Meredith Cornett, Ph.D.

Director of Conservation Science

Meredith Cornett has directed The Nature Conservancy’s science program in Minnesota and the Eastern Dakotas since August 2003. In this capacity, she oversees conservation planning, research, and ecological monitoring activities, often in collaboration with universities, land management agencies, and other non-governmental organizations.

In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member in Forest Resources and the Conservation Biology Program at the University of Minnesota.  Her previous positions include Conservation Ecologist for the Conservancy’s Northeast Minnesota Program, Forest Ecologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Community Forestry Extensionist with the Peace Corps in the Republic of Panama.

Dr. Cornett received a Ph.D. (2000) and M.S. (1996) in Forestry from the University of Minnesota’s College of Natural Resources in St. Paul and holds a B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.  Her dissertation work examined restoration and conservation strategies of upland northern white cedar forests on the North Shore of Lake Superior.  The focus of her recent work is on applying ecological disturbance theory in the development of land management practices that are ecologically compatible and economically viable. 

Feature Projects

• Assessing Vegetation Recovery for Large-Scale Restorations
  In September 2000, The Nature Conservancy purchased Tilden Farms, a 24,500-acre tract of agricultural land that straddles beach ridges of Glacial Lake Agassiz, formed about 10,000 years ago. A 22,000 acre restoration of native prairie and wetland vegetation has been underway for over seven years. Arguably the largest restoration project of its kind in North America, Glacial Ridge offers an unprecedented opportunity to deepen our understanding of the theory and practice of ecological restoration on a large scale. Toward this end, we are collaborating with Dr. Susan Galatowitsch (Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota) and Genevieve Brand (MS student) in conducting an assessment of restoration success. The project poses challenges given the need for comprehensive information across a large area. By adapting our methods to the needs of the project, we will compare the success of different restoration methods in terms of plant species richness, dominance of non-native invasive plants, and other plant community responses.
   
• Effectiveness of biological controls for leafy spurge and implications for native plant diversity in tallgrass prairie (in collaboration with Pete Bauman, The Nature Conservancy; David Breyfogle, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Cynthia Lane and Carolyln Carr, Ecological Strategies, LLC).
  
  We have examined the effectiveness of several biocontrol methods for leafy spurge at a number of sites throughout the Northern Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion with an interest in the response of the target weed and the native plant community. Biocontrols examined include goats, sheep and flea beetles at Altamont Prairie in South Dakota for ten years. Ongoing work related to flea beetles continues at Broken Kettle (Iowa), Crystal Springs (South Dakota) and Brown Ranch (North Dakota).