Ecological Land Stewardship

Bridging nature and urbanization

When looking at land stewardship, private and public land must be distinguished in how we define sustainability.

For public land (public domain and government owned), environmental consciousness is nothing new in Bloomington. Early efforts preserved one-third of the community as parks and open space. In so doing, important, often fragile, rivers, bluffs, lakes, ponds and wetlands were protected from development.

However, because of today’s urbanization, the natural resource integrity of the River Valley has been on the decline. Bloomington is moving forward with its Natural and Cultural Resources Management Plan in effort to preserve its natural resources by increasing the biodiversity of species and managing tree thinning projects.

In addition, Bloomington recently approved changes to the City code mowing requirements to allow licensed goats for prescribed grazing. Later this year, the City plans to be using goats as an alternative to herbicides or burning.

If you want to support public land stewardship, consider this simple act:  

The City's history of good stewardship for public lands has provided a foundation of leadership in sustainability. However, in order for everyone to see a greener tomorrow, maintaining private land (non-governmental land for one's exclusive use) must be a public endeavor.

How you can help

Control buckthorn and/or garlic mustard 
Invasive species like buckthorn and garlic mustard take over natural communities unless we intervene. They outcompete our diverse native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, simplifying natural communities to few weedy species and making them more vulnerable to collapse. 

Learn more at the MN Department of Natural Resources website.

Plant a tree in your yard 
Trees exhale oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas that leads to climate change. Climate change stresses out trees, leading to slow growth, disease, or even death. If there were no trees we would suffocate. We can help the forest adapt to climate change by planting trees that survive in our new climate. 

Learn more at the MN Department of Natural Resources website.

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