Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

Environmental News

MPR News is your source for environment news from Minnesota and across the country.

Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future

Getting to Green is an MPR News series that shares stories about Minnesota’s clean energy transition, including what needs to be done to get there.

Submit a question or story for Getting to Green here.

Climate Cast

Listen to Climate Cast, the MPR News podcast all about our changing climate and its impact in Minnesota and worldwide.

Why are Minn. moose dying? Answer sought in Voyageurs Park

Why are Minn. moose dying? Answer sought in Voyageurs Park

Researchers have attached GPS collars to moose in Voyageurs National Park in an effort to help determine why so many are dying in the region. The study focuses on how climate change affects moose behavior and how moose use habitat to avoid warm temperatures.
by Tom Robertson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Photos: Tracking Minn. moose, from the air

Photos: Tracking Minn. moose, from the air

Nearly every week, ranger pilot Steve Mazur flies a small, two-seater plane over the forests of Voyageurs National Park. His mission: to help biologists keep tabs on about 50 moose that live in and around the park.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Plant fanatics climb up trees hunting for 'witch's brooms'

Plant fanatics climb up trees hunting for 'witch's brooms'

Now about brooms -- witch's brooms, to be exact. Small, tightly woven masses of branches that can appear high up in pine trees across northern Minnesota. These "brooms" are actually the genetic source of a lot of the landscape plants and shrubs sold at nurseries. They're not often easy to retrieve.
by Dan Kraker

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Walleye and old wounds (5×8 – 1/29/13)

Walleye and old wounds (5×8 – 1/29/13)

The Mille Lacs debate flares anew, the NPR game, remembering the astronaut, who's responsible for LeRoy Hoard's problems, and the ice boat capital in Minnesota.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Minn. angler accused of exceeding limit

A Minnesota fisherman is accused of catching hundreds of fish over the legal limit.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Walleye quotas for Mille Lacs to be slashed

Walleye quotas for Mille Lacs to be slashed

State and tribal officials have agreed to slash the maximum walleye harvest from one of Minnesota's most popular fisheries, Mille Lacs Lake, by half this year.
by Steve Karnowski, Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Unwanted urban trees become retail gold at Mpls. wood shop

Unwanted urban trees become retail gold at Mpls. wood shop

When crews must cut down trees after an infestation, the wood is normally chipped up and burned. But some are being salvaged and reused along with many other unwanted urban trees at Wood from the Hood in Minneapolis, another outpost in the trend toward all things local.
by Matt Sepic

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Dead birch trees tell story of drastic change on North Shore

Dead birch trees tell story of drastic change on North Shore

Anyone who has driven along the North Shore of Lake Superior recently has likely noticed huge stands of dead birch trees. In recent years, several factors, including hungry deer, drought, development and thin, rocky soil, have drastically changed the forest in one of Minnesota's most popular and scenic areas.
by Dan Kraker

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

DNR plans regional event on invasive species

The Department of Natural Resources will meet with local officials in northwest Minnesota this week to share information about managing aquatic invasive species.
by Dan Gunderson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!