News & Stories

Members of the Board of Regents stand around a young pine sapling, listening to Kyle Gill speak about forestry research at CFC.

Members of the Board of Regents visit U of M research and outreach sites in northeast Minnesota

October 30, 2024

On October 21 and 22, Board of Regents Chair Janie Mayeron and Regents Mike Kenyanya, James Farnsworth, and Tadd Johnson visited several University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Centers in northeast Minnesota to get a better sense of the U of M’s presence and programming in the region.

A stylistic close-up image of fire burning up forest floor litter and duff. Most of the photo is dark with some illuminated by the fire.

Step inside a prescribed burn at the Cloquet Forestry Center

November 5, 2024

CFC staff rely on working relationships with the Land and fire stewards from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and The Nature Conservancy to conduct prescribed burns, as part of a shared effort to return fire-maintained conditions to portions of the CFC land base.

Three individuals walk along a forest road. White lettering states the title of the video and the course.

Crashing the Classroom: Introductory Cloquet Field Session

October 24, 2024

The Introductory Cloquet Field Session takes place every August at the Cloquet Forestry Center. This field session comprises three courses over three weeks: FNRM 2101 — Identifying Forest Plants, FNRM 2102 — Northern Forests Field Ecology, and FNRM 2104 — Measuring Forest Resources.

One student said, "This is a class where students get to be fully immersed in the forest."

Kyle Gill kneels at the edge of a cliff holding his dog Arlo. In the background, a landscape of pines and lakes is seen past the cliff drop.

Meet the Director - Kyle Gill

August 2, 2024

Read more to learn about the new Director of Operations & Forest Stewardship for the Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC) and Hubachek Wilderness Research Center (HWRC). Kyle Gill started in this role in April of 2024. Prior to this, Kyle served as the Forest Manager and Research Coordinator for the UMN Experimental Forests since 2015.

Andrew David, wearing a white button-up shirt and jeans, shades his eyes against the sun as he looks up at a stand of old trees. He is standing near a younger (and shorter) stand.

Legacy Q&A with Andy David

April 10, 2024

Join us in congratulating Andy David, current Director of Operations for the Cloquet Forestry Center and Hubachek Wilderness Research Center, on his upcoming retirement. Read more to find out what Andy is looking forward to in his retirement, and the things he will miss most from his time with the U of M.

Cloquet Fire of 1918: Could it Happen Again

August 17, 2023

Lane Johnson, Research Forester with the UMN Cloquet Forestry Center explains to Fox 21 Local News that fire can be beneficial when done as a prescribed burn.

Questions about CFC Land

February 6, 2023

The linked publication speaks about the University of Minnesota intentions for the Cloquet Forestry Center land transfer.

View From the Woods 2023

January 9, 2024

Check out the 2023 newsletter recap from the Cloquet Forestry Center.

Restoring fire to the Cloquet Forestry Center

November 15, 2022

Collaboration between the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U of M opens new chapter, embraces the role of Indigenous fire in shaping the Center’s forests

As they prepare for the controlled burn in Camp 8, wildland fires operations specialist Damon Panek (Fond du Lac Forestry/Fire) talks to the forestry group, which includes Kyle Gill (University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center), Scott Posner (Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Lakes Agency), Paul Priestly (Fond du Lac Forestry/Fire), and Carl Crawford (Bureau of Indian Affairs Minnesota Agency).

How Indigenous Knowledge Reconnects Us All to Fire

September 20, 2022

By elevating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, a forestry center in Minnesota works to restore ecosystems and Indigenous sovereignty.

Featured Stories

People, Fire and Pines: How Fire Use by the Anishinaabeg Shaped the Boundary Waters

In this piece, Clare Boerigter explores the false-yet-still-dominant narrative of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a wilderness “untrammeled by man,” drawing on the work and knowledge of a range of Ojibwe and non-Ojibwe experts to understand the influence of the Anishinaabeg on the forests of the Boundary Waters. The relationship between the Anishinaabeg and fire is a central part of this story. Today, however, fires historically lit by the Anishinaabeg have been removed from the Boundary Waters. When lightning fires do occur on this landscape (as they did during the summer of 2021), state and federal agencies work hard to suppress them. Ecologically, spiritually and relationally, this absence of fire has been felt across the forests of Boundary Waters. In speaking with a range of folks, including Lane Johnson (CFC Research Forester) and others with ties to the University of Minnesota, Clare investigates the questions: Are there ways to live with fire, instead of suppressing it? In what ways, by attempting to live without fire, have we harmfully impacted both land and people? And what can the Boundary Waters – a wilderness frequently defined as free of human influence – teach us about the relationships between people and fire? To explore these questions with Clare go to: z.umn.edu/PeopleFirePine.

60 Years at the Cloquet Forestry Center

In a collection of six multimedia Storymaps titled “60 Years at the Cloquet Forestry Center,” Clare Boerigter tells stories of the CFC’s work, people and life from 1960 to 2020. In the collection, Boerigter explores the pioneering work of scientists Isabel Ahlgren and Gordy Gullion, highlights the CFC field sessions, which have educated University of Minnesota forestry students for the past 96 years, and dives into Conservation Education Days, a hands-on learning program which has introduced Carlton County 5th graders to forestry since 1968. To tell these stories, Boerigter interviewed over 40 foresters, land managers, professors, students and Cloquet-area community members, including members of the Fond du Lac Band, on whose reservation the CFC resides. Throughout the collection, audio clips and historical and contemporary photos are integrated into the narratives to help tell these dynamic stories. The collection ends by looking to the future and asking CFC staff and Fond du Lac Band members to envision what changes the coming years will bring to the Cloquet Forestry Center.

The Camp 8 Story

Clare Boerigter weaves a compelling narrative about the unique ecology, history and cultural significance of a 44-acre stand of 200+ year-old red pines on the CFC. Drawing on archival and contemporary research, in-depth interviews with local foresters and community members, and video footage, images and descriptions of the stand, this multimedia article tells the story of these red pines while underscoring the powerful relationships which visitors, community members and CFC staff have developed with these ancient trees. These relationships, as well as the stand’s historical, ecological and cultural significance, are set against the backdrop of an undeniable reality: today, Camp 8’s red pines have begun to die, with fire exclusion and climate change advantaging a number of other species over a new generation of red pines.

The Camp 8 Stand was also featured in a CFANS Spotlight.

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