1% for Ecosystems
The Opportunity
The current degraded state of our natural areas may seem overwhelming, but we can reverse many of these losses if we all work together to:
methodically remove buckthorn and other invasive plants to make space for native species to return
add missing species back through seeding and planting
reconnect fragmented natural areas by building an ongoing system to collect and redistribute seed
create stepping stones and habitat corridors with native plantings that let insects and other wildlife move between areas
In other words, we are the connectors—reuniting cut-off communities of native species. Many of the pieces are in place, but now we need the next step:
Focus on personnel
(Note on terminology: the Natural Resources Department exclusively manages natural areas, but not other natural features like lakes or street trees. All references to natural areas staffing refer to this department.)
Investments in natural area stewardship can take many forms—hiring more seasonal staff, engaging outside contractors, and expanding support for our strong volunteer community. Each strategy plays an essential role, and we applaud the improvements already made in these areas. But an effective system requires more than a skeleton crew of on-staff Natural Resources professionals:
The Natural Resources Department is one of the smallest departments at MPRB, with just three permanent full-time staff: one Natural Resource Supervisor and two Natural Resource Technicians. These professionals are responsible for managing nearly one-quarter of the land in the Minneapolis park system—its Natural Areas. They make up about one-half of one percent of full-time MPRB staff.
For comparison, the Ice Arenas department has three full-time Ice Resurface Drivers. This is not intended as a criticism of Ice Arenas—Minnesota is, after all, “The State of Hockey”! This comparison simply highlights that MPRB’s full-time staffing level for professional management of all of our prairies, woodlands, and wetlands is equivalent to a single job class within a single recreational program.
Dedicated, skilled, full-time personnel are the backbone of lasting impact. They don’t just initiate projects—they ensure they are implemented effectively and sustained over time. Without this continuity, even the best investments can be undone as invasive species rebound and newly established native plants fail without ongoing care.
Longtime volunteer stewards have witnessed this cycle of disappointment time and again over decades. Their experience makes one thing clear: stewardship is not a one-time effort—it is a sustained commitment that must reach a critical threshold to succeed.
Alongside volunteer stewards, permanent full-time staff build deep relationships with our ecosystems and the human communities connected to them. They carry institutional knowledge forward in work that demands careful observation, learning, leadership, and adaptation over many years.
Grants end. Budgets shift. Seasonal staff move on. But full-time staff provide continuity and staying power. They represent the gold standard of commitment to mission—and are indispensable to protecting and restoring publicly-held natural areas for the long term.
Volunteers and Staff: Greater than the sum of their parts
Invasive species are a relatively recent challenge in the broader scope of history, and most park systems have not scaled-up staffing to address them effectively. Few local governments can afford to hire enough staff to complete all the necessary work on their own. In cities, however, we have access to a large pool of people who want to help—for free—but there are limits to what they can accomplish. Collaboration is the way forward.
Two sides of the stewardship coin:
Volunteers make staff more efficient
Because they typically work only a few hours at a time, volunteers are well suited to repetitive manual tasks such as hand weeding and digging up smaller plants (with guidance to minimize soil disturbance). This allows staff to focus on more complex work. Volunteers can also cut and haul invasive brush, making sites more accessible so staff don’t have to spend valuable time on basic clearing and hauling.
Staff make volunteers more effective
Staff can burn brush piles, operate chainsaws, cut and treat large stumps, and carry out prescribed burns—tasks that volunteers are not authorized to perform in Minneapolis Parks.
In our system, volunteers are increasingly stepping up, but the lack of sufficient Natural Resources Department staff severely limits what volunteers can accomplish, leading to years of frustratingly slow progress. Each additional staff member in this area multiplies the impact of dozens of volunteers. When these roles are properly balanced, we can finally make significant progress.
The Solution
We ask the Park Board to increase the share of professional Natural Resources Department personnel to at least one percent of its permanent, full-time staff.
The current team is excellent, but three people cannot: 1) plan, implement and sustain restoration across more than 1,000 acres; 2) integrate volunteers into restoration efforts; 3) collaborate with both established and emerging stewardship groups; 4) apply for, manage, and follow up on grant-funded work; 5) conduct prescribed burns and other complex stewardship activities; 6) train and manage seasonal staff; and 7) add new restoration areas—often associated with new projects—all while protecting irreplaceable DNR-identified remnant ecosystems that have already experienced significant degradation and avoidable harms, and cannot withstand further neglect.
Increasing Natural Resources personnel to at least 1% of MPRB’s full-time roster will fix an imbalance that is severely limiting our progress towards a better future. We need 1% for Ecosystems.
Why Now?
The benefits of restoration are profound, but they take years to accrue—particularly when it comes to carbon sequestration and habitat development.
It takes at least three to four years for flowering to become common after invasive species are removed and native seeds are planted. Without flowers, there is no pollen or nectar for pollinators and no seeds or fruits for wildlife.
As the deep roots of prairie, savanna, and woodland systems develop, and mycorrhizal relationships rebalance, carbon is increasingly stored underground, where it is more stable than above-ground wood. Over time, prescribed burns further contribute to soil carbon through the formation of charcoal (biochar)—part of the process that formed the deep, dark, carbon-storing soils of the prairie region. It’s a decades-long process.
Delays carry real consequences. Hiring and training staff takes time, and new invasive species continue to spread and establish. Under a two-year budget cycle, the next realistic opportunity to add permanent staff may not come until 2029!
The cost of insufficient action is rising. Birds and insects are in decline, and the climate is changing. These systems—and the species that depend on them—cannot afford to wait.
