What's an applied research institute founded to create jobs doing studying moose in national parks and lynx in national forests?
Geri Niemi cringes a bit when he hears that question.
Niemi, who since 1988 has headed the Center for Water and the Environment at UMD's Natural Resources Research Institute, says the question misses a key point.
He reminds people about the part of the NRRI's mission statement that talks about performing research on natural resources to create jobs "in an environmentally sound manner."
"That's a common misunderstanding. We're not just about research to create jobs, at least not always directly," Niemi said. NRRI director Mike Lalich "has been very clear about that. We do what we need to do in environmental research."
That basic, in-the-field research on water quality, wildlife, birds, trees and ecosystems is creating a database of Northland environmental report cards. It's helping frame exactly where the environment is and where it's heading for future generations.
"You need to know what animals and plants need, what water quality is, how this environment works... in order to understand how you can use natural resources for economic gain and do it in an environmentally sound manner without damaging the resource," Niemi said.
FOREST RESEARCH
After 20 years of effort, Niemi points to NRRI's work on forest ecosystems and management as a key success. That research, for example, is being used as base information for the environmental review of the proposed Blandin paper mill owned by UPM Kymmene in Grand Rapids. The key issue is whether there are enough trees in Minnesota forests to handle the larger mill's increased demand.
"We have an idea of what sustainable is now for our forests. We have that base line. We're close to seeing what that limit is, how far we can go," Niemi said. Issues surrounding Minnesota's forests "are a lot less contentious than they were 15 years ago. I think we've helped with that."
Lee Pfannmuller, director of ecological services for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said NRRI research has been critical as natural resource industries such as Blandin seek permits to expand in northern Minnesota to use more natural resources.
Pfannmuller's division has to make some of those permit decisions.
NRRI has the technical expertise "on the most intact ecosystem we have in Minnesota, the northern forest," Pfannmuller said. "If you have a question on how something might affect that ecosystem, they are the ones to go to. They put the data out there so we can make informed decisions.... It may not be the decision everyone wants to see, but at least it's based on data and not speculation."
Ed Lindquist, biologist for the Superior National Forest, said having the NRRI in Duluth has been a plus for research projects funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
"Their work on the forest bird inventory, which has nearly 20 years of great data now, is an incredible value.... Their work on lynx, partnering with us, has been fantastic," Lindquist said. "Having that much expertise that close to the resource, to the field, really helps. We're lucky to have them here."
NRRI researchers are involved in cutting-edge science across broad areas, from studying the impact of carbon and global warming on peat bogs to the health of forest frogs to studying how moose eating habits affect tree growth.
NRRI researchers have won awards for work getting automated, real-time water-quality data for streams and lakes onto the Internet, allowing teachers and anyone interested in water instant access. The work helped establish the local duluthstreams.org Web page.
"Education in the traditional sense is not part of our mission," Niemi noted. "Many of our people teach... but we are not a teaching institution per se. But education is actually a big a part of what we do."
TREES AND CATS
George Host, an NRRI scientist since 1989, studies the impact of ozone on tree growth. Atmospheric ozone, an urban-generated pollution, is increasing by about 3 percent per year and almost always has a detrimental affect on trees.
"What's the loss of forest productivity as ozone increases? If we're going see to a real reduction in forest productivity, should we be expanding paper mills?" Host said. "It's a big issue that someone needs to take a serious look at. That's the kind of thing we do here.... A lot of the work is looking 50 years down the road."
Consider NRRI's groundbreaking research on Minnesota's growing population of lynx forest cats. At first blush, the effort -- which uses satellite tracking technology and which has uncovered more lynx than anyone believed lived in Minnesota -- seems to have little to do with economic development.
But look closer, NRRI researchers say, and the connection emerges more clearly. The information NRRI researchers are gathering on lynx will help form policy that affects jobs across the region.
"The U.S. Forest Service has to make critical decisions on recreation, logging, on tourism, because of animals like wolves and lynx and moose if they become a threatened species. Those decisions have a direct impact on the region's biggest industries," Niemi said. "We are providing baseline data on lynx that allows the Forest Service to make informed decisions."
For example, early indications are that lynx spend considerable time in recently clear-cut forest hunting snowshoe hares. That's good news for loggers who don't want to see land-use restrictions because of the Endangered Species Act.
But lynx also need dense stands of conifers in spring where they can hide their dens of young kittens, meaning foresters may have to work harder when planning timber sales to keep both open and cover habitat closely linked.
GRANTS GALORE
The Center for Water and the Environment has about 70 employees totaling about 50 full-time equivalent positions. The center's basic environmental research brings in a disproportionately large share of NRRI's grants.
That includes the $7.5 million NRRI scientists received to coordinate a massive Great Lakes coastal ecosystem research project in 2001 -- still the largest grant ever received by UMD.
NRRI now is among the largest research wings of the entire University of Minnesota system, Niemi said, with grants flowing in from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a host of other federal and state agencies.
"For every $1 the state spends on us, we're bringing in another nearly $6 in research grants. That's not bad," Niemi said. "If this kind of research is going to get funded, why shouldn't it be done in Duluth?"Duluth News Tribune
