In the 1890s, a group of Shakespeare fanatics in New York devised a romantic plan to honor the bard: release a member of every animal species mentioned in his plays into the wilds of America. After a few false starts, a group of stocky black starlings, casually mentioned in “Henry IV,” flew into the sky … [ Read more]
Eat the Invasion: Does it make sense to promote the idea of controlling non-native species by eating them?
Rent-A-Goat: Can we use ruminants to stop invasive plants and restore the natural landscape?
When Sue Wika bought her farm in Ashby, Minnesota, it was overrun with weeds. “You could barely move through the oak savanna,” she recalls. “So much prickly ash, and buckthorn too.” It’s all the same scene—from her prairie expanse in Grant County to the hardwood forests of the Driftless Area—invasive plants are taking the soil … [ Read more]
The Uncertain Future of Walleye in Mille Lacs
The Star Tribune reports on the future of walleye fishing on Mille Lacs, perhaps the paragon of Minnesota’s popular fishing lakes. Stocking the lake with walleye, like the state did when population collapsed in Red Lake, may only be a temporary fix. According to fish biologists, rising temperatures and invasive species are also playing a … [ Read more]