Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
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Agency overview | |
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Type | Natural resources, parks and recreation, forestry, wildlife, and fisheries management; conservation law enforcement agency. |
Jurisdiction | State of Minnesota |
Headquarters | 500 Lafayette Road, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155 44°34′20″N 93°03′01″W / 44.5722°N 93.0502°W |
Employees | 3,000+ (2018)[1] |
Annual budget | $1.1 billion (2018-19)[2] |
Agency executives |
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Child agencies |
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Website | dnr |
Map | |
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the
throughout the state. The agency is divided into six divisions - Ecological & Water Resources, Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife, Forestry, Lands & Minerals, and Parks & Trails.History
Efforts to conserve
The first agency created to protect the state's resources was founded in 1931 by the Minnesota Legislature as the Minnesota Department of Conservation.[5][6]
When the Department of Conservation was created, it brought together four separate state entities: forestry, game and fish, drainage and waters, and lands and timber, while adding a division of state parks and a tourist bureau as well. The Great Depression was an important time for the Department of Conservation. Federal unemployment programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration provided labor to construct buildings, clear trails, and plant trees. Many of the buildings in Minnesota's state parks were built during this period.
In 1971 the name of the agency was changed to the Department of Natural Resources to "better reflect its broader responsibilities."
Divisions
Ecological and Water Resources
The Division of Ecological and Water Resources studies the ecosystems within Minnesota. They analyze the information in order to understand how the
Enforcement
As the name implies, the division focuses on the enforcement of Minnesota's natural resource laws. Originally part of the Fish and Game Division, the Enforcement Division's goal has not changed much: keep the public safe. Conservation Officers employed by this division enforce laws regarding hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational vehicles, State Parks and wild rice harvesting. A second focus is educating the public about safety. Classes are taught by trained volunteers and are often related to the enforced laws.[7] The division also enforces air and water quality laws.
Fish and Wildlife
The Division of Fish and Wildlife was part of the original Department of Conservation. Originally called the Fish and Game Division, it was created to manage, protect and regulate the state's fish and wildlife resource.[7] They also disperse licenses and recreational vehicle registrations throughout Minnesota.
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White-tailed deer are found throughout the state
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American black bear is found in the northern part of the state
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Wild turkey can be found throughout the state
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Bald eagle in flight
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Walleye, the state fish is popular with anglers
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Wood duck can be found in many woods and wetlands across the state
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Ruffed grouse, found in northeastern Minnesota
Forestry
The Division of Forestry was founded in 1911 as the Minnesota Forest Service, predating the Department of Natural Resources and its predecessor Department of Conservation. The mission of the Division of Forestry is to maintain healthy forests. This is done through cooperative forest management, fire management, and state land management. Cooperative management with private land owners vary and are carried out by the Forest Stewardship Program.[7]
Woodland Stewardship Plans
Parks and Trails
The Parks and Trails Division was part of the Minnesota Forestry Service until it was given its own division in the Department of Conservation in 1935.[4] The Division of Parks and Trails has three major goals. The first being to preserve both natural and cultural resources in Minnesota. The second comes in educating visitors. The third goal is to support opportunities for visitors to enjoy recreational activities in the parks, without causing damage to the wildlife, so people will be able to appreciate the resources for generations.[7] The division takes part in publishing individual water access maps by county, individual state trail maps, snowmobile trail maps, off-highway vehicle trail maps, Lake Superior kayak trail maps as well as maps of rivers within Minnesota for boaters and canoeists.
The Parks and Trails Division manages 76 state park and recreation areas, 56 primitive campgrounds within Minnesota State Forests, 35 designated state water trails (totalling over 4,500 miles), over 3,000 public water accesses, over 1,300 miles of state trails (600 miles of paved trails), and over 300 fishing piers throughout the state.[8] Itasca State Park is the second-oldest state park in the U.S., established in 1891 and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The largest state park in size is the 33,895 acre (13,717 ha) Saint Croix State Park.
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Headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park.
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Mystery Cave in Forestville Mystery Cave State Park
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Upper and Lower falls of Minneopa State Park
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Dalles of the St. Croix River in Interstate State Park
Lawsuit
On November 27, 2012, the White Bear Lake Restoration Association filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota DNR for what the group alleges is the agency's role in the city's disappearing lake.[9] This resulted in the DNR getting 13 communities to adopt water conservation tactics to reduce water consumption.[10]
Publications
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources publishes a magazine called the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer.[11] It is distributed bimonthly, mailed to subscribers the first weeks of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer is a "donor-supported magazine advocating conservation and careful use of Minnesota's natural resources."[11] Most of the articles are also made available on the official DNR website.
Volunteering
Many of the services provided by the Minnesota DNR are actually done by the more than 33,000 volunteers that actively contribute. The department has volunteer positions ranging from jobs that require little to no prior experience, to jobs that require specialists with varying skills and a great amount of experience. There are over a dozen specific volunteer programs offered through the DNR that aim to preserve the state's natural beauty.
Education and outreach
The DNR offers a variety of educational resources including curriculum supplements (Project Learning Tree, Project WET, Project WILD, MinnAqua), outdoor skills and safety training, education materials (field guides, learning kits), volunteer training (Master Naturalist, hunter education), and a variety of other resources (DNR for kids, grants). For a comprehensive list visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/education/index.html.
Commissioners
Commissioners of the DNR since its formation in 1931:
- William T. Cox August 20, 1931 - February 1933
- E.V. Willard (acting) February 1933 - September 1933
- E.V. Willard September 1933 - July 1937
- Herman C. Wenzel July 1, 1937 – April 26, 1939
- Lester R. Badger (acting) April 26, 1939 - July 1939
- Lewis H. Merrill (acting) July 14, 1939 – 1939
- William L. Strunk February 1, 1940 - February 1, 1943
- E.V. Willard February 1, 1943 - March 16, 1943
- Chester S. Wilson March 16, 1943 – March 15, 1955
- Clarence Prout (acting) March 15, 1955 – May 1, 1955
- George A. Selke May 1, 1955 – 1960
- Clarence Prout January 4, 1961 - July 1, 1963
- Wayne H. Olson July 1, 1963 – July 16, 1966
- Robert L. Herbst (acting) July 16, 1966 - February 14, 1967
- Jarle B. Leirfallom January 20, 1967 - January 1971
- Robert L. Herbst January 4, 1971 - February 16, 1977
- Michael C. O'Donnell (acting) February 1977 - June 30, 1977
- William B. Nye July 5, 1977 – June 30, 1978
- Joseph N. Alexander July 1, 1978 - January 4, 1991
- Rodney W. Sando January 3, 1991 - January 4, 1999
- Ronald Nargang (acting) January 4, 1999 - January 13, 1999
- Alan Horner January 13, 1999 - January 19, 1999
- Raymond B. Hitchcock (acting) January 20, 1999 - February 14, 1999
- Allen Garber February 15, 1999 - January 3, 2003
- Brad Moore (acting) January 6, 2003 - January 20, 2003
- Eugene R. Merriam January 27, 2003 - January 2, 2007
- Mark Holsten January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
- Laurie Martinson (acting) January 4, 2011 - January 5, 2011
- Tom Landwehr January 6, 2011 - January 5, 2019
- Dave Schad January 5, 2019 - January 7, 2019
- Sarah Strommen January 7, 2019 – present
See also
- List of Minnesota state parks
- List of Minnesota state forests
- List of state and territorial fish and wildlife management agencies in the United States
- Natural history of Minnesota
- Geology of Minnesota
- List of ecoregions in Minnesota
- List of lakes of Minnesota
- List of rivers of Minnesota
External links
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - Official Site
- Minnesota State Parks & Recreation Areas
- Minnesota State Forests
- Minnesota State Trails
- Minnesota State Wildlife Management Areas
References
- ^ "Careers".
- ^ https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/budget/fy18-19-biennial-op-budget.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Office of the Commissioner". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0-87351-266-9.
- ^ a b Breining, Greg (2008). "History of the DNR". Minnesota DNR. Archived from the original on December 19, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ "Laws of Minnesota, 1931: Chapter 186". Minnesota Legislature. 1931. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
- ^ a b c d e "About the DNR". Minnesota DNR. All data came from their respective website on the DNR's server. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ "Minnesota State Parks and Trails".
- ^ "White Bear Lake group sues DNR over disappearing lake". News Release. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ Anderson, Jim (December 1, 2014). "White Bear Lake settlement pushes plan to divert water from Mississippi". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "Minnesota Conservation Volunteer". Magazine. Minnesota DNR. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-01.