Winter-Emerging Midges Photo credit: Chironomidae Research Group In the frigid heart of winter, a hidden world of resilience unfolds beneath the icy surfaces of Minnesota's streams. Enter the winter-emerging chironomids (aka “midges”), tiny aquatic flies belonging to the Chironomidae family. Resembling miniature black mosquitoes, some types of these resilient insects defy...
By Kristen Poppleton Hello MNTU! My name is Kristen Poppleton and I am the new Assistant Director for Minnesota Trout Unlimited. This week I took advantage of the beautiful weather to drive south to Winona and meet Jennifer Biederman, our amazing Habitat Program Director, walk a recent habitat improvement project, and...
Minnesota Trout Unlimited 4-30-2023 The Minnesota Senate passed a bill including a requirement that state agencies identify the statutes and rules that should be changed to prevent fish kills in Southeast MN. This provision was rolled into the large Environment Omnibus bill HF2310. However, the House version of the bill does not contain...
Minnesota Trout Unlimited 2-16-2023 After nearly 7 months, the state agencies investigating the Rush Creek fish kill today suggested that rainfall is likely to blame for killing over 2,500 fish. Nonsense. It rains regularly across the state and our rivers are not constantly filled with dead fish. Human actions in...
January 2023 Public Access – Permanent DNR easements along streams ensure fishing access, the ability to restore habitat, and protection of riparian corridors. Loss of “informal” access is accelerating. Substantially increased funding is needed now to seize generational opportunities before lands are sold and subdivided, or posted. Better signage and policy...
The Legislature now looks disturbingly close to ending its session without passing a LCCMR appropriation bill. If it fails to act this year and respect the LCCMR vetting process, our outdoor education program will cease. The Senate passed its version of the LCCMR appropriation bill HF 3765 yesterday, but it substitutes...
The Trout in the Classroom program - now in 60 schools around MN - will be forced to end on June 30 unless the Legislature passes an appropriations bill that respects the work of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). A phone call from you to your state senator...
While differences between the House, Senate, and Governor over the state budget have increased thelikelihood of a special session, the Legacy bill relies on dedicated revenues and can still be passed by theend of the regular session on May 17—with or without a budget agreement. Dedicated funding toprotect and restore...
A Roadmap for Mining of Critical Minerals and Sulfide Ore Deposits For the past ten years the possibility of a new type of mining in northeast Minnesota has consumed the energies of environmentalists, conservationists, businesses, agencies, and politicians at all levels of government. The debate about whether, where and how to...
DNR to Cut 90% of AMAs on North Shore Under the DNR’s proposed “Sustainable Timber Harvest Analysis” plan, the DNR intends to harvest trees from 90% of the land the Fisheries Section owns along trout and steelhead rivers in Lake County. This includes riparian forests along premier rivers such as the...
