rocks that stores bare-root trees for later planting. Using a gravel bed drastically increases the survival rate of young trees. Purchasing bare-root trees is cost-effective since they are lightweight, easy to handle, affordable, and available in a variety of diverse species. By diversifying the tree canopy, this will help reduce our urban forest’s vulnerability to invasive pest and insect threats.
Mississippi River Crew
Plant For The Future is supported by our Mississippi River Crew. The crew consists of Youth Outdoors AmeriCorps Member leaders (ages 18-25) and Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa youth (ages 15-18), who engage in meaningful, hands-on conservation projects throughout the year. Their restoration efforts include clearing acres of buckthorn and planting trees, shrubs, and plants for greater biodiversity in the river ecosystem.
Fermented Forestry
Dangerous Man Brewing and Surly Gives A Damn teamed up with Mississippi Park Connection to plant 7,200 trees by 2021 — 100 trees for every mile of our beloved urban national park, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. This was part of our campaign’s larger goal to plant 15,000 trees in total!
Planting A Diverse Ecosystem
These are all the different tree species we have planted during our Plant For The Future Campaign, with the help of our amazing, dedicated volunteers and land manager partners:
Accolade Elm
American Elm
American Hazelnut
American Plum
Arrowwood
Autumn Blaze Maple
Bald Cypress
Basswood
Bitternut Hickory
Black Cherry
Black Chokeberry
Black Walnut
Black Willow
Bur oak
Butternut Hickory
Buttonbush
Cedar (white or red)
Chokecherry
Cottonwood
Crabapple
Downy Hawthorn
Eastern Redbud
Eastern Sandcherry
Elderberry
False Indigo
Gooseberry
Gray Dogwood
Hackberry
Highbush Cranberry
Honeylocust
Leadplant
Matador Maple
Meadow Rose
Musclewood
Nannyberry
New Jersey Teatree
Northern Catalpa
Ohio Buckeye
Pagoda Dogwood
Princeton Elm
Red Maple
Red-oiser Dogwood
Regent Serviceberry
River Birch
Running Serviceberry
Sandbar Willow
Serviceberry
Shagbark Hickory
Silver Maple
Southern Pin Oak
Speckled Alder
St. Croix Elm
Sugar Maple
Swamp White Oak
Sweetgum
Sycamore
Tamarack
Tupelo
White Oak
White Snowberry
Yellow Poplar
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Thank You to Our Funders!
3M • Conservation Legacy Partners • Dangerous Man Brewing Company • Easy and Company • Eco Adapt • McNeely Foundation • MPCA - EA Fund • Mortenson Construction • Mortenson Family Foundation • Prairie Island Indian Community • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation • National Park Foundation • Okabena Advisers • Patagonia • Plantra • Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club • Minneapolis Rotary Club • Minnesota GreenCorps • Surly Gives a Damn • Tattersall Distillery • Tennant Foundation • The McKnight Foundation • Tree Trust • Xcel Energy • Mississippi Park Connection members
Funding for this project was also provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. Currently 40% of net Minnesota State Lottery proceeds are dedicated to growing the Trust Fund and ensuring future benefits for Minnesota’s environment and natural resources.