Across the hardwood swamp and floodplain forests of the Upper Midwest, emerald ash borer, altered hydrology, and a changing climate are causing canopy mortality and shifts in defining ecosystem characteristics, including potential conversion to non-forested wetlands. Currently, operational management projects outnumber research studies, and management experience could play an important role in addressing persistent knowledge gaps and identifying successful management strategies. However, operational projects are monitored and documented at varying levels and not commonly shared externally. Increased and coordinated monitoring, reporting, and sharing of information may facilitate opportunities for aggregated management experience to promote successful adaptation to environmental change.
Martha Sample, University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS)
Recorded September 11, 2026
Martha Sample is a Climate Adaptation Specialist with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS). Her current work focuses on supporting adaptation management in the northern forests of the Upper Midwest by providing information resources, decision support tools, and direct technical assistance to natural resource managers. She earned her PhD (2024) and MS (2016) at Northern Arizona University studying the ecology, management, and policy of natural resource conservation and climate change adaptation
Related content
Wetland Coffee Break: Managing impacts of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer on Wisconsin’s wooded wetlands
