To Protect and Preserve

By Mary Winstead
“We’re on Itasca time.” The unofficial welcome to the U’s Itasca Biological Station, at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, helps visitors begin the transition to wilderness—a reminder to slow down and let nature set the pace. It can signify an afternoon trek through the tamarack bog listening for rare mink frogs, or a single raindrop’s 90-day journey from the Mississippi’s source to the Gulf of Mexico.

Itasca time represents the thousands of years since the glaciers left behind an abundance of iron-rich springs and the life that they still nurture today. It also chronicles the past century of University of Minnesota research in Itasca’s peerless world of pristine water, vegetation, and wildlife.

A Forest of Solutions By Mary Winstead As a longtime activist and advocate, Darby Nelson, ’64 B.A and B.S, ’66 M.A., ’70 Ph.D., has dedicated his life to protecting Minnesota’s natural resources. Having included Itasca Biological Station in his estate plan, Nelson is also making an investment in Minnesota’s environmental future. “Itasca helps me tap into the feeling so many of us have to preserve the environment for future generations,” he says. Nelson ought to know. He earned his degrees in zoology, botany, and fisheries biology at the U of M, spent 35 years teaching biology at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College, and has served on the boards of the Minnesota Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He currently is board chair of Conservation Minnesota, and is a citizen advisor to the legislature on expenditures from funds that voters approved last year as an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution. Nelson traces back his deep feelings about Itasca to the time he spent there as a student. “It’s very personal for me. I met my wife at Itasca when I was in graduate school. We’re one of many ‘Itasca couples,’” he says. Both he and his wife, Geraldine, who earned her degrees in botany and science education at the U, feel an obligation to give something back. “We both feel the University played an important role in our lives and helped us attain success. We benefited from gifts that others before us gave to the University, and are pleased to keep the faith with them by giving back to the University in turn.” Nelson also wants to keep faith with his children and grandchildren. “I am very concerned about the future,” he concludes. “I want to be able to look at my kids and say that I did my best to reduce the damage my generation did to the environment. Itasca is where solutions will be found, and it needs our help.”

A Century of Discovery
The University established Itasca Biological Station in 1909 for forestry students, but its value to biologists soon attracted noted pioneers in the emerging field of ecology.

Surrounded by Itasca State Park, the station’s protected status yields an environment virtually untouched by human development that for 100 years has drawn international researchers from botany to zoology. Over 40 years ago, Regents Professor Emeritus Herb Wright studied Itasca’s glacial geology, making discoveries about Ice Age climate change that factor into today’s understanding of global climate change. Since the station’s founding, nearly 1,000 scientific papers have been published based on research at Itasca, all available now to scholars online.

“Itasca holds important pieces of the ecological equation,” says Professor David Biesboer, Itasca’s director. “First is our diversity and Itasca’s perfect position across three biomes: short grass prairies, boreal pines, and deciduous forests. Second, Itasca is protected from most pollution and agricultural runoff. Researchers come from everywhere, looking at local, regional, continental, and global biology.”

At the source of one of the world’s great rivers, Itasca gives biologists access to native species of plants and animals in unaltered natural habitats, and the ability to monitor changes at points downstream. Itasca’s latest major research project involves creating a comprehensive DNA database of aquatic micro-organisms. The results will be used to examine the impact of human activity on aquatic life from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico, the first large-scale ecological study of its kind to focus on the Mississippi River.

Nature of Life
Itasca’s natural setting has also provided an ideal learning environment for generations of budding scientists. For the past six years, the renowned Nature of Life program (NOL) has introduced incoming biology students to Itasca field research prior to their freshman year. (Watch a short NOL video)

“More students than ever are interested in ecology,” says faculty member Sehoya Cotner, the NOL director. “The program offers an unparalleled immersion experience that combines modern laboratory techniques with basic field work. It’s perfect for sparking student interest in field biology.”

Senior Anne Kellerman, recipient of the Monica Tsang and James Weatherbee Scholarship, has attended NOL for three summers, both as an incoming freshman and as a peer mentor. She knows that for many students, NOL is their first opportunity to work in the field. “In the city we are surrounded by concrete and laboratories,” she says. “At Itasca we study biology in nature.”

Faculty note that the program’s close-knit groups of professors and students offer a smooth transition to college, and help attract and retain top undergraduates. “I made friends and felt so comfortable with my professors that I was excited to return to the Twin Cities and begin classes,” Kellerman adds. “Nature of Life has made an enormous difference in my U of M experience.”

Itasca’s Time
But while Itasca’s natural environment remains pristine, time has taken its toll on the aging facility. Many of its rustic buildings, while charming, are deteriorating with age, which means limiting Itasca’s offerings and turning away many researchers and students. Rotting roofs, crumbling foundations, cramped laboratories, and unheated cabins are just the beginning. “The building that should be the nerve center of faculty research is uninhabitable,” Biesboer says. “Without new funding, we can’t sustain our work.”

A strategic plan is in place to transform Itasca into a world-class research and teaching facility that will operate year-round and meet growing demands for scientific access. The price tag is in the millions.

Private giving has made a difference throughout the 100-year history of the facility. Donor Denny Dvergsten ’64 B.A.,’68 B.S., ’70 Ph.D., who spent time at Itasca as a student and a professor, has funded scholarships and facility upgrades. “Itasca is one of those places that remain untouched,” he says. “Its environmental work can’t happen anywhere else.”

But Itasca’s future requires major support. To celebrate its centennial, fund raising is underway to preserve Itasca and ensure that its legacy endures. “We are losing contact with our natural environment,” Dvergsten observes. “It’s time to take care of Itasca. If we lose it, we’ll never get it back.”

Mary Winstead is U of M Foundation senior writer.

This story originally appeared in the summer 2009 issue of Legacy, a quarterly magazine for U of M donors and friends published by the University of Minnesota Foundation.