Tackling Queen Anne’s lace with the Minnesota Master Naturalists
By 2026, Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is slated to be free of Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), a non-native plant species that has historically hindered prairie restoration efforts. This outcome has taken three years of diligent work by volunteers, including Steve Carras, Jenny Pelletier and Zack Pelletier, who held the most recent Queen Anne’s lace removal session as part of their Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer training.
A group of youth and adults alike pulled them together, uprooting the plants as easily as any other carrot. Because each seed pod can hold over 40,000 seeds, Queen Anne’s lace requires careful, consistent removal.
Three years ago, a blanket of white umbels covered the prairie.
Now, native species like wild rye, sunflowers and blue vervain have space to grow.
Highlights
- RSDP impact: In Bridgewater Township, an innovative approach to removing forever chemicals from the water that leaches out of the landfill is being explored through the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities program.
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helps bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training in Northfield.
- 4-H in Rice County is preparing youth for 4-H officer roles in a virtual space in collaboration with other southern counties. Hands-on activities help youth train and practice the various leadership roles.
- Extension’s agricultural business management team delivered farmland rent and farm transition workshops in Faribault.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Donkers family (2026)
- Minnesota Master Naturalist training: Prairies and Potholes biome (Northfield)
- SuperShelf locations: Community Action Center Faribault, Community Action Center Food Shelf (Northfield), Society of St. Vincent de Paul
- Private Pesticide Applicator training was held in Faribault. Pesticide safety education covers how to use pesticides responsibly for pest management while minimizing exposure and impacts to the environment.
Rice County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Rice County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.