Forest assisted migration aims to keep Minnesota forested in a changing climate

Climate change has many animals and insects seeking new habitats, pushing them to migrate to new locations as ecosystems change. Plants experience this migration, as well, but with one key difference. It happens much slower.

The extremely slow pace of tree migration, especially compared to the rate of change that climate scientists have documented, was the impetus for an effort through the University of Minnesota Extension: the Forest Assisted Migration Project (FAMP). The project is based on research that predicts that within the next 50 years, the forests of Northeastern Minnesota could be replaced with grasslands, as native trees fail to thrive in a warming climate.

Farm and Forest Growers Cooperative Co-Chair Stefan Meyer told WTIP that in an effort to maintain the forest ecosystem, growers across the state, but especially in the Northeast, have been enlisted to help grow trees that are better adapted to warmer climates. According to Meyer, the project is focusing first and foremost on tree species that are already present in Northeast Minnesota. He said that bringing seeds of those species from other parts of the state further north is a way to preserve northern forests. He explained that the trees thriving further south have better genetic adaptations for a warmer climate, as well as the pests that may come with it, and that planting seedlings from the southern populations in the northeast brings those adaptations into the northern forests.

Meyer said that the Farm and Forest Growers Cooperative is just one part of the FAMP effort to get those seeds started. His group works with several state organizations to collect seeds, get them started, and to distribute the seedlings in forested areas. He said that the estimate for how many trees will be needed in order to help forests stay apace with climate change is in the billions. Because of that, his group is also looking to grow. He said that the best place for interested individuals to start is to reach out through the organizations’s website.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Farm and Forest Growers Cooperative Co-Chair Stefan Meyer about the Forest Assisted Migration Project that his organization is part of. Audio from that interview is below.

Sydney Trimble (left), David Abazs (center) and Liv Jascor (right). Abazs is the Executive Director of the Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships through the UMN Extension. Trimble and Jascor are Climate Corps seed collectors working on the project. (photo courtesy of David Abazs)

Kirsten Wisniewski July 25, 2024