NRRI Now Spring 1998

NRRI Now Spring-Summer 1998

Stories in this Issue
Lalich column: natural resource chemical derivatives
Watershed Environmental Indicators
Cannon River
Richards, Carl
Environmental Chemistry
QSAR
Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships
Voyageurs National Park
Tamarack
Wiegel, Ron
Lake Superior Meats
Superior Milk
Lake Superior Research
Trout Spawning Habitat Lake Superior

In Perspective

By Michael J. Lalich, director

Activities emerging from NRRI's initiative in the area of natural resource-based chemical derivatives are accelerating. For example, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents has approved a $500,000 request for a pilot laboratory at NRRI to develop natural resource-based chemicals. Meetings with a couple of major industrial companies to explore the possibility of a research partnership to develop value-added chemicals from natural resource-based raw materials are ongoing. In addition, a question about how to share an NRRI software routine with a pharmaceutical company and, at the same time, obtain fair market value for its potential use to identify new drug leads is now requiring our attention.
What's happening here? Actually, NRRI, its associates at UMD and collaborators around the world are joining forces and beginning to establish interdisciplinary teams to develop natural resource-based chemical products for use in pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and agricultural applications.
I'm excited about this prospect! My colleagues and I have felt for a long time that it would be highly desirable to be able to combine NRRI's ability to manipulate wood products from a physical and mechanical perspective with a capability to work with wood products from both a chemistry/chemical engineering and plant genetics standpoint. Likewise, NRRI's expertise in the area of mathematical modeling to describe properties and design chemicals has been under-utilized from a commercial development perspective. Now, the synergies and activities are certainly accelerating.
My concern, in the context of University of Minnesota President Yudof's vision of a $100 million molecular biology/cellular biology initiative, has been whether or not NRRI and its collaborators can achieve the "critical mass" necessary to make a difference. I believe we can. It is, however, going to require establishing partnerships and strategic deployment of resources on priority projects.
There are indications that we have the technical capability to be successful. NRRI has expertise in several key areas upon which to continue to build its initiative. In this issue of NRRI Now, the Institute's interest in mathematical modeling and computational chemistry program headed by Subhash Basak is highlighted. The fact is that NRRI's chemical modeling program is recognized worldwide, and some of the computerized computational chemistry subroutines have already been used by major companies to produce leads for new drugs and chemicals.
Recently, NRRI has teamed with the UMD College of Science and Engineering's Chemistry Department to accelerate an effort to develop a research program focused on developing value-added chemical derivatives from natural resource raw materials, industrial by-products and waste streams.
There has been active interest by potential industrial partners in this program, and a patent that could lead to a new pharmaceutical has gained considerable attention. Now, with recent strategic hires by the College of Science and Engineering's Biology Department and NRRI in the biotechnology area, the ability to do research on plant genetics is emerging. This program will compliment our long-standing hybrid poplar research.
To be successful in the long term, we need to better capitalize on these capabilities in a couple of different ways. First, we need to better integrate these capabilities with one another and with external initiatives. Second, with assistance from University experts on intellectual property and technology transfer, a strategy to maximize return by establishing stronger relationships with interested companies must be pursued. Our intent is to do this. Stay tuned, and we will keep you apprised of our progress.

Environmental Indicators: National models stem from Midwestern watersheds

During the next several years, the attention of watershed managers across the nation will be focused on two watersheds in the Upper Midwest: the Cannon River in Minnesota and Saginaw River in Michigan. NRRI researchers Carl Richards, Lucinda Johnson and George Host were recently awarded $925,000 from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop and evaluate ecological indicators for regional landscape use. Ecological indicators provide clues about the overall health and sustainability of an ecosystem. As part of the EPA's STAR program, the results could affect watershed management across the nation.
Because watershed management requires measuring individual physical, chemical and biological features, current assessment methods are cost-prohibitive and inefficient. NRRI's project focuses on identifying key factors that reflect the overall health of a watershed. Ecological indicators provide "snapshots" of the ecosystem in question and can, in some cases, serve as an early warning system for potential environmental dangers.
"Essentially we are developing cost-effective methods to monitor watershed status and predict changes in water quality that might come about through various types of land use change," stated Richards, lead researcher and aquatic ecologist.
The first phase of the project involves gathering existing data such as aerial photos, satellite imagery and topographical maps on both watersheds. Researchers use this information to quantify conditions such as land use and the physical makeup of the landscape across a large region. The Saginaw River watershed covers over 6,200 square miles while the Cannon covers 1,458 square miles.
This summer, researchers will gather water, sediments, fish and invertebrate samples from pre-designated streams within the Cannon River watershed. These samples will be analyzed for water quality, fish distributions, stream geology and other biological factors and later added to the increasing database. Next, scientists will use statistical techniques to establish relationships between the physical, chemical and biological factors. Ecological indicators will be identified based on these relationships. During the next phase, the research team will use similar information previously collected from Michigan's Saginaw River watershed to determine if indicators identified in Michigan's streams can be compared and contrasted to the Cannon watershed.
According to Richards, both watersheds are typical of the Midwest in regard to land use, fisheries and soil types. However, some very different factors exist. For example, while both watersheds are largely agricultural areas, the Cannon River basin hosts hardwood forests and prairie soils while the Saginaw River basin has a mix of clay, gravel and silt, typical of old-lake glacial plains. Both the similarities and differences are important when it comes to testing the effectiveness of ecological indicators. The research team will then use these key indicators to develop formulas and broad-scale models for predicting ecological change in comparable watersheds.
By looking at the overall picture of a region while monitoring individual factors, scientists and managers can pinpoint what factors are contributing to change across the landscape. For example, if an area of the watershed that was previously grassland is converted to an agricultural field and experiences repeated heavy rains, the habitat for trout spawning may be affected. By noting soil type, slope condition, water flow and vegetation near trout streams, managers can take steps to prevent the erosion that could damage the fish's habitat.
The formulas and models developed during this project will be valuable to monitoring agencies such as the EPA, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the states' Departments' of Natural Resources. With more detailed information and "an early warning system" for watersheds, they can make well-informed decisions about land use issues, wildlife management and water quality issues.

Environmental Chemistry: Worldwide research centered at NRRI

Halfway across the globe this past January, NRRI's Subhash Basak and Visva Bharati University's Dilip K. Sinha gathered the world's foremost experts for the First Indo-U.S. Workshop on Mathematical Chemistry. This conference demonstrated the strength of mathematical and computer modeling studies for solving problems in chemistry, environmental sciences, medicine and biosciences.
As conference co-chair, Basak's objectives for the conference were twofold: to bring scientists from around the world together to share knowledge and experience; and to expose scientists, teachers and students to the latest methods of modeling.
Previously, limitations in computing power prevented scientists from calculating chemical toxicity to humans or the environment and estimating the potential of a chemical as a pharmaceutical drug, industrial compound or agricultural product. With the latest generation of computers, researchers now have the ability to perform all of these calculations and more.
"Research being conducted today will ultimately lead to new drugs, new regulations of chemicals and economic growth," said Basak. "Now chemicals need to be benign by design because that is our future."

Society's Needs
Natural and manmade chemicals are an integral part of today's society. It is a fact of modern life that many chemicals may be released into the environment and adversely affects human health, the environment, or both. While the capability exists for toxicity testing, this carries a huge price tag.
By applying mathematical theory instead of using laboratory testing, researchers can limit the costs of creating a new chemical. By decreasing costs, more new compounds can be created and the technology transferred much more quickly than before. The computer can create 100,000 compounds and analyze them for specific properties such as carcinogenicity before any chemicals are actually made in the laboratory. From the time a new drug is discovered, it will cost a company approximately $360 million before it is available to the public. With over 15 million chemical substances currently registered with the Chemical Abstracts Service and more than 750,000 new ones are added each year, relying solely on laboratory testing of chemicals is economically unrealistic.
Scientists, such as those who attended the conference, are embracing the use of computational and mathematical techniques to find new chemical compounds. By using these techniques to estimate properties and toxic potential of chemicals, researchers routinely evaluate new compounds for human health hazards. Additionally, these methods can be applied to drug design and development of industrial and agricultural chemicals. For its part, NRRI is focusing on identifying chemical derivatives from natural sources such as plants and trees.
Chemists realize that chemicals are grouped together by structure in chemical space. A societal equivalent is finding a "fast food row" in town. People searching for the perfect place to eat observe that restaurants are often located near one another. Chemists know that, by discovering a new chemical compound, other compounds in the "neighborhood" will also provide similar properties.

How does this happen?
Scientists use two major techniques to determine properties of chemical compounds: class specific quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) and intuitive or computer-aided analogs (neighbors) of chemicals.
When researchers use QSAR, chemicals from a specific class are processed through compute models, which then predict potential ecological or human health hazards.
When a chemical cannot be placed in a specific class, the analog method is used. Scientists intuitively, or with the aid of computers, choose an analog (neighbor) close to the unknown chemical. The analog's known properties and toxicity data are used to predict the potential toxicity of the chemical. It is also possible to use software developed at NRRI by Basak to identify analogs of chemicals isolated from nature. Once a natural product shows some promise, chemical derivatives can be produced and evaluated using computational techniques.
NRRI's research and software help eliminate false trails when analyzing or developing new chemical compounds. By using computer-aided models to assess a chemical's properties, savings are realized in years and in millions of dollars. After participating in the conference, NRRI's director Mike Lalich looks to the future and using these advance methods.
"The health of our environment depends on efficient tracking and understanding of the chemical properties of many thousands of chemicals," said Lalich. "At the same time, natural resource-based chemical derivatives, carefully developed and properly used, have tremendous potential as pharmaceuticals and in environmentally-friendly industrial and agricultural applications."

Northern Forests: Making a plan in Voyageurs

Visitors to Voyageurs National Park will soon have even more recreational choices. The fishing is still great, but guests staying at area resorts want more family activities. Currently little practical information is available. That problem is being solved by NRRI's Geographic Information Systems staff with a grant from the Voyageurs Regional National park Association.
The Park Association is a private, nonprofit organization formed to encourage use of the park. National figures suggested that 85-90 percent of national park visitors return, but at Voyageurs, only 67 percent visit again.
"We knew we were missing something important so we had an independent survey conducted," said Voyageurs Regional national park Association's executive director Jennifer Hunt. "We found out that people wanted more information about family activities in the area."
Road, topographic, vegetation and water maps can all be purchased for the region, but these maps still don't tell you where the best berry picking spots can be found or where you can see birds. Even hiking trail maps are inaccurate.
NRRI's Geographic Information Systems staff will create six specialized maps of the park region indicating the type of information people wanted to know. Due to NRRI's other extensive research in the park, a large database has already been established. Researchers will now add information to the database to create maps for visitors that include locations for berry picking, back packing, canoeing, kayaking, bird watching and hiking.
NRRI researchers John Pastor and Carol Johnston are coordinating this project. Pastor and Johnston have conducted research in Voyageurs National Park for over 10 years. Pastor also serves as a board member for the Park Association in addition to being a UMD biology professor.
"Our extensive knowledge of Voyageurs National Park and adjacent regions means that we can complete this project fairly quickly," said Pastor. "Maps probably won't be available this summer, but visitors can start using them during the 1999 recreational season."
Maps will be available at area resorts for a low fee.

Forest Products: New uses for tamarack

Traditionally tamarack trees have not been considered good sources of lumber. However, NRRI's Pat Donahue thinks his research can change that misconception.
Tamarack shows itself each fall with a feathery golden display as one of the few conifers to lose its needles annually. It also exhibits a unique growing pattern by sprouting from the bottom instead of the top. This makes for tighter knots in the lower parts of the tree. Tamaracks are usually seen in bogs and wetlands which poor soil contributes to slow growth rates. It is not uncommon to find a 100-year-old tamarack in a bog that is only five inches in diameter. However, those trees that thrive in higher, well-drained ground grow as rapidly and straight as aspen. It is these fast-growing tamaracks that simulate Donahue's interest.
Currently, tamaracks are either not cut or are only partially used in the paper and pulp industry. Donahue wants to see more of the trees used in value-added products. "I want to take the lower-grade wood core and produce the highest -value industrial product I can think of," said Donahue.
First on his list of ideas is flooring for semi-trucks and other transportation vehicles. The industry currently relies on diminishing supplies of hardwoods such as birch, maple and oak. Although tamarack is considered high-density softwood, its dense construction makes it harder than many traditional hardwoods. In addition, because of its distinctive patterns, Donahue thinks tamarack can find a niche in the jacketboard market (the term given to decorative wood products such as cabinets and furniture). He is especially interested in a décor called "fronteria" in which the rustic look of knots is highly desired. Currently knotty pine leads that market niche. Tamarack is actually one-third harder than pine and takes stains well.
In this project, Donahue will focus on evaluating end uses, not on costs. If the research generates enough interest in the industry, the next step will partner the idea with an industry sponsor. He has already received inquiries from both furniture craftsmen and cabinetmakers.
Donahue plans to harvest 30 cords of tamarack for this first phase by working with cooperators. In the finishing phase, he'll use NRRI's prototype lab to rough mill, finish mill and test the various products. In terms of job potential, tamarack is considered high. "No one is logging it right now, so any use of tamaracks equals jobs, and using 20 percent of the allowable cut is certainly not misusing the resource," said Donahue.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' annual allowable cut of tamarack is 115,000 cords. Currently only 5,000 cords are being cut. Donahue estimated that if 20,000 cords were cut annually, approximately 50-70 jobs could be created, plus spin-off economics. In addition, tamarack grows in northern, rural counties where job development is a boon.
"This is a gorgeous, unique tree that doesn't know if it wants to be a hardwood or softwood," said Donahue. "In this project, we will harvest the tree while always keeping the end product in mind."

Appointments, Award at Coleraine: Wiegel joins NRRI

NRRI's Minerals Division at Coleraine recently changed leadership. Ron Wiegel brings over 40 years of experience in mining and minerals research to Coleraine as assistant director in charge of the lab. Most recently, Wiegel served as Manager of Technology Development-Minerals at IMC Agrico Company in Florida. Prior to his 19 years at IMC, Wiegel spent seven years at the University of Minnesota's Minerals Resources Research Center and another 13 years at the former Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation (now LTV Steel).
"Mining companies are running with lean staff and don't have the time or opportunity to do everything they would like in research," said Wiegel. "The Coleraine Lab represents a real opportunity for companies to keep up with current technology and perhaps develop new technology. We have the facilities and the staff to make a difference."
This year, Wiegel is the recipient of the prestigious Robert H. Richards Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). This annual award was given "for bridging the gap between theory and practice as demonstrated by his effectiveness in process simulation, plant computer control and process innovation." Over the years, Wiegel has received many awards for his outstanding accomplishments including the Hero of Industry and Industry Achievement Awards from the Florida section of the Society of Mining, Metallurgical and Exploration Engineers.

Taconite Chair
Coleraine's former director, Rod Bleifuss, has been named as the initial recipient of the Taconite Research Chair at Coleraine. In his new role, Bleifuss will find, develop and incorporate new technologies that assist Iron Range taconite producers to operate more efficiently and ultimately cut their production costs.
Bleifuss' first project will be to develop a redesigned taconite plant flow sheet. This flow sheet, which will be a highly-detailed blueprint of a prototype taconite plant, will show what equipment and techniques could be used today in construction of a high-tech taconite plant.
"We're going to combine all the latest technologies and add up costs," said Bleifuss. "Then we will design a plant for use in the 21st century."
The research chair position was created several years ago with sponsorship from Iron Range taconite companies, suppliers and the University of Minnesota's Permanent University Fund.

Cooperative Business: Study increases chance at profitability

Livestock producers in northeastern Minnesota have joined forces to form the Lake Superior Meats Cooperative. The group hopes to build a local, economical, federally-inspected processing facility that emphasizes quality workmanship and gives priority to members.
While the concept sounded great and the members were motivated, questions such as feasibility and federal inspection regulations quickly arose. In an effort to take a better look at their profit potential, cooperative members turned to Kathy Forslund of the NRRI Business Group.
"We created different what-if scenarios, varying the type of customer and volume of sales to determine profitability in each sale," said Forslund. In addition, she looked into different channels of distribution such as wholesale, retail and customer-direct.
With cooperative members producing mainly bison, beef, pork and mutton, and a few raising emu and poultry, the situation is both diverse and elaborate. Although most members live in Carlton County, producers hail from a large geographic area, from Brimson to Willow River and from Aitkin to Douglas County, Wisconsin. In this vast non-urban area, transportation adds cost.
Forslund's research revealed that wholesale distribution left little profit for the farmers while retail mark-ups allowed for a greater profit margin. In addition to the feasibility study and financial projections, Forslund also helped cooperative members obtain advisory services and to select and hire a marketing consultant for research on customer-direct sales.
Currently, the cooperative's members a re working with a local processor, distributing via the Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth and expanding their market base. "We are developing our marketing potential," reported Mark Thell, president of Lake Superior Meats Cooperative. "We know from Kathy's initial work that we have to reach more people and have to keep growing that market."
Cooperative members plan to expand sales by adding cooked products such as brats, summer sausage and jerky, working with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) to complete nutritional testing, and developing distinctive color labels to increase customer awareness. In terms of availability, the cooperative plans to sell products at local farmers' markets and work with other retailers to introduce their products to a larger customer base.
While cooperative members are certainly business-minded, Thell also noted that they are selling more than a meat product; they are selling a philosophy. "Our customers are buying a concept, a way of life," he said,"and a small-scale operation like this always has higher costs than a semi-load of the same product." The Lake Superior Meats Cooperative guarantees that their products contain no hormones or antibiotics and are raised in an environmentally-friendly manner. To learn more about the cooperative or the products available, call (218) 384-3156.

Market Analysis: Dairy producers look to expand

Do you know where the milk in your refrigerator has been? You could if you bought Superior Milk from the new dairy in the area.
Chuck and Kathy Davis started Superior Milk to give area residents a chance for farm-fresh milk. They're doing this at the same time when most dairy farmers are giving up their farms due to low dairy prices. During 1997 in Minnesota, three farms a day were closed for good.
The Davises previously lived in the Twin Cities. Chuck had a good job, but they didn't like the idea of raising their children in a large metropolitan area. Moving back to Kathy's family farm seemed like their best option.
Historically, most cities had their own dairies, but in the age of mergers and larger facilities that's a rare occurrence today. The Davises strongly felt that they could make a living if they incorporated a processing facility at their farm and offer a better, fresher product to their customers. Superior Milk started test marketing this year.
"Our goal is to take the wheels back out from milk," said Chuck Davis. "We want to offer locally-produced dairy products to our customers, giving them a fresher, higher quality product while earning a living wage for area farmers."
The Davises work with the NRRI Business Group's Ilene Levin. She has provided the financial and market projections that allowed the Davises to receive funding from the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) for a test market study.
"It's been very rewarding to work with the Davises," said Levin. "Their project focus is not only to improve their operations but also to create a positive economic impact for the other producers. The Davises are illustrating that the small operation can still exist in this era of mergers and big companies." Currently, Superior Milk offers whole, two percent, one percent and skim milk locally in Mahtowa, Cromwell and Cloquet. If the study proves successful, the Davises will purchase their own bottling equipment for expansion.
"We use the vat pasteurization method which heats and cools our milk slowly," said Chuck. "This method allows a 17-day shelf life for our milk but doesn't impair its flavor. Our milk is free of bovine growth hormones, too."
Future plans include bottling all of their own milk and when the volume of milk required increases, Chuck and Kathy will obtain additional milk from other area producers. Both the Davises support their goals for a reasonable profit for the plant, a reasonable profit for the producers and competition that will help the region's dairy industry.
A survey of retailers shows that a locally produced, chemical-free product is of interest to the majority of the retailers. Potential consumers indicated positive support for the product and that they would be willing to stop at convenient stores to obtain this product.
Good news for area consumers and area farmers: it is possible to know where your milk has been.

Lake Superior Research: Technology gives big picture of great lake

Despite the advancements of modern technology, very little is known about the characteristics of Lake Superior's substrate, or foundation. Detailed knowledge of the lake's bottom, including depth and substrate type gives valuable information about the lake's ecosystem. However, short of conducting a costly and time-consuming project, scientists and regulatory agencies are left with limited information. NRRI researchers in conjunction with biologists from Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U. S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Biological Research Division devised a way to use remote sensing technology to map, in detail, the near-shore areas of Lake Superior from Duluth to Grand Marais. Previous maps of the area came mainly from shipping charts that reference only one point per square mile and contained no substrate information.
Using sonar (hydroacoustics), global positioning systems and geographic information systems, researchers now have more accurate substrate and depth maps from within 250 square yards in most areas to within a few square yards in select areas such as Silver Bay Harbors, Split Rock River and Gooseberry Reef. Funding for this work came from a 1993 accident. After flooded taconite ash slid into silver Bay Harbor, LTV Steel reached an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to fund an environmental project at $240,000 in lieu of removing the ash. This near-disaster was the impetus for the mapping study and involved the cooperation of several state agencies.
"The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency had the foresight to put the money back into the site where the accident occurred," said Don Schreiner, the DNR's Lake Superior Fisheries Supervisor for Minnesota waters. "We now have a baseline map that we can add details to for 50 years."
Scientists know that lake trout, which were nearly decimated in the 1960s but have rebounded dramatically in the last 30 years, prefer depths of 5 to 30 meters for spawning. In addition, the fish seek to deposit eggs in areas of mixed cobble, between rocks which vary in size from softballs to Volkswagens. According to Schreiner, the DNR currently stocks about 350,000 lake trout with half provided by the federal government and half by the state. "But we are considering backing off," he reported, "because the numbers show that lake trout are responding to our rehabilitation efforts."
Schreiner turned to Carl Richards and John Bonde at NRRI because of their reputations as an aquatic ecologist and remote sensing specialist. He also brought in Jim Selgeby and his team from the U. S. Geological Survey for their expertise in Lake Superior to complete the team.
The way the researchers configured the available tools was certainly innovative. With a global positioning system posted at a stationary land site, they slowly cruised the near shore areas and bounced sonar waves from the boat to the lake's bottom. The sonar and position information was recorded on a computer. Using a "trained Roxann" system, the sound waves were translated into different water depths and substrate types. Using various colors to represent pre-designated substrate types, Bonde then created geographic information systems maps detailing approximately 70 percent of the shoreline. According to NRRI's Richards, the entire process was an eye-opening experience. "We've learned that there's a lot more diversity in bottom type than what was originally thought," he noted. "While this project is important for lake trout in a general sense, it also tells us more about the entire aquatic ecosystem that exists in Lake Superior."
That broader information is attractive to other state and federal regulatory agencies such as the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Board of Soil and Water Resources, Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Minnesota Department of Transportation. Each organization regulates activities in and around Lake superior and what they allow and disallow can have both immediate and long-term effects on the lake and the health of its ecosystem. Richards also stresses that the maps give scientists a communications tool. For example, while it may be difficult to explain why a building permit will not be issued or must be changed, agency personnel can use the maps to illustrate the potential results of certain actions. These visual tools offer a common ground between scientists and Minnesota's citizens.
"The maps are like looking at a topographical map of the bottom of Lake Superior," said Schreiner. "Other Great lakes stats and Canada are very interested in our results."
The maps are scheduled to be completed and distributed by the end of 1998. They will be used by state and federal agencies to make decisions regarding land and water use such as building and development permits, fish stocking, road construction, safe harbor development and shoreline protection.

Project Highlights

Annual Awards
Successful entrepreneurs will again be recognized during Small Business Week at the Sixth Annual Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards on June 4.

Peat experts meet
Peat researchers, industry experts and governmental regulators from across the globe will gather in Duluth this July for an International Peat Symposium. The session will focus on peatland restoration efforts.

Water on the Web
Beginning this summer, students can gain hands-on experience of automated water quality sampling across the state using the Internet and RUSS, a Remote Underwater Sampling Station, developed in conjunction with NRRI and Apprise Technologies, Inc.

Expert advice
Several NRRI researchers, including Director Mike Lalich, Bill Berguson, George Host, JoAnn Hanowski and Carl Richards serve on committees and technical advisory teams for the Minnesota Forest Resources Council. This organization offers a forum to discuss forest resource issues and provide sound recommendations regarding the sustainable management and use of Minnesota's forests.

New center at CMRL
The Iron Ore Cooperative Research Committee has selected NRRI's Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory as the site for the Taconite Concentrator Modeling and Simulation Center.

The Natural Resources Research Institute was established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1983 to foster economic development of Minnesota's natural resources in an environmentally sound manner to promote private sector employment.

Michael Lalich, director
Center for Water and the Environment: Carl Richards, acting director
Center for Applied Research and Technology Development: Thys Johnson, director
Center for Economic Development: M. Lee Jensen, acting director

NRRI Now
Nora Kubazewski, managing editor
Brenda Maas, editor