Citizen Science

Providing citizen science opportunities to engage the variety of users on site at BLELC is a significant piece of our overall outreach. We strive to create opportunities for school groups, recreationalists, adult learners, and local organizations to practice citizen science.

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Biodiversity

Help us expand our knowledge of the biodiversity that can be found within the Boulder Lake Management Area.

We collect data using the iNaturalist project

Worm Watch and the Worm Rangers

Phenology Trail

Northwoods Vernal Pool Project

Come learn about the amazing organisms that call vernal pools home. 

Wood Ducks Nest Watch

Help to document the presence and fledgling success of Wood ducks on Boulder Lake 

Owl Surveys

Minnesota Bee Atlas

Boulder Lake ELC is partnering with the Minnesota Bee Atlas and has a bee box at the center that we will be monitoring.

Past Research

Fungal Inventory

Conducted throughout 18,000 acres - led by Gene Kremer: 2011-Present
If you would like to go on fungal inventory hikes with Gene please email boulder@d.umn.edu

Current fungal inventory results

2013 Fungal Inventory brochure - pdf

Insect Surveys

Conducted throughout 18,000 acres by UMD Entomology Students throughout the course of the year - 2012

Transect Map
Sampling Protocol
Butterfly Survey Results
Carabidae Survey Results
Moth Survey Results
Odonata Survey Results

Effectiveness of a Systemic Deer repellent on White Pine Deer Browse in the Lake Superior Watershed

In the fall of 2013 NRRI partnered with the Duluth East School Forest Program and Boulder Lake ELC on a long term monitoring project that will look at the effectiveness of Repellex (systemic repellent) in the prevention of deer browse on White Pine seedling regeneration.  

30X100 Meter Deer Exclosure is also available for research

Breeding Bird Large Plot Monitoring

Boulder Lake Management Area was one of nine study plots located across northern Minnesota studied by Natural Resource Research Institute researchers. The study plots are one square mile in area and are located on a variety of land ownerships including federal, state, county, industry and private. The large plots were chosen to represent the various forest management agencies that exist in northern Minnesota. These intensive study plots were sampled as part of an intensive study on breeding productivity and habitat and landscape use of breeding forest birds, which complements NRRI's ongoing Forest Bird Monitoring Program on western Great Lakes national forests. (Duration: 1992 - 2003)