Natural Resources News provides timely information, featured events, helpful resources and deep dives into natural resources and environmental issues.
![Curt Forst](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Curt-Forst-lakeside.jpg?h=85e767bd&itok=E1eTCQEp)
Curt Forst finds the AIS Detectors program to be a natural fit. His goals are to protect the water quality of the lake he lives on and to keep issues from spreading to other lakes.
![Screenshot of the 2023 USDA Minnesota Plant Hardiness Zone Map - a map of Minnesota with assigned colored zones](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/2023-USDA-Minnesota-plant-hardiness-zone-map.png?h=701f4c72&itok=7X1Ye-Ly)
Using data collected from over 13,000 weather stations during a 30-year period, the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map provides higher resolution and more accurate zonal information.
![signal crayfish held by someone](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/signal-crayfish-belly-rdclark-inaturalist.jpeg?h=43066d2a&itok=wrDay1NB)
Signal crayfish aren't fussy about habitat, grow faster and are larger than our native crayfish, and have the reproductive capacity to become a dominant species in introduced areas. What might this mean for Minnesota's waters?
![Emerald ash borer beetle on a green leaf](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/emerald-ash-borer3-JHahn.jpg?h=651c8870&itok=ZJ1S95JT)
Emerald ash borer has been confirmed in Cass County. Landowners need to be aware of the threat EAB poses not only on their land but to many thousands of acres of nearby ash forests.
![Large bumble bee feeding on a flower.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Male%20Lemon%20Cuckoo.jpg?h=b8642d57&itok=YDGR31Jq)
Rather than create their own colonies, lemon cuckoo bumble bees take over the nests of other bumble bees. Though this sounds aggressive, their behavior can indicate a healthy pollinator ecosystem.
![Three men out birding; two are seated on walker seats, one looks through a camera, one looks through binoculars, one points](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Kevin%20Smith%20MN%20Master%20Naturalist%20Hastings%20birding_0.jpg?h=9eda2f2d&itok=kYHlhsw5)
Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers who served in the armed forces help fellow veterans connect with the outdoor world.
![Tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus). Photo credit: Ann Froschauer/USFWS](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/tri-colored-bat-Ann-Froschauer-USFWS.jpg?h=7dec04db&itok=fjX6_Bs-)
Let's learn about some of the "creepy" creatures found—or soon to be found—in the southeastern woodlands of Minnesota.
Find climate-resilient, native trees and plants recommended for southeast Minnesota.
![Woman shows man how to identify oak acorns](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/JeffJackson-oak-acorns.jpeg?h=8e2b5fb6&itok=6bm72sxl)
Extension is working with The Nature Conservancy and Minnesota DNR to develop a tree seed collection training program in an effort to reforest one million acres in Minnesota by 2040.
There is so much to learn about the complex ecosystem interactions among the trees, understory plants, and wildlife you might find in your nearest woodland. Here are a few species worth a closer look.