University of Minnesota Wildlife Professor Dan Svedarsky was among 8 individuals recognized as  fellows at the fall annual meeting of The Wildlife Society in Snowbird, Utah.   Svedarsky is a research biologist at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC) and professor of natural resources at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

The title of fellow recognizes members of The Wildlife Society who have distinguished themselves through exception service to the wildlife profession.  Svedarsky received the Minnesota Award from the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society in 1999 and served as national president of the 9,000 member organization in 2007-08. He currently chairs the College and University Wildlife Education Working Group of The Wildlife Society which organized a symposium at the Utah meeting on educating the wildlife professional.  Svedarsky presented a paper at the symposium along with U of M, Crookston colleagues, Phil Baird and John Loegering.  Svedarsky also serves on a USDA-sponsored, Blue Ribbon Panel with 17 representatives from universities and conservation agencies in the U.S. and Canada who are reviewing the future of the wildlife profession and identifying recruitment strategies for new employees.

In his research involvements, Svedarsky and his graduate students study prairie and wetland ecology and management with one of his favorite subjects being greater prairie chickens.  Most of his studies have been conducted on the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, the largest prairie and wetland restoration project in North America located just east of Crookston. Recently, one of his graduate students studied the summer ecology of female prairie chickens at Glacial Ridge and then fall trapped radio-tagged birds for translocation to Wisconsin where numbers are dangerously low. The study was sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Svedarsky joined other Minnesotans who were honored in Utah with national awards.
 Dr. Doug Johnson, a federal biologist in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at the U of M, St. Paul, received the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award. This is the highest honor bestowed by The Wildlife Society in honor of the founder of the profession. John Moriarty, biologist with Ramsey County, (Minn.) received the Jim McDonough Award to recognize a certified wildlife biologist who has made a significant contribution to the profession by implementing wildlife programs and developing new techniques. Meadow Kouffeld, a doctoral student working with Dr. Ralph (Rocky) Gutierrez at the U of M, St. Paul, received the Donald Rusch Memorial Game Bird Research Scholarship for her work with ruffed grouse.  

The Northwest Research and Outreach Center is part of a system of research centers in different regions of Minnesota conducting research on soils, agronomy, entomology, and natural resources affiliated with the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) of the University of Minnesota. To learn more, visit http://nwroc.crk.umn.edu.

In the photo (l to r): John Moriarty; Bruce Leopold, President of The Wildlife Society; Doug Johnson; Dan Svedarsky; Meadow Kouffeld; and Rocky Gutierrez.  

Contact: Maureen Aubol, office supervisor, NWROC; 218-281-8602 (aubo0002@umn.edu); Dan Svedarsky, research biologist, NWROC, 218-281-8129, (dsvedars@umn.edu)

Hundreds of rooted poinsettia cuttings arrive in August in anticipation of another holiday season. For seven students involved in the commercial floriculture class at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, those cuttings have developed into a beautiful poinsettia crop under their skill and coaxing.

This year's poinsettias create a beautiful and colorful display including varieties such as Freedom Fireworks, Monet Twilight, Salmon Star and Orange Spice, a new exciting color.  Most greenhouses grow a large percentage of red, but the UMC students grow more of the novelty colors.

In the photo are members of the fall semester class including: back row (l to r):  Jordan Jacobson, a senior from Thief River Falls, Minn.; Brandon Pinnow, a senior from Minot, N.D.;  Mike Field a senior from Spicer and Tammy Cruz, a sophomore from Gary.  Front Row: Bethany Jenkins, a sophomore from Grand Forks, N.D.; Tammy Wroblewski, a senior from Milwaukee, Wis.; and Alisha Aasness, a sophomore from Fergus Falls, Minn.

The students started the process of forcing the plants to bloom in time for the holiday season in October. Following a specific procedure to control the light, the students covered the plants with a dark cloth at 4 p.m. and uncovered them at 8 a.m. each day to regulate the length of daylight the plants receive. The students are responsible for greenhouse chores on the weekends as well. Although the class is taught by Sue Jacobson, the crop is in the hands of the students. The work and production of the poinsettia crop is entirely the responsibility of the class.  Jacobson says "It's better to learn expensive lessons in school than at your job.  We don't fire the students."

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Department offers commercial floriculture as part of the horticulture program to teach students to produce quality plants for a specific date - a skill necessary for employment in a greenhouse or garden center. "Poinsettias form their colored "flowers" when the light is regulated," explains Jacobson. "The poinsettia really doesn't have a blossom like most flowers. Instead, the colorful red, pink, or white petals are modified leaves known as bracts. The blossoms are actually the small yellowish clusters in the center."

Jacobson often allows problems to develop to see how the students will solve them--something they would have to do in an employment situation and giving them an opportunity to apply what they have learned. The class demands hard work, dedication, and a strong team effort to grow the best poinsettias. Leadership and responsibility are two of the qualities that develop in this type of teaching and learning environment.

"Students learn so much from applying their classroom learning to real-world experience," Jacobson explains. "By taking responsibility for the crop, the students are accountable for the outcome making the commercial floriculture class one of the most memorable for the students." The class is excellent training for a career in horticulture, a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. To learn more about the horticulture program with emphases in environmental landscaping, production horticulture or urban forestry, visit www.UMCrookston.edu/academics.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 18 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,400 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Sue Jacobson, horticulture instructor, 218-281-8118 (sjacobso@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

The Collegiate Crops Judging Team from the University of Minnesota, Crookston had two second place finishes at the national crops judging contests held recently. Contests held in Kansas City, Mo., on November 16, and in Chicago, Ill., on November 20 yielded second place finishes to the team from Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Members of the team from the U of M, Crookston included: Sophomore John Plass, Tulelake, Calif.; Sophomore Andrew Gorentz, Dent, Minn.; and Senior Jon Borge, Ada, Minn, as well as alternate team member: Junior Marc Walter, Plummer, Minn.

The crops contests integrate a student's knowledge of agronomy into three categories: seed analysis, grain grading and crop and weed identification.

In Kansas City, individual finishes included a first place finish overall by Plass with first place finishes in identification and seed analysis and a third place finish in grain grading. Gorentz finished fourth overall with fifth place finish in identification, tied for fifth in seed analysis, and tied for fourth in grain grading. Borge, who placed seventh overall, finished fourth in identification, tied for fifth in seed analysis, and eighth in grain grading. Out of 5,400 possible points, the team from Crookston missed a first-place finish by only 23 points.

The team's scores improved in the Chicago contest, but the team from Kansas State University came out on top, finishing 66.2 points ahead of the team from the Crookston campus. Results from the contest in Chicago included a third place finish overall by Plass, earning a fourth in identification, fifth in seed analysis, and fourth in grain grading. Gorentz, who placed sixth overall, finished sixth in identification, second in seed analysis, and eighth in grain grading. Borge placed fourth overall, earning a ninth place in identification, third in seed analysis, and third in grain grading.

The intense preparation for the contests begins early in the fall semester. Crops teams from the Crookston campus have placed in the top three more than 25 times over their history. This year marks the first year for Rob Proulx, agronomy instructor, to serve as coach for the team.  He was also responsible for compiling the rules and regulations book used for national contests in both Chicago and Kansas City.

The Chicago contest began in 1923 and has been held every year except in 1929 and during World War II (1942-'46). The Kansas City Contest was held the first time in 1929 and has been held annually through 1941, with the exception of 1942- 46.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 18 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,400 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

In the photo (l to r): John Plass, Marc Walter, Coach Rob Proulx, Jon Borge, and Andrew Gorentz.  

Contact: : Rob Proulx, agronomy instructor, 218-281-8136 (prou0041@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)