Midwest Natural Resources

Here at MNR, we offer a comprehensive range of natural resource inventory services, with one of those specialties being tree inventory surveys. Working closely with our clients, tree inventories are designed based on City requirements and project-specific needs. MNR has been conducting tree inventories of all sizes throughout the 10-county metro area and out-state for many years. Whether it’s for a single lot or a large-scale land development project, no tree inventory is too small or large. Tree inventory surveys can be completed year-round and are an excellent opportunity to get outside in the winter/spring. Our staff includes a certified arborist and several talented plant ecologists who have inventoried over 10,000 trees in the last year alone. Working with MNR you will find it to be a seamless process from receiving our data and incorporating it into any tree preservation or certification plans required for a specific project. We work very closely with several local civil engineering and land surveying companies who utilize our tree inventory services for a wide range of projects. Pictured below are two of our top tree inventory experts working through a site in Dayton, MN. #treeinventory #certifiedarborist #trees #plantidentification #projectdesign #civilengineering #ecology #surveying #minnesota #enviromentalconsulting #fieldservices

One of the unique projects MNR got the opportunity to work on in the past 2024 field season was one focused on conducting surveys for Minnesota’s state-listed lichens! These lichen surveys aimed to create a baseline inventory of all lichens within the state. The MNR lead for this project was Otto Gockman, who is one of two DNR-certified listed lichen surveyors within the state of Minnesota. Otto has 16 years of experience collecting, identifying, and researching lichens. Working with the DNR, they were able to locate multiple areas of the highest potential to focus the survey efforts on collecting a wide array of lichen diversity of both listed and common species. Pictured below is Otto using a chisel and hammer to collect a chip of rock with a lichen of interest on it. #lichens #rockoutcrops #goatprairies #cliffs #threatenedandendangerd #unique #surveying #minnesota #ecology #geology #enviromentalconsulting #fieldservices

Travel is an essential piece of many of the projects here at MNR. Over the past 6 years, team members have spent part of their time in West Virginia conducting long-term monitoring of wetlands and waterbodies over 170 miles along construction workspaces and access roads. Although the terrain was steep and, at times strenuous, these remarkable team members found ways to enjoy it and see the beauty in the landscape they were traversing. Below are just a few pictures of the scenic landscape and charismatic plants they got to observe! #teamwork #scenic #beautyinnature #westvirginia #ecology #wetlands #waterbodies #monitoring #enviromentalconsulting #fieldservices

During the off-season we encourage our team members to use their time to focus on their professional development through self-guided study and research as well as routine herbarium visits with a goal(s) in mind. Many of our team members set their sights on becoming approved surveyors for Minnesota's state-listed plant species. To obtain these certifications, individuals must pass a series of comprehensive exams to test their collective experience and knowledge of flora across the state. Today, we celebrate Heather Jensen's accomplishments in becoming a DNR-certified listed-species plant surveyor for all of Minnesota's ecological provinces and Botrychium surveys. At MNR a total of 5 team members have now completed these exams and can be found on the DNR-certified plant surveyor list. Congratulations! Keep up the great work! #celebrate #threatenedandendagered #ecology #botany #minnesota #mnlistedspecies #certifiedsurveyors #certification #professionaldevelopment #enviromentalconsulting #expertise #surveying

T&E Tuesday is here again and today we will discuss the ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), one of only three members of the Aspleniaceae family found in Minnesota. Asplenium platyneuron is a small fern that grows from creeping rhizomes with fibrous roots in small tufts. Its leaf blades are one-pinnated and made up of 10-40 leaflets on a shiny deep reddish brown to black rachis. At the attachment point of each leaflet, there is an earlobe-like structure known as a basal auricle. Key traits for identifying this fern include the dark color of the rachis and the overlapping basal auricles. Because this fern is an evergreen species, it can be detected and identified at any point in the year when it’s not covered by snow. Ebony spleenwort can be found throughout the Eastern United States and across the southern Great Plains, with the western-most populations in Arizona and Colorado. In Minnesota, its range is limited to the Paleozoic Plateau ecological section of the Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province in the state's southeastern corner. Here, it grows directly on rock and terrestrially, which is unique from its other genus members, in dry to mesic forests with loamy, sandy, and/or rocky soils. It is typically found in systems undergoing a dynamic change in their ecological processes, whether natural or human disturbance related. Ebony spleenwort is currently listed as a species of special concern and has held this status since 1996 due to its rarity and small size of known populations. #ebonyspleenwort #asplenium #aspleniaceae #mesichardwood #forest #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting

The holiday season is here, and in its excitement, today's T&E Tuesday will discuss the Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), which early New England settlers once used as part of their holiday décor. This large leathery fern typically grows in a rhizomatous asymmetrical cluster. The arching fronds are 1-pinnately compound with 20-40 pinna, oblong-lanceolate in their overall shape, and can reach approximately 2 feet long. The pinnae are leathery in texture and dark green on the upper side. The underside is paler and covered in orange hair-like scales and spore-bearing structures when fertile. The rachis of the fronds are also covered in orange hair-like scales. This fern sets spores between July and September. Because of the evergreen manner of Christmas fern, it can be observed at any time of the year when not covered by snow. Key identifying traits to be aware of are the hair-like scales, its overall size, and the groups of spores that cover nearly the entire underside of each fertile pinna. This festive fern reaches the furthest portion of its northwestern range in southeastern Minnesota but is more common in the eastern half of the United States. Christmas fern prefers mesic hardwood forest with well-drained rocky soils of north and east-facing slopes within the southeast corner of Minnesota. Due to the species' overall rarity and extensive botanical surveys resulting in no new populations over the years, the Christmas fern was listed as endangered in 2013 #chirstmasfern #hollyfern #Dryopteridaceae #mesichardwood #forest #holiday #festive #decor #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting

November: Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) This month’s T&E Tuesday will focus on black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), a member of the heath family (Ericaceae). Black huckleberry is a low-to-midsize shrub with smooth gray bark and dark purple hues within the cracks of the bark. It can form large, dense thickets due to its growth through rhizomes. Its leaves are elliptical with smooth margins and distinctly covered in yellow resinous dots on both the upper and lower surfaces. The pinkish-red urn-shaped flowers are present from mid-May through mid-June, emerge from the axils of the leaves, and are covered with gland-tipped [OG1]?hairs. The fruits consist of black berries and?contain multiple hard nutlets. Though this species can be observed throughout the year, the best time to search for and identify this shrub is during its fruiting period, from July through mid-September to ensure all diagnostic traits are present. Black huckleberry looks very similar to blueberry species (Vaccinium spp.), which it cooccurs. However, the resinous dots on the leaf surfaces and hard nutlets of the berries are vital characteristics to distinguish between the two. Black huckleberry reaches the western limit of its range in Minnesota, where it only occurs in the easternmost counties of the state. In Minnesota, black huckleberry prefers fire-dependent forests with well-drained sandy, acidic soils in full to partially-shaded conditions. It can be found in both the Laurentian Mixed Forest and Eastern Broadleaf Forest provinces. Due to fire suppression?and urban/suburban development, the habitat of black huckleberry has become increasingly limited. Because of this, the species was listed as a Threatened species by the Minnesota DNR in 2013. #blackhuckleberry #ericaceae #firedependent #forest #edible #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting

Fall is officially here and many of us are heading out to catch those last sightings before the field season comes to an end. For today’s T&E Tuesday we will focus on a unique and rather fascinating plant to search for, edible valerian (Valeriana edulis var. ciliata). Edible valerian is a stout perennial forb with thick, succulent-like leaves. The panicle inflorescence has whitish cream-colored flowers with 5 fused petals and feather-like sepals that unfurl at the time of fruit maturity. The leaves are parallel-veined with margins that are distinctly lined with dense white hairs which give the appearance of silver edging. This trait, along with the yellow-colored taproot, can be used to confirm the correct identification of this valerian, though plants should not be uprooted without proper permits. It is best to search for this charismatic plant when it is in bloom or fruiting from May through early September, however, its vegetative structure can persist through October. This species is split into two varieties: var. edulis is found in the mountains of western North America and var. ciliata is found in prairies or prairie-like habitats around the Great Lakes. The taxon represented in Minnesota is var. ciliata. This species grows in the moist, sunny, calcareous soils of wet prairies, calcareous fens, and wet meadows in the Eastern Broadleaf Forest ecological province of Minnesota. Intriguingly, it also occurs on moist ledges of north-facing hillsides in the Blufflands subsection of the state. Due to the destruction of its prairie habitat, which has fragmented suitable habitats within the state, edible valerian was listed as threatened in 1984. #ediblevalerian #valerian #valerianoideae #caprifoliaceae #fens #prairies #edible #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting

It is September meaning many of our prairie systems are in full bloom. For this month’s T&E Tuesday we will focus on Pleated Gentian (Gentiana affinis var. affinis) for all our folks out enjoying the blooms! Pleated gentian is a perennial that can reach nearly 1 ft in height. Its leaves are opposite, sessile (starting at the stalk), with fine scabrous margins and an oblong to ovate shape. The best time of the year to search for this gentian is while it’s in bloom, which starts in August and continues through September. The vibrant blue inflorescence consists of 5 petals fused for most of their length, creating a tube with the upper portion of the petals free and flaring outwards with conspicuous folding/pleating between them. When searching for this remarkable gentian, there are a few defining characteristics to key into such as the flower's pale blue to bright blue coloration, the spotted interior of the petals, and the habitat itself. Getiana affinis var. affinis seems to have highly specific habitat requirements as it occurs only in remanent saline moist to wet prairies in the Aspen Parklands and Prairie Parklands ecological regions in northwestern Minnesota. Because of this restricted range and the general lack of records of this species in the state, pleated gentian was listed as special concern in 1984. #pleatedgentain #gentianales #gentianaceae #wetprairie #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting **Photo credit: Otto Gockman**

T&E Tuesday is back with one of our favorite MN-listed plants to find while in the field, the Laurentian grape-fern (Sceptridium rugulosum). The Laurentian grape-fern has an evergreen leaf blade that remains green throughout the year. The sporophore emerges in August and senesces mid-October. This particular grape-fern can leave many botanists perplexed due to its tendency to occur alongside its common relatives cutleaf grape-fern (Sceptridium dissectum) and leathery grape-fern (Sceptridium. multifidum). To differentiate between them, one will need to look closely at the terminal pinna and the individual pinnules. The Laurentian grape-fern does not have the long undivided terminal pinna tip like the cutleaf grape-fern. Additionally, the pinnules are smaller than those of the cutleft grape-fern. In comparison to leathery grape-fern, the pinnules of Laurentian grape-fern pinnules have strongly sharp-cornered edges with many fine wrinkles creating a rough, rugulose, texture in comparison to the leathery grape-fern pinnules have rounded and smooth edging. The Laurentian grape-fern occurs in sandy loam soils of grassy openings often in fire-dependent forest systems. It mainly occurs within Minnesota's Laurentian mixed forest ecological province but has also been found in the Eastern broadleaf forest. In 2013 the Laurentian grape-fern was listed as a state special concern species due to the vulnerability of its distinct habitat requirements. #laurentiangrapefern #sceptridium #grapeferns #ophioglossaceae #evergreen #threatenedandendagered #minnesota #rareplants #surveying #plantidentification #expertise #botany #ecology #enviromentalconsulting