A brief conversation: Regarding outdoors, Schara remains optimistic

Q Ron, as you look back, are you optimistic or pessimistic about fish, wildlife and, in general, the state of conservation in Minnesota?

A I'm an optimist. I can remember when the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul didn't hold any fish, it was so polluted. Today there's pretty good fishing there because we cleaned up the river.

I was pessimistic about farmland wildlife 10 to 15 years ago. I'm a little more optimistic now as I see Congress address farmland conservation issues. Last year, I was part of Gov. [Tim] Pawlenty's Conservation Legacy Council and I came to appreciate what I believe was forward thinking on how Minnesota can deliver conservation better. We're not delivering it today the way we should. But we're learning how to do it better, little by little.

I'm encouraged by modern fishing philosophies. We are more conservation-minded and recognize our impact on fishing stocks more today than ever before. Who would have thought 30 years ago that Minnesotans would have joyfully released walleyes? It was literally unheard of. The muskie story in Minnesota is also a great one.

The fact that hunters and anglers are declining in number means a decline in political power and a falloff in money contributed to natural resources. Still, hunter-conservationists and angler-conservationists who band together and found their own organizations can make things happen. We've seen that. We have the DNR, but many times the DNR reacts, rather than leads. It's the outdoor community that leads. I saw this when the nets were finally pulled from Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, among many other places in the state.

Looking ahead 40 years, Americans -- already in some ways dumber than they once were regarding the natural world -- might become dumber still. They just don't see or experience the cycle of life as generations past did, because they don't witness it on the farm.

I think also as a society we don't pay as much attention to resource issues as we once did. We have an America that has become more urbanized, and a lot of people spend very little time off the asphalt, as they say. That situation might only grow worse.

Still, I'm an optimist, and I believe when armed with the facts, we end up doing the right thing. Maybe not fast enough. But eventually.

DENNIS ANDERSON