Guardians of the North Woods: New research initiatives explore the future of Minnesota’s wilderness

The Quetico-Superior border region — a vast, watery expanse of towering pines and boreal beauty — is more than just a crown jewel of Minnesota’s landscape. It is a living laboratory.

Recently, the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) took a significant step in ensuring this region remains resilient for generations to come. Through the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center (HWRC), the college has awarded funding to four innovative research projects via a competitive request for proposals process.

According to HWRC Director of Operations Kyle Gill, this new process represents a milestone in how CFANS stewards the F.B. Hubachek research endowment — a permanent fund specifically earmarked to support research and education at the HWRC. It ensures that the University has the long-term resources needed to study how to protect northern forest health, wilderness values, and the vibrant ecological communities of the North Woods.

"Our goal was to create a transparent, formal process that aligns perfectly with the vision for these funds," Gill says. "We are putting this endowment to work by funding research that explores, protects, and perpetuates the character and ecological health and wellness of our northern forests."

Science in the soil and from the sky 

The four selected projects represent a range of ecological expertise, spanning fire science, soil health, wildlife engineering, and climate adaptation.

1 & 2. Decoding forest and soil rejuvenation following the Pagami Creek Fire

Marcella Windmuller-Campione, PhD and Danielle Ignace, PhD, both from CFANS, are heading back to the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire burn area. The fire burned through nearly 100,000 acres of forests, most of which rely on fire as part of their ecological community life cycle. Windmuller-Campione’s team will focus on understanding forest response and change in composition over the last 15 years to better understand the level of forest resiliency and to help predict future wildfire risks. Ignace will look beneath the surface to investigate "soil health" — specifically how well the ground is sequestering carbon and nutrients after such a massive disturbance. Both of these projects are building off of studies conducted by United States Forest Service research teams shortly after the fire stopped burning.

3. A stress test for the boreal forest

Rebecca Montgomery, PhD and Peter Reich, PhD, both from CFANS, are continuing the long-term B4WarmED (Boreal Forest Warming at an Ecotone in Danger) experiment. Research sites are located at the Cloquet Forestry Center and the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center. For 18 years, this project has used heat lamps, warming cables and rain covers to simulate the climate of the future. This next phase will expand to include the study of young birch trees grown from seed collected in southern and central Minnesota and berry-producing shrubs.

4. Beavers: the wilderness engineers

Emily Fairfax, PhD, from the St. Anthony Falls Lab and the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, is exploring a fascinating, often overlooked relationship: the link between beavers, wetlands, forests, and wildfires. Past work in other regions has suggested that beaver wetlands may act as natural firebreaks, providing wildfire resistant areas of protection for plants and animals. They will be investigating if these relationships hold true in our climate-change and land-use change impacted border lakes region. In addition to the research, her team plans to create a field guidebook for wilderness users showcasing locations they could visit to experience the interaction of beavers, disturbances, and ecological resilience.
 

Stewardship and accountability 

Beyond the science itself, the new request for proposal process ensures that every dollar is being spent with maximum impact.

"It’s about responsible stewardship," Gill notes. The process includes returning to a rigorous annual reporting procedure and a new Research Symposium, where scientists will present their findings to the HWRC financial oversight committee. This collaborative environment is designed to foster new partnerships between departments — from Forest Resources to Geography — ensuring that the Hubachek funds act as a catalyst for multi-disciplinary discovery.

By formalizing how these endowment funds are distributed, CFANS is not just funding individual studies; it is building a comprehensive framework for wilderness conservation. As the climate changes and the frequency of wildfire increases, the work being done today at the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center will provide the roadmap for the stewards of tomorrow.