Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories.

The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill in 1907 authorizing a forestry school in Itasca Park. During the 1920s, forestry field work at the Itasca Station was joined with other course offerings including field zoology, forest botany, field taxonomy, advanced taxonomy of flowering plants, and field ecology through the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics. From 1909 to 1940, the Itasca station was known by different names, including University Sub-station at Itasca State Park, Forest Experiment Station at Itasca, Lake Itasca Forestry Station, and Itasca Park Forestry and Biological Station. At their January 12, 1940, meeting, the Board of Regents voted "on recommendation of the Committee on Naming of Buildings to name the University plant at Itasca Park the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station." The station's name was changed to Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories in 2002.

From the description of Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories records, 1909-1998 (bulk 1954-1970). (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 747532924

At the December 11, 1906, Board of Regents meeting, the minutes noted, “A communication from Prof. (Samuel B.) Green of the School of Agriculture, concerning the use of Itasca Park for purposes of instruction in Forestry was referred to the Legislature of Minnesota for consideration.” The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill in 1907 authorizing a forestry school in Itasca Park.

The 1908-1909 University Bulletin for the College of Agriculture described classes taught at Itasca Park. The courses included seeding and planting, mensuration, sylviculture, foreign forestry, and surveying under the Forestry Course of Study. The Bulletin also included the following description, “Itasca state park…is used by the Forestry School as a demonstration forest and experiment station. Every student spends about twelve months in the park during his course and does practical work in all branches. The use of this park gives the Minnesota Forestry School a forest equipment which is unsurpassed anywhere.”

During the 1920s, forestry field work at the Itasca Station was joined with other course offerings including field zoology, forest botany, field taxonomy, advanced taxonomy of flowering plants, and field ecology through the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics.

The 1934-1936 President’s Report noted “an increasing demand on the part of interested students and teachers of biological subjects for the continuation of opportunities for study during the…University's regular Summer Session. Therefore, in the second term of the 1935 session a six-week field course of study was established under the name of the Itasca Park Forestry and Biological Station.” The University Bulletin for Summer Session Courses in 1939 described courses at Itasca as “an excellent opportunity for the study of terrestrial and fresh-water biology in its most fundamental aspects.” The session’s courses were offered cooperatively by departments in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics and the College of Science, Literature, and the Arts. Courses and included field botany, field entomology, wildlife conservation, and field mycology.

Summer session forestry courses continued to be offered at the Itasca station for upper level undergraduate students as well as graduate students.

From 1909 to 1940, the Itasca station was known by different names, including University Sub-station at Itasca State Park, Forest Experiment Station at Itasca, Lake Itasca Forestry Station, and Itasca Park Forestry and Biological Station.

At their January 12, 1940, meeting, the Board of Regents voted “on recommendation of the Committee on Naming of Buildings to name the University plant at Itasca Park the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station.” Thorvald Schantz-Hansen was named director of the Station.

In 1954, grants from the National Science Foundation and the Fund for Advancement of Education enabled the University to offer awards to college biology faculty and high school biology teachers for summer field experience at the Lake Itasca Station. The summer institutes proved highly successful and were continued.

In 1966, the Field Biology Program was established in the College of Biological Sciences to “further develop the activities in research and teaching that exploit the two excellent field stations maintained by the University (Cedar Creek Natural History Area and Itasca Forest Biological Station).”

From the 1960s to the 1990s, separate directors oversaw the program needs of the biology summer sessions and forestry summer sessions. The Station’s administrative home was the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics and the Institute of Agriculture until 1976 when it came under the administrative structure of the College of Biological Sciences.

The station’s name was changed to Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories in 2002, which was described as a “field station dedicated to learning how ecosystems work, appreciating their value, and preserving them for future generations.” At this time, summer sessions for forestry were no longer offered at the Itasca Station.

Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station Directors

From the guide to the Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories records, 1909-2000, (bulk 1954-1970), (University of Minnesota Libraries. University of Minnesota Archives [uarc])