Forest

High levels of the invasive insect prompted the quarantine from the state Department of Agriculture. There will be an informational meeting April 29, 2025.

The Superior National Forest plans two dozen or so fires in the coming weeks, ranging from 2 to 2,000 acres.

Plus: A permanent outlet for the Canisteo Mine Pit to Prairie River in Bovey is under construction; extensive construction on Highway 53 in Eveleth this year will include a detour through Gilbert; and Paul Bunyan Communications' GigaZone Gaming Championship returns to the Bemidji Sanford Center on April 12, 2025.

The Northern Waters Land Trust and Minnesota Land Trust say nearly 500 acres will be protected from development in perpetuity at 3M's 680-acre Camp Wonewok in Hubbard County.

The spruce budworm has impacted more than 2,000 square miles since 2021, mostly in St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties, although a small population in Itasca County persists.

The forest plans to thin red pine plantations, conduct prescribed burns and plant native seeds in the project area within the Leech Lake Reservation.

An abundance of rainfall has been good for the forest but hard on trees with fungal leaf disease. Trees usually reemerge in the spring unaffected by last year's blight.

In a follow-up episode to the Decline of Native Pollinators Series, pollinator expert Jessica Peterson joined the KAXE Morning Show to focus on forest-dwelling pollinators. The Decline of Native Pollinator series is produced by Mark Jacobs.

Revenue generated on school trust land from mining or logging goes back to Minnesota's public schools, but parcels in the Boundary Waters are protected from these activities.

The DNR encourages landowners to reforest their properties with hardy seedling bundles. Stock includes flowering trees and conifers.