NWTF Helps Plant Roots at Minot AFB

This summer, the NWTF’s Souris River Basin Longbeards and Central Dakota Strutters chapters partnered with personnel at Minot Air Force Base to distribute more than 1,000 trees leftover from their annual tree giveaway program to an estimated 600 active-duty service members, veterans and other base personnel.

Lynda LaFond, natural resources manager with the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron, helps coordinate the partnership between Minot AFB and the local NWTF chapters. This year’s strong turnout helped put trees into the hands of military community members who could plant them at homes on and off base.

LaFond said the effort helps create “wildlife habitat and connectivity on the landscape,” allowing the benefits of the partnership to extend well beyond the day of the giveaway.

Those benefits include adding habitat across the surrounding landscapes for wild turkeys, sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, white-tailed and mule deer, moose and migratory birds.

For military families, those benefits can also last beyond a single assignment.

Permanent change of station moves are a regular part of military life. A service member who plants a tree at a home in the Minot area today may eventually receive orders to another duty station, but the tree remains. As new service members and families arrive, they can enjoy the benefits created by those who called Minot home before them.

Airman 1st Class Armaund Anthony of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron was one of the event coordinators and helped rally additional volunteers to distribute the trees.

“To me, trees represent growth, resilience and investing in the future,” Anthony said. “Planting more trees around Minot helps improve the environment, provides shade and wind protection, supports local wildlife and leaves something meaningful for future generations to enjoy.”

The giveaway also provided service members and veterans an opportunity to participate directly in conservation where they live. This year’s turnout reflected the enthusiasm surrounding the effort, with more than 1,000 trees distributed to members of the Minot AFB community.

“It was rewarding to be part of something that gives back to the community,” Anthony said. “My motivation was knowing that even a small effort today can have a lasting impact. It was great seeing people excited to plant trees and contribute to making Minot even better.”

For the Souris River Basin Longbeards and Central Dakota Strutters, the partnership is another way NWTF volunteers can turn local conservation efforts into lasting benefits for both people and wildlife. By working with LaFond and personnel at Minot AFB, the chapters are helping service members, veterans and their families make a difference on the landscape around the places they call home.

A tree planted outside a military home may be small today, but its impact can continue through multiple families and generations of wildlife.

“Wildlife is an important part of a healthy ecosystem and something every generation should have the opportunity to experience,” Anthony said. “Preserving wildlife, to me, means protecting the balance of nature and ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same natural beauty and biodiversity that we know and love today.”

Through the partnership between the two NWTF chapters and Minot AFB personnel, more than 1,000 trees are now putting down roots across the community. As they grow, they will continue giving back — supporting the service members and families who call Minot home today, those who will arrive in the years ahead and the wildlife that shares the North Dakota landscape.