Vanishing North
An occasional series in the Star Tribune documenting the biodiversity crisis and the people struggling to head off extinction for Minnesota's most vulnerable animals and plants.
January 12, 2023 at 3:56PM
![The states northern forests are under stress, this is a stand of Spruce (green) and Tamarack (Bright yellow in fall) in the Cloquet Valley State Forest. ] The state's forests are hitting a perfect storm of bad fortune and long term change, creating a tinder box set to cause major fires this year. The burgeoning drought is coming with high temperatures after a rather weak winter with little snowfall. Spruce killing beetles are in the midst of a years-long bloom. Northern paper mills have shut down, leaving a plethora of dead and dying trees with no place to go. The emerald ash borer is spreading, killing off tens of thousands of ash. The eastern larch beetle is killing off the vast majority of the state's tamarack trees. With no water and higher spring temperatures, most trees are struggling to fight off pests of all sorts. There is a great deal of fuel out there..](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/KCH4H3LLO2P44NRB2ODTC52TJQ.jpg?&w=1080)
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