NRCS Staff Support Students at 2026 North Dakota Envirothon

By Chris Maestas, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist

MEDINA, N.D. - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees from across North Dakota joined teachers, volunteers and natural resource professionals May 6-8 for the 2026 North Dakota Envirothon State Competition at Crystal Springs Camp near Medina. The three-day event brought high school teams together to test their knowledge of soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, prairie ecology and this year's current issue, non-point source pollution.

The Envirothon is designed to connect classroom learning with real-world natural resource challenges.

NRCS staff supported the event through judging, trail test leadership, training sessions and onsite logistics. The NRCS volunteer group included Cari Roepke, Tim Renschler, Jon Petersen, Adam Flaagan, CJ Cerise, Ashley Seiler, Dana Whippo, Brianna Wegner-Brelje, Mackenzie Ries, and Marc Murdoff.

Roepke and Renschler served as judges, helping evaluate student presentations and field responses. Other NRCS staff guided teams through hands-on trail tests, including soil identification, ecological site descriptions, aquatics sampling and forestry tool use.

"The Envirothon brings the classroom outdoors, helping students explore forest, water, wildlife, prairie and soil conservation," said NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Cari Roepke.

NRCS volunteers worked alongside students as they used soil field books, forestry tools, water-quality meters and wildlife identification guides. Teams also prepared a formal presentation addressing the current issue, with judges evaluating their analysis, teamwork and communication.

Andrea Petersen, North Dakota Envirothon coordinator, said watching students grow is the highlight of the event each year. "The most rewarding part about being the coordinator is seeing the growth in the students' scores over the past years and seeing them really cooperate outside on the trail tests with these hands-on natural resource tools," said Petersen.

The event was hosted by Crystal Springs Camp and supported by a coalition of conservation districts, state agencies, universities and nonprofit partners. Sponsors included the North Dakota Forest Service, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Ducks Unlimited, Prairie Waters Education & Research Center, multiple Soil Conservation Districts and USDA NRCS.

More information about the Envirothon and its mission is available at ndenvirothon.org.

NRCS volunteers gather at Crystal Springs Camp after supporting the 2026 North Dakota Envirothon, held May 6-8 near Medina. Front row from left to right: Ashley Seiler, Natural Resources Specialist; CJ Cerise, Conservation Delivery Unit Supervisor; Marc Murdoff, Rangeland Management Specialist; and Dana Whippo, Economist. Back row: Kyle Thomson, Soil Scientist; Adam Flaagan, Tribal Liaison; Brianna Wegner, Fargo MLRA Soil Survey Leader; Mackenzie Ries, Soil Scientist; and Jon Peterson, Engineer. (Photo by NRCS Public Affairs Anne Polasky) Two members of the Bowbells Super Sly Fireflies team work together to cut wood at the Prairie Forestry Trail during the 2026 North Dakota Envirothon, as trail guide Dana Whippo offers instruction. Students, volunteers and natural resource professionals gathered May 6-8 at Crystal Springs Camp near Medina for the statewide competition. (Photo by NRCS Public Affairs Anne Polasky) Students from Dickinson work through the MLRA trail test during the 2026 North Dakota Envirothon, held May 6-8. Guided by trail guide Adam Flaagan, the team identified topographic and landscape features and applied ecological site descriptions to assess land use and soil-plant relationships. (Photo by NRCS Public Affairs Anne Polasky) Center/Scranton's Yellow Jackets team-Rachel Schmidt, Ava Erhardt, Nora Huber, Kyle Albers and Kallen Albers-studied field indicators of hydric soils during the soils test. Led by Ashley Seiler, the group was instructed by Soil Scientist Kyle Thomson as they compared runoff and infiltration across management systems and used soil field book methods to identify soil horizons, textures, hues and effervescence. (Photo by NRCS Public Affairs Anne Polasky)

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