The trees around Will’s Homestead in Ely are part of the southern edge of the Boreal (northern) Forest. The Boreal Forest extends north into the Canadian Arctic. At the Homestead we have conifers (evergreens) like spruce, fir, pine, tamarack and cedar as well as some deciduous trees (that drop their leaves) like aspen and alder. It is fun to know the names of the trees—eventually the trees start to feel familiar, like friends.

If you drive a couple of hours south from Ely, you will notice a change in the trees—instead of the boreal trees, you will see more hardwoods like oaks and maples.

Climate (temperature, moisture, wind) and soil conditions determine what kinds of trees grow in which places. Some climate change models predict that as atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping (greenhouse) gases increase and the temperature warms, our boreal trees will be replaced by trees from further south. When trees change, the animals that live there change too. If the Boreal Forest retreats out of Minnesota, boreal forest-dwellers like pine martens and fishers will leave Minnesota as well.

Some other climate change models predict that the amount of moisture in our soils could be reduced to the point that few trees would be able to grow. If this happened, instead of being forested, the land around the Homestead would be a savanna grassland. That would really be a change for life at the Homestead!