EVENTS
Wednesday, May 6th, 2026, 10am CT
Zoom Community Meeting
The Ecology of Wetland Plant Communities in The Talon Metals Project Area
by Mark White
The proposed Talon Metals mining project would occur primarily in the Moose-Willow Peatlands area, a landscape with a high proportion of wetland plant communities dependent on groundwater, precipitation, and surface water inputs. A large proportion of these wetlands are peatland communities. These wetlands provide a range of key ecosystem services including water storage, water quality maintenance, climate mitigation (carbon storage in organic soils), and biodiversity. These communities are sensitive to hydrologic disruptions and water quality changes that typically occur in subsurface mining operations. They are also vulnerable to other stressors including climate heating which could amplify the effects on water levels and favor plant species adapted to warmer climate leading to changes in plant community composition. Changes in water storage, quality, and plant composition could lead to an irreversible reduction in key ecosystem services.
Mark White is a semi-retired forest ecologist with more than 40 years of experience. His work experience includes serving as Forest Ecologist/Lead Scientist for Forests for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Natural Resources Research Institute, and Regional Plant Ecologist for the Minnesota DNR, Northeast Region. Mark's work focuses on conserving functioning forests that can continue to provide vital ecosystem services including biodiversity, climate mitigation, and water quality and quantity within northern forested landscapes in Minnesota and the Great Lakes region. Mark uses his experience in field ecology, remote sensing, and modeling to help develop science-based adaptive management and conservation approaches that can help mitigate the impacts of key stressors that influence the health of forests in this region.
Register for the meeting to receive the Zoom link at https://tamarackwateralliance.org/php/eventreg.php?eid=16 or Contact Us.