Dennis Anderson: Rock County shows what involvement can do

LUVERNE, MINN. - Here in Rock County, an embarrassing distinction has been erased. The southwesternmost county in the state, with Luverne as its headquarters city, Rock County had no state wildlife management areas for most of its existence. Not one.

In that respect, Rock differed from Minnesota's other 86 counties. In each, the Department of Natural Resources had purchased at least one WMA for the benefit of deer, ducks, pheasants and other game and non-game species. And people.

"We always wanted a public wildlife area, but the farmland around here is pretty expensive, and the DNR said it could buy more land for less money in other counties," said Chuck Van Wyhe.

Van Wyhe has been habitat chairman of the Rock County Pheasants Forever chapter for more than 20 years. A big guy with a strong affection for the flat lands and woody creek draws that are the hallmark of this country, Van Wyhe proudly will tell you that Rock County today is home not just to one WMA. But eight.

How did it happen? The answer is simple -- and legislators now considering the fate of a proposed citizens-legislative council to oversee $91 million in prospective fish and wildlife habitat funds -- should pay attention:

Incentive is what it takes. And empowerment.

"Pheasants Forever allows their chapters to keep funds raised at the local level for local habitat development," Van Wyhe said. "Once we had our first banquet, we were on our way."

Of course the eight Rock County WMAs cost more than the Rock County Pheasants Forever chapter could raise at banquets. So they matched the $10,000 or so they made at their first banquet with habitat funds from the DNR and other state and federal agencies.

Soon, other Rock County residents caught the habitat bug. Farmers and other landowners donated property that was wildlife-friendly. Over time, more than $1 million in property had been acquired.

So it was that Rock County shook its image as a habitat wasteland. "Keeping the money local, giving us something to work with, that was the key," Van Wyhe said.

Now comes a strengthening move in the Legislature to enact a law establishing the aforementioned citizens-legislative council. The panel would be responsible for recommending how $91 million in fish and wildlife habitat money would be spent, should a proposed dedicated-funding constitutional amendment be approved by voters in November.

Some legislators have resisted the idea, saying they want to retain complete say over the funds. Others have said the council needn't be organized now -- it could be accomplished by statute next year or the next or the next.

They're wrong. The most important act this Legislature can do this session is establish by law a citizens-legislative council whose charge ultimately will be to provide the money -- and the incentive -- to Minnesotans statewide to do as Van Wyhe and his fellow Pheasants Forever members have done in Rock County.

Minnesotans don't want to build the state's bridges, pave its roads or keep its peace. They'll leave those chores to professionals. But they -- and Van Wyhe is but one example -- do want to restore its wetlands, clean up its rivers and lakes, and conserve its forests.

They need only the opportunity. And incentive.

Collectively, Minnesota has more Ducks Unlimited chapters, more National Wild Turkey chapters, more Izaak Walton League members, more Nature Conservancy members and more Pheasants Forever members than any state.

Yet historically the Legislature has failed to leverage this most valuable asset -- its residents -- and their interest in conserving the natural resources.

Wednesday, beneath a blue sky and with a brisk prairie wind whistling, Van Wyhe stood on the banks of the fast-flowing Rock River. This was in the middle of a vast tract of property as wild as any for miles and miles around.

The land was public. It belonged to everyone. Chuck Van Wyhe couldn't have been prouder if he owned it himself.

Dennis Anderson • danderson@startribune.com