In This Issue
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is pleased to release a summary highlighting several significant agency accomplishments from 2025 (https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/minnesota-dnr-2025-accomplishments.pdf). Each of the featured accomplishments helped advance the DNR’s mission of working with Minnesotans to conserve and manage the state’s natural resources, provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.
“I’m honored to celebrate the stewardship and innovation at Minnesota DNR that improved public lands and waters and the experiences of Minnesotans in 2025,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said. “These accomplishments reflect Minnesota’s commitment to conservation and sustainability that ensures access to public land, clean water, healthy habitat, safe outdoors experiences and economic benefits.”
In 2025, the DNR:
- Closed on its largest land acquisition in recent history, protecting nearly 16,000 aces of wildlife habitat, water, and working forests, and increasing recreation opportunities.
- Completed a four-year, $10 million project to restore and transform Perch Lake in the St. Louis River estuary.
- Implemented Get Out MORE (Modernize Outdoor Recreation Experiences) projects to increase access to outdoor spaces, modernize camping infrastructure and experiences, upgrade public water access sites, improve fish hatcheries and fishing opportunities, and restore streams.
- Completed the installation of the Ecological Monitoring Network to detect ecological changes within wetlands, prairies and forests in response to stressors such as climate change, invasive species, loss of pollinators, and changes in how we use our land and water resources.
- Opened applications for a historic $11 million in grants to help communities plant, maintain and protect trees across the state.
- Protected life, property and natural resources through emergency response and recovery operations across Minnesota, including the major windstorm affecting four counties in northern Minnesota and three large fires in St. Louis County.
Some other accomplishments included: finalizing Minnesota’s Wildlife Action Plan for 2025 to 2035, completing the last of seven new master plans for Minnesota’s largest Wildlife Management Areas, and reducing watercraft-related fatalities to historic lows.
“We’re proud of the many ways our work intersects with the lives of Minnesotans and are grateful for the opportunity to do this work,” Commissioner Sarah Strommen said.
While not an exhaustive list, this year’s overview reflects the scope and importance of the work the DNR does for Minnesotans. A summary of these accomplishments, categorized under the goals outlined in the DNR’s Conservation Agenda, (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/conservationagenda/index.html) is available on the DNR website (https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/minnesota-dnr-2025-accomplishments.pdf). The four goals that drive the DNR’s work are:
- Natural resources conservation
- Outdoor recreation
- Natural resources economy
- Operational excellence
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On Thursday, Jan. 1, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is hosting First Day Hike events at 12 state parks in support of a nationwide effort to connect people to the outdoors. As part of the First Day Hikes initiative led by America’s State Parks, a national organization, hikers in all 50 states will welcome the new year with an outdoor hike, exercising and connecting with nature.
The DNR’s First Day Hikes will be held at:
- Blue Mounds State Park, Luverne
- Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, Preston
- Fort Snelling State Park, St. Paul
- Jay Cooke State Park, Carlton
- Lake Bemidji State Park, Bemidji
- Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, Soudan
- Maplewood State Park, Pelican Rapids
- Minneopa State Park, Mankato
- Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, Nerstrand
- Tettegouche State Park, Silver Bay
- Whitewater State Park, Altura
- William O’Brien State Park, Marine on St. Croix
Participants may snowshoe if the ground has enough snow cover. They can bring their own snowshoes or borrow a set from the state park (if available) at no charge.
Interested members of the media and public can find more details about individual hikes on the DNR’s First Day Hikes webpage (mndnr.gov/firstdayhike).
There is no participation fee for First Day Hikes, but visitors need a vehicle permit ($7 per day or $35 for a year) to enter Minnesota state parks and recreation areas. Visitors can save time and purchase permits in advance on the DNR’s permit webpage (mndnr.gov/permit) or buy a permit in person during open hours at a state park ranger station.
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As Minnesotans settle into the winter season, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding landowners who harvest or buy firewood for heating to take the following steps to protect their homes, woods and selves.
Avoid moving firewood
The DNR urges landowners who harvest their own firewood to burn it close to where it is cut. Similarly, the agency reminds people who buy firewood to find locally sourced wood. With insects dormant in winter, cutting firewood during cold months and minimizing the distance cut firewood travels reduces the risk of spreading diseases and fungi. Once the weather warms up and insects become active, unused firewood can spread invasive insects and diseases such as emerald ash borer and oak wilt.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has established pest quarantines in some areas that restrict the movement of firewood. Only firewood that has been processed or heat-treated and is MDA-certified can be moved out of quarantine areas. Moving untreated firewood out of quarantine boundaries can result in fines. More information is available on the MDA website (mda.state.mn.us).
Store wood safely to prevent fire
Sparks, embers or a stray grassfire can ignite firewood quickly. Proper firewood storage is an important step Minnesotans can take to prevent wildfires and protect homes.
- Store only the firewood needed for the season at least 30 feet from a home or other structures.
- Avoid stacking firewood directly against buildings, which can create a direct path for fire to spread.
- Clear leaves, needles and dry vegetation from around stacked or piled firewood to reduce fuel sources.
Maintaining defensible space around homes and outbuildings is especially important during warm or dry winter periods when snow cover is limited. For more tips on how to keep homes and properties safe from fire, visit the DNR’s Firewise webpage (mndnr.gov/firewise).
By following smart firewood practices, Minnesotans can stay warm while protecting homes from fire and woodlands from invasive species.
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