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Revitalizing North Shore Forest Health

Our Mission

The North Shore Forest Collaborative seeks to revitalize and maintain a healthy and functioning ecosystem along Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior with emphasis on restoring and maintaining native trees and associated forest communities.

We Are a Shared Stewardship Effort

The NSFC was formed in 2011 as an association of agencies, environmental organizations and private landowners that share a common vision for forest landscape stewardship on MN’s Lake Superior North Shore across all land ownerships. 

We collaboratively restore the coastal forest landscape across all-land ownerships on Lake Superior’s North Shore in Minnesota.

What Are The Issues?

Historic logging, wildfires, disease, invasive plant species, and deer browsing have greatly weakened the ecological health of Minnesota’s North Shore coastal forest and waters. We are very focused on sustainably planting and tending native trees and plant species with the help of all landowners on the North Shore.

Planning Area

The project area for restoration treatment is defined as the coastal forest of Lake Superior along a narrow band of the Lake Superior shore to approximately 3.5 miles inland, generally following ecological boundaries. 

The area extends from the Lake County Line near Knife River, MN to the Canadian border, a distance of approximately 140 miles and encompasses approximately 270,000 acres or 422 square miles.

Benefits

  • Promotes Awareness & Engagement in Ecological Forest Restoration and Resiliency: to improve forest health and water quality; protect recreation and aesthetics; reduce invasive species impacts; and address effects of climate change. 
  • Secures Financial Support for Shared-Stewardship Forest Restoration Projects
  • Grows Landscape Scope: to treat more acreage in support of common goals. 
  • Shares Technical Data: to strengthen data/information and improve efficiencies
  • Supports Common Plan Goals: drawn from existing plans, such as:
  • Develops Stand-Level Tools/Guidance: to support natural resource professionals who work in the North Shore Coastal landscape’s complex soils.

Our Goals

Goal 1: RESTORATION: Reestablish and Maintain a Diverse and Thriving Forest Along the North Shore of Lake Superior

Goal 2: COLLABORATION: Promote cooperative restoration efforts on all ownerships.

Goal 3: EDUCATION: Share expertise and knowledge about restoration.