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The North Shore Forest Collaborative seeks to revitalize and maintain a healthy and functioning ecosystem along Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior with emphasis on restoring and maintaining native trees and associated forest communities.

NORTH SHORE FOREST COLLABORATIVE

Photo credit: Ryan Pennesi

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Photo credit: Ryan Pennesi

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NORTH SHORE FOREST COLLABORATIVE - BACKGROUND

  • Formed in 2011
  • Lakeshore to ~3 miles inland
  • Partners include:
    • Local, federal, & tribal agencies
    • Nonprofits
    • Landowners
    • Local businesses

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NSFC Goals

  • Support partnering agencies and landowners
    • Facilitate partner meetings
    • Share partners’ successes
  • Restore coastal forest along North Shore
    • Long-lived (climax) species
    • Conifers
    • Future & climate change
  • Provide education on restoration
    • Why it is needed
    • What are appropriate & reasonable restoration actions

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NSFC Accomplishments

- 16+ landowner workshops

- 200 Facebook members

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- 403,063 trees planted through NSFC

- 500 participants in mailing list

- 12,000 + acres public land

- $6,079,990 successful grant support

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Programs for Landowners

  • Annual Fencing Program
  • NSFC Woods Walk Advisory Program
  • Educational Materials
  • Workshops from partners
  • Neighbor to Neighbor

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NSFC Fencing Program

Weekes Family Foundation

  • Provide discount fencing
  • Prevent deer browse
  • Increase seedling survival
  • Focus on coastal forest ecosystems
  • Landowners within NSFC boundary
  • Protect trees after spruce budworm mitigation, etc

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NSFC Fencing Program

Weekes Family Foundation

8 years : 2016 - 2023

465 participants

3,531 rolls of fencing

17,655 trees

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  • 1,400 FREE site visits
  • 1 hour
  • 2024 – 2025 field seasons

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NSFC Woods Walk Advisory Program

  • One plant community on property
  • Data collection
  • Identify needs/lack of resources

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  • Answer landowners’ questions about:
    • Site specifications
    • Suitable species
    • Landowners’ goals/objectives for site

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NSFC Woods Walk Advisory Program

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  • Connect landowners with resources
    • Educational materials
    • Partnering agencies who offer additional programs
    • Where to get planting materials

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Advisor Questions/Notes:

  • What is unique about your property?
  • What are your hopes/goals for your property?
  • Species present on property

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NSFC Woods Walk Advisory Program

  • Any invasives present
  • What is the habitat/forest ecosystem present?
  • What are some ways of improving this ecosystem and meeting the goals of landowner?

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Advisor Recommendations:

  • List of appropriate species to plant
  • Mitigation actions
    • Invasive species
    • Spruce budworm
    • Emerald ash borer

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NSFC Woods Walk Advisory Program

    • Tree planting instruction & care
    • Climate change considerations
  • List of resources
    • Foresters
    • Invasives removal teams
    • Contractors

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Educational Materials

  • Land History

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  • Tree species guidance
    • Growing, planting, protection
    • Plant communities
    • Climate change
    • Recommended species

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  • Invasive species ID & treatment options

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Educational Materials

  • List of local resources
    • Tree & shrub sales
    • Local Foresters
    • Contractors

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  • Workshops from partners
    • Woodland stewards
    • Spruce budworm
    • Climate change

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  • Land conservation options

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THANK YOU

Northshoreforest.org

Photo credit: Ryan Pennesi