Last week on this page I wrote that Minnesota is closer to a conservation and environment crisis than most people understand. Hunter and angler numbers are declining. Yet license sales to these traditional outdoor users fund about 80 percent of conservation nationwide. Kids in increasing numbers relative to their population are turning a deaf ear to these activities. And urban sprawl, heavy industry such as mining and intensive agriculture threaten wild lands. I asked readers for ideas to combat these trends. Samples of the many responses I received are below, condensed and edited for brevity.
We need to teach conservation in our schools — to educate kids about their connection with land and water, fish and wildlife and their importance in the balance of nature. We need to treat water as an asset, not a curse, and to develop a better policy of water conservation. We also need a strategic plan for land use that has a blend of agriculture and sustainable natural lands that can provide habitat and land and water benefits. Finally, science is our best answer to wildlife diseases and invasive species, and we need to fund research accordingly. Solving these problems is possible.
Lance Ness, Golden Valley
Declines in outdoor enthusiasts are correlated with declines in ecological integrity. Being in an overgrown woods, a eutrophic duck blind or buffer strip dominated by weedy species, bare soils and fouled waters, watching for a sick deer or skinny wood duck while picking off ticks isn't my idea of quality time. So far, our primary solution is acquisition of more land set aside to achieve better land health. This outdated narrative is flawed. The public will never own enough land to offset current land use threats. Also, due to resource constraints, proper management of existing public lands is lacking. One solution is a Working Lands program, both on public and private lands. All lands outside of "true forest" need to employ some form of work, or resistance, or they rapidly decline in health. The historic majority of Minnesota lands were worked by grazing animals, which facilitated a diverse biota and healthy soils and water. Whether waterfowler, upland game hunter or wild flower enthusiast, restoration of grazing is critical to obtain and maintain land health.
Steve Thomforde, Minneapolis
Concerning waterfowl habitat management, are there no longer any benefits to "pothole blasting?'' Many wetlands are too choked with cattails to hold any attraction to waterfowl. It would seem that a method of setting and/or detonating ordnance by land, plane, helicopter or even drones would be plausible. The resulting pockets would create areas for swimming, nesting, feeding and loafing that could be used for waterfowl and other animals.
Russ Eigen, Annandale
Law enforcement must be expanded to achieve progress regulating invasive species. It's too late to keep them out of the state, but we can limit their expansion if we get serious about limiting transport to unaffected areas. The DNR also needs to reach out to nontraditional users by staffing an outreach section and taking seriously its recommendations how to interest nontraditional users and those who don't currently use natural resources. The agency and traditional users need to recognize that the old emphasis on hooks and bullets must change and enlarge to include the new breed of nontraditional. Nontraditional users must be willing to help fund the department either through user fees and/or support natural resources by general tax revenues.
