Ex-DNR official says concerns got brush-off

Before he retired, Maj. Jeff Thielen says he warned DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten that an audit of a game warden conference last July in St. Paul would find "serious issues."

By DAVID SHAFFER, Star Tribune

Last update: May 15, 2008 - 9:38 AM

A former high-ranking DNR official said Wednesday that he warned Commissioner Mark Holsten months before a state-supported game warden conference that "if anybody ever audits that, there's going to be some serious issues."

Retired Maj. Jeff Thielen said Holsten's reply was, "I don't want to hear about it."

In an interview, Holsten said he partly recalled the conversation, which occurred in the spring of 2007 at Camp Ripley after Thielen announced his plans to retire. But Holsten said he didn't remember Thielen suggesting auditors would find serious problems.

The Department of Natural Resources' role in the international game warden conference, held last July in a St. Paul hotel, now is being investigated by the Legislative Auditor, internal DNR auditors, two legislative committees and the Parker Rosen law firm of Minneapolis, which was retained by the state. Col. Mike Hamm, head of the enforcement division, and his wife, Capt. Cathy Hamm, a manager in the division, have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigations.

The inquiries stem from a Star Tribune report last week that the DNR spent public money on the game warden conference.

It spent the funds on the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (NAWEOA) conference and authorized Minnesota conservation officers to raise money for the event on state time. All 204 Minnesota officers were required to attend, with the travel, hotel and food expenses paid by the state.

Thielen, who retired shortly before the conference, spoke to the Star Tribune by telephone from Virginia, where he has been hiking the Appalachian Trail and blogging about the trip. He said Holsten stopped by his office at Camp Ripley and asked how things were going in the division.

"It was a very candid conversation," said Thielen. "I said there are issues with Cathy [Hamm]. There are issues with NAWEOA if it ever gets audited," Thielen said.

Holsten told the newspaper that he recalled Thielen's commenting on NAWEOA, on the upcoming Republican National Convention, in which conservation officers may assist with security, and on Capt. Hamm, who supervised conservation officers in the 17-county metro region. She led the DNR's organizing effort for the conference.

"I recall [the name of] Cathy Hamm coming up because that has been a topic of concern inside the division. ... Col. Hamm being at the top and Cathy being a regional manager -- that has been a continued stress point." Holsten said.

Holsten said he may have told Thielen that he didn't want to hear more about the Hamms. If Thielen had any "issues of impropriety" to report related to the couple, he could have done it formally, Holsten said.

"The financial stuff, I do not remember that, and that would have been a piece I would have been very concerned about," Holsten said.

Thielen said he expected to have an exit interview -- a standard practice with some employers -- but it never happened. "What concerned a lot of people in the division, I know, was the amount of staff time used ... to both solicit money and also just planning the conference and putting the conference on," he told the Star Tribune.

Thielen said he has known Col. Hamm all his life and considers him a friend. He said he disclosed his conversation with the commissioner because he is concerned that Col. Hamm will unfairly face all the blame if improprieties are uncovered related to the conference. The Hamms could not be reached.

Rep. Jean Wagenius, chairwoman of a legislative committee looking into the matter, expressed surprised that "in this day and age" the DNR didn't conduct an exit interview with Thielen. Such interviews are designed to solicit candid comments from departing employees.

"The commissioner's correct response should have been 'Tell me what you know,'" she said.

David Shaffer • 612-673-7090

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