Minnesota Native Plant Society

Peat Keepers: Healing Minnesota’s Carbon-Rich Landscapes
2026-03-12 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | MN
The recorded video is available on the Videos page.
Presenter: Meredith Cornett – MNDNR Peatland Resilience Project Planner
Program: Peat Keepers: Healing Minnesota’s Carbon-Rich Landscapes
Description: With more peatlands than any other state in the US outside Alaska, Minnesota has a role to play in sustaining and restoring peatlands as part of a multifaceted climate mitigation strategy. The state’s Climate Action Framework recognizes the power of peatlands, naming the restoration of partially drained peatlands as an important strategy for climate mitigation. The 2023 Minnesota Legislature created the MNDNR’s Peatland Protection and Restoration Demonstration Project as a first step toward implementing the Climate Action Framework’s peatland strategy. We will dive into peatland restoration work being planned for the DNR’s Winter Road Lake Peatland Scientific and Natural Area in Lake of the Woods County, including our approach to monitoring pre-restoration conditions for vegetation, hydrology and greenhouse gases. For more information about the project: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wetlands/peatland-resilience-initiative.html
Biography: Meredith Cornett is the Peatland Resilience Project Planner at Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR), a role she has held since January 2024. She has come full circle in returning to the DNR, where she began her professional career in conservation as a Community Forest Ecologist in the Twin Cities Metro Area. For nearly two decades, Meredith served as Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Over the years, she has also enjoyed working with students and faculty at the University of Minnesota through an adjunct appointment in the Conservation Sciences Graduate Program. She lives with her family in Fredenberg Township, where they harvest sunlight, tend beehives, protect pine seedlings from deer browsing, and coexist with human and other neighbors.

The Evolution of Wetland Seed Mixes, Revegetation and Management
2026-04-02 19:00 - 20:30
The recorded presentation is available on the Video page.
Presenter: Dan Shaw – Sr. Ecologist & Vegetation Specialist, MN Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)
Program: The Evolution of Wetland Seed Mixes, Revegetation and Management
Description: Minnesota’s wetland plant communities are changing due to climate change, development, increased nutrients, and invasive species. These impacts are contributing to declining pollinator, bird, and other wildlife populations, and decreasing wetland functions. Fortunately, the conservation community in Minnesota has been actively addressing challenges and pursuing new strategies for restoring and managing wetlands and other aquatic systems. This presentation will cover emerging methods for seed mix design, site preparation, seeding, and wetland management; and we’ll discuss future challenges for wetlands and needs for further study and innovation.
Biography: Dan Shaw is the Senior Ecologist and Vegetation Specialist with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Over the last 30 years his work has focused on plant community restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation, rare species protection, invasive species control and building conservation partnerships. He has also taught ecological design and restoration classes at the University of Minnesota for the past 25 years and authored or co-authored several books on native plants and restoration.
