The Minnesota Forestry Association, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is looking for private woodlot owners in northwestern and western Minnesota who are willing to share information about their forest lands as part of an effort to build and update the state’s forest inventory.

“We basically need a few more plots in all of western Minnesota, all the way past Crookston to Clearwater County and all the way up to Kittson County,” said Brian Huberty, president of the Minnesota Forestry Association, which is based in Grand Rapids.

The MFA, which dates back to 1876 when the organization formed to promote tree planting, is helping the DNR recruit landowners for a plot-based inventory program the agency launched in 2024.

Using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) aerial imagery and pairing it with Plot-Based Inventory sites, the DNR is working to assess Minnesota’s diverse landscape. To this point, PBI efforts primarily have focused on public lands, but with nearly half of Minnesota’s forests under private ownership, expanding inventory efforts to include private woodlands will provide a more comprehensive picture of the state’s forest inventory and ecosystem, Huberty said.

“For western (and northwestern) Minnesota, there’s like five to 10 or 20 more plots needed, ideally, scattered around to improve the model,” he said. “With northeastern Minnesota, we’re basically done as far as needing more plots. They’ve already measured the state and federal lands, so that’s already been done.”

Help from private landowners ultimately benefits all forest owners, both public and private, Huberty said.

“Minnesota forests and woodlands are constantly changing and evolving,” he said. “Just like any business, accurate information on your tree species, volume, forest structure and overall forest health is critical for effective woodland management. More importantly, our forests grow for years and require careful foresight and planning.”

Understanding forest structure is critical to preventing and mitigating future wildfires such as those last year in Lahaina, Hawaii, and this year in Los Angeles, Huberty said.

“You need to understand what’s growing in your back yard,” he said. “Because, when these climate swings happen and things dry out, that nice vegetation you may have in your back yard is really the next wildfire that’s going to happen and could burn down your house.”

The challenge, Huberty says, is getting the public to understand why a forest inventory is important.

“It’s technical for a lot of people, and I don’t blame anybody, because we take our trees for granted,” he said. “We just sort of look at it as, ‘Well, it’s a woodland, the back 40,’ or whatever you want to call it. But we never quantify it. We never think about different heights and different species that grow at different rates.

“It’s not just a tree — it’s a potential source for fuel, but it’s also a source for wildlife and a source for enjoyment,” Huberty said. And it needs to be managed.

According to the DNR, private woodland owners with more than 2 acres of forest can contribute to the information-gathering effort now underway and receive high-quality forestry inventory data of their woodland at no cost.

By enrolling, selected landowners voluntarily agree to have forest inventory plot data collected by a professional forester on their land. Participants will be selected based on the geographic data needed by the program.

After signing up, landowners will be contacted to confirm details and discuss the next steps. Landowners who are selected to share their woodlot information will receive a PBI report with details about the inventory data that was collected. A more comprehensive report will be sent after the project is completed at the end of 2025.

For more information, including a link to sign up for inventory plot data collection, go to the DNR Forest Inventory website at mndnr.gov/forestry/resource-assessment/forest-inventory.html or contact the Minnesota Forestry Association at minnesotaforestry.org, by phone at 218-879-5100 or by email at info@minnesotaforestry.org.

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Authorities have closed the investigation into a deadly hunting accident that occurred in Clay County, Minn., on Nov. 9, determining that no charges will be filed.

“We don’t believe there was any type of recklessness or carelessness in this incident, just an unfortunate, terrible hunting accident,” Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting said this week.

The accident happened just minutes into rifle season northeast of Moorhead. Jace Srur, 34, of Dilworth, Minn., was shot in the head by a family friend from his hunting party.

“They had mapped out where everybody was going to be at, so everybody had an idea where everybody was sitting and everybody was hunting at mapped out (sites),” Empting said.

According to a letter from County Attorney Brian Melton, Srur moved from his designated location after it was believed he had shot a deer. Another hunter then fired a shotgun at a deer, unaware that Srur was in the direction of the shot. The hunters were 315 feet apart, and officials say the slug may have ricocheted through the trees.

“This round went through some trees, so it’s hard to say if it ricocheted off a tree or branch, what exactly happened,” Empting said.

Melton wrote that the hunters were experienced, took safety precautions and did not act negligently.

“A lot of hours go into these investigations, we want to get them right. For those advocates out there, I would say these people out there hunting were doing what they needed to do properly and correctly,” Empting said. “We feel that’s what the investigation found, sometimes when there’s trees in the way, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

A second hunting accident happened hours later in Norman County, Minn., where a hunter was shot in the face by a member of his party. He survived, and no charges were filed in that case.

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A solid regular season from Minnesota women’s basketball came to a close on Saturday with a 73-58 loss to No. 23 Michigan State at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.

Now, the Gophers have a conference tournament to prove to NCAA tournament selectors that they are worthy of the program’s first invitation to the Big Dance since 2018.

Grace Grocholski finished with a game-high 23 points, added six rebounds and four steals, but as they have against ranked clubs all season, the Gophers would occasionally gain the upper hand before ultimately falling apart late.

This time, the Gophers couldn’t contain the Spartans on the offensive glass and were careless with the basketball, outrebounded on that end 14-8 and were outscored 14-8 on second-chance points. They also committed 18 turnovers, another rough game on that end marking a 1-4 end to the regular season.

“We were kicking out to open shooters on the perimeter, then missing 3-pointers, or over-driving into the paint and making bad passes that resulted in turnovers,” coach Dawn Pitzuweit said during a short postgame interview with KFAN-FM.

The Gophers were 3-14 from 3-point range, two from Grocholski and one from Tori McKinney, who finished with 17 points.

Minnesota (20-10 overall, 8-10 Big Ten) is now 0-7 against teams that were ranked in the Top 25 when they played, and 0-7 in so-called Q1 games, an important NCAA tournament qualifier that emphasizes the RPI and rank of an opponent, and the site at which it is played.

Last year, the Gophers advanced to the WNIT championship game, losing there to St. Louis.

The Gophers finished 13th in the Big Ten, earning one of the league’s 15 conference tournament spots in Indianapolis. They will likely start with a 2:30 p.m. tip against the No. 12 seed, probably Washington (17-12, 8-9), which whizzed past them last Wednesday at Williams Arena, 72-62.

Grace VanSlooten finished with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, six on the offensive glass, and 13 apiece by Julia Ayrault and Ines Sotelo for the Spartans (21-8, 11-7).

The Gophers took a 50-45 lead on Grocholski’s 3-pointer

Despite committing six third-quarter turnovers, the Gophers hung in there on the strength of their offense. They shot 60 percent from the field in the period, and were 8 for 8 from the line — the last two by Grocholski and pulling Minnesota to within a single point at 46-45.

A driving layup and 3-pointer by Grocholski gave the Gophers a 52-48 lead early in the fourth quarter but it unraveled from there — largely because of turnovers, four during a 17-4 Spartans run that made it 63-54 with 3:51 remaining.

The Gophers missed five of their first six shots from the field and committed four turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the game. Both teams, in fact, traded turnovers (seven total) until Ines Sotelo made a 3-pointer at 7:05.

Battle gave the Gophers their first lead, 12-11, by completing a three-point play, and Stewart’s jump shot capped a 9-0 lead that built the score to 14-11. The Spartans, however, made it 14-13 when Mallory Heyer lost a defensive rebound and Sotelo hit a layup as time expired on the quarter.

The Spartans scored the first three baskets of the second period, including a 3-pointer by Emma Shumate that gave them a 20-14 lead. But Minnesota kept playing defense — despite allowing seven offensive rebounds — and hung in there because of it.

Battle’s jumper with 4:09 left was the last field goal either team scored the rest of the half — Sophie Hart added one free throw — and the Spartans didn’t score at all for the last 4:56. Minnesota trailed 25-24 at intermission.

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Next week marks the Minnesota boys state hockey tournament, the crown jewel of the winter sports high school slate. Pageantry, tradition, passion, talent, atmosphere — all of it will be on full display at Xcel Energy Center in just a few days time.

But it was at the X this weekend, as well.

Tucked between the girls and boys state hockey tournaments is a three-day event that’s beloved within its large community, but perhaps not appreciated enough statewide. There’s something uniquely special about the state wrestling tournament.

Everything that is special is derived from the sport itself. The Thursday team event is just that, a team sport. It might not feel like it at all times — each duel is a series of 13 consecutive 1-on-1 bouts, after all. But know that 90 percent of the lineups taking the mat even at state feature a few role players.

They aren’t role players in the same sense of other sports, where you can perhaps get away with being smart in your few touches of the ball, some good defense and maybe grabbing a rebound or two that comes your way before getting out. Or a defensive end sealing an edge to funnel a ball carrier back to the linebacker.

There’s honor in those contributions, as well, but this is different.

These athletes, some of whom lose more matches than they win throughout the year, have to take center stage in the middle of the mat and battle their hearts out for, hopefully, six minutes. Often, it’s with full knowledge that they’re going to lose their contest. But if they can scrap enough so as to not lose by much, and definitely not get pinned, they can save their team points that matter in the math equation that determines the victor in a battle between two quality teams.

It’s not uncommon for a bout to end and both teams to cheer, one because its kid won, the other because its kid successfully did his or her job when everyone was watching. And, at the end of a team victory, a coach is quick to tell you saved points here and there won the team the duel.

And when a duel is indeed clinched, there’s nothing quite like the roar.

The unison with which fans of a school chant “two” when they believe a takedown was scored, scream for a “stall” when an opponent appears to be trying to kill clock, or holler at the top of their lungs when a pin appears imminent, can be felt in your bones.

And when a result is secured, the emotion comes flooding out of wrestlers and fans on both sides of the coin.

Emotion is everything in wrestling. The athletes put themselves on the line in practice and competition. You’ll never be more exposed in high school sports than when standing in the middle of the mat with just you and your counterpart, with hundreds of people watching to see what you’ll do next.

Both parties train year round in some capacity to best position themselves for success in that very moment. They put so much into it that when it ends, good or bad, there’s an inevitable release. And there’s nowhere to hide it.

The individual state tournament is a parade of talent and tears. Win, and there’s jubilation, and relief. In that moment, all the sacrifice feels worthwhile.

Lose, and no matter how hard and well you battled for those six-plus minutes, you are immediately forced to grapple with the sadness that it didn’t go your way. It’s a common scene at state for a wrestler post-defeat to, after the customary post-match handshake, sprint off the mats and into the bowels of the X in search of a place to sit in solitude and process.

There are no words of solace that provide any comfort at that moment. And while the value of the work put in and lessons learned will benefit the athlete in the years to come, it doesn’t always feel that way at the time.

Because it hurts.

There lies the beauty of it all.

It’s a collection of kids from all across the state and beyond — there was at least one wrestler from this year’s tournament who hailed from Afghanistan, and another from Ukraine — from different backgrounds and socioeconomic situations, from the Twin Cities and the furthest corners of the state, from powerhouse programs and schools for which they were the only tournament representative.

None of that matters when they hit the mat. Because they all did the same thing to earn their spot in the arena: poured in countless hours of effort in a hot wrestling room, likely in sweats, running, drilling and practicing intricate maneuvers again and again and again in preparation for the split second in which they’ll have to pull it out with everything on the line and fans roars filling the arena.

And in that moment, it’s all that matters.

Because wrestling is not a sport you do to pass the time for a few months, or one you use to train for another activity. It consumes those who choose to participate. When you’re in it, it becomes your life. You give the sport your blood, sweat and, yeah, tears.

You should see it for yourself.

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