SUGARLOAF THE NORTH SHORE STEWARDSHIP ASSOCIATION

The organization operates and maintains the North Shore's only private, non profit nature center. Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, located near Schroeder, MN, offers public access to Lake Superior and a variety of educational programs and workshops about natural history and coastal conservation throughout the year. The site also serves as a demonstration site for forest restoration projects. Over 25,000 people visit the site each year and many participate in our educational programs. Programs offered include bird banding demonstrations, geology educational walks, Master Naturalist workshops, and guest speakers. In 2023 we began the construction of a new outdoor education which we completed in 2025.

Sugarloaf is committed to the restoration of the North Shore forest of Minnesota. As part of this commitment, we offered a variety of invasive species and forest restoration workshops, and successfully procured funding for the North Shore Forest Collaborative coordinator position. Sugarloaf is a founding and active member of the North Shore Forest Collaborative (NSFC) and contracts with the coordinator. The mission of the North Shore Forest Collaborative is to revitalize and maintain a healthy and functioning ecosystem along the North Shore of Lake Superior with emphasis on restoring and maintaining native trees and associated forest communities. The Collaborative is a coordinated effort between local, state, and federal land management agencies as well as public and private organizations and individuals who want to work together to assure a healthy forest environment. Recent efforts include popular North Shore landowner workshops, a discounted tree fencing programs for landowners, and the initiation of a program offering private landowners a visit by a Woodland Advisor who tour their property and give them reforestation recommendations.