Nobles Soil and Water Conservation District

05/04/2026

That's A LOT of barbwire and fence posts! Habitat clean up day in Nobles County - Worthington, MN. 21 people from Nobles Cty, Lyon Cty, Murray Cty and Metro Area Pheasants Forever chapters came together to clean up Erickson WMA public land yesterday. These public lands are for everyone to use so get out there and use them or risk losing them!

04/23/2026

Nobles SWCD Spotlight! Tiffini and Jane spent a few days this week talking to local students about Arbor Day and Pollinators. Each students received a dog wood tree and a packet of native flowers to create their own pollinator patch! Thank you to the local schools for letting us come to celebrate Arbor Day 2026 with you!! Share your photos of the trees you planted with us.

04/23/2026

Nobles SWCD Spotlight!! Check out Tiffini and Jane teaching 2nd grade students at Round Lake Brewster about Arbor Day & Pollinators!!

04/09/2026

Monarchs have a highway!! 🦋 1,500 miles of milkweed and wildflowers along I-35 - from Texas to Minnesota. Nature and humans, actually working together. Save this for your next road trip. 🌿

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

Mark your calendars — our annual Hands on Habitat day is Saturday, May 2 and we would love to have your help cleaning up public lands properties! Many hands make light work and this is your chance to get outdoors and make a difference. Everyone is welcome-you do not need to be a Pheasants Forever member to attend.

Please bring gloves, water, protective eyewear and dress suitable for the weather. Meet at Hy-Vee in Worthington by 8:30 am and we will head out to the work location. If you can attend comment below or send us a message here on Facebook.

You can also support this important effort by sharing this post to let more know about it.

04/01/2026

Partner Spotlight! Thank you Josh for all of your hard work over the last year and half! Nobles SWCD is happy to have you on the team!

Today we’re highlighting Josh Schmidt, a Farm Bill Biologist based in Nobles County. Originally from southeast South Dakota, Josh earned a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife and fisheries science with a minor in rangeland ecology from South Dakota State University. Josh worked previously for The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers working with threatened and endangered species and the South Dakota game, fish and parks department as a fisheries technician and in wildlife damage control. He also previously worked for Pheasants Forever as an easement specialist in South Dakota. In his current role, Josh works one on one with producers to turn conservation goals into real world results—whether that’s improving wildlife habitat, restoring wetlands, or designing practices that boost soil health and water quality. Thank you Josh for all that you do and we look forward to seeing the results of your work out on the landscape!

03/31/2026

As we all start spring cleaning, make sure you aren't cleaning up any sleepy pollinators with the dead plant material in your yard!🐝🍂

03/25/2026

Introducing our new series...🦋Pollinator Portraits🐝

Each month we will be highlighting a different Minnesota pollinator! March we are featuring the incredible Rusty Patched Bumble Bee.

This species, once abundant across the eastern and midwestern United States, now is listed as endangered. This species is commonly mixed up with other species of bumblebee but don't be fooled! Check out our post below on how to identify this special species.

And, if you come across one of these beautiful bumbling bees, be sure to snap a photo and upload it to Bumble Bee Watch, a citizen science platform in partnership with the University of Minnesota. Don't forget to also contact your local conservation office to show us your photo!

Bumble Bee Watch: https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/

Sources for more information:
- https://www.xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/at-risk-bumble-bees/rusty-patched-bumble-bee
- https://www.fws.gov/species/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-bombus-affinis
- https://www.fws.gov/story/planting-rusty-patched-bumble-bees -plains

03/25/2026

Nobles SWCD Spotlight! Everybody meet Jane our new Resource Specialist! Jane started with us in January of this year. In the last 3 month she has been BUSY learning the tree program for both the Nobles SWCD and the KLR Watershed.

So far this tree season we have 32 plantings, 78 orders, and over 16,000 trees sold! It will be a very busy spring planting and matting season for sure.

Jane is excited to start sharing information about pollinators, so be on the look out for her Pollinator Portrait posts in the near future! Welcome to the team Jane!!