outdoors

Minnesota's chief conservation officer, Col. Mike Hamm, and his wife, Capt. Cathy Hamm, also a top DNR official, were placed on paid administrative leave Monday while an outside firm investigates their handling of a state-supported game warden conference last year.

"We didn't want to have any appearance of conflict of interest, " said Colleen Coyne, the DNR communications director, in announcing the appointment of an interim head of the DNR Enforcement Division.

Several investigations have been announced since the Star Tribune reported last week that the division spent at least $383,000 in public money and allowed private fundraising on state time for the game warden conference last July in St. Paul.

Coyne said the DNR has not yet hired the outside investigator nor has the scope of that investigation been decided. The Legislative Auditor, the DNR's internal auditors and two legislative committees also are investigating the conference.

It's unclear how long the inquiries will take.

The Hamms, whose DNR careers both span more than 25 years, will continue to receive their salaries while on leave. His annual pay is $105,000 and hers is $87,000, state records say. They did not return phone calls seeking comments.

The Hamms were largely responsible for bringing the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association conference to a downtown St. Paul hotel last July. The 8,000-member association chooses a different city for its conference each year, and it's a plum for a state agency to be the host.

Capt. Hamm traveled to British Columbia in 2005 at state expense to pitch Minnesota as the host. She also spent a significant amount of state time organizing the event, which featured training, speeches, displays, food and entertainment.

Col. Hamm, who has defended the conference as professional development, ordered all 204 Minnesota conservation officers to attend the three days of training, with the state paying all travel costs, food and lodging. The DNR also paid other employees to work at the event and gave a $35,500 grant to the Minnesota Conservation Officers Association, the local host group and the union for most conservation officers.

Although the event turned a $76,000 profit, the union and the national association didn't share it with the state. Before the event, a DNR management and budget official had advised that fundraising for the conference on state time was not appropriate. But Col. Hamm said that official was wrong and encouraged fundraising.

Col. Hamm has been with the DNR since 1972 and has served as a conservation officer and later in other enforcement division positions before his appointment as chief conservation officer and division director in 2003. Capt. Hamm has been with the DNR since 1979.

Mark Johanson, who retired less than two weeks ago as a DNR training official in Little Falls, Minn., will serve as interim head of the Enforcement Division, Coyne said. No interim replacement has yet been named for Capt. Hamm, who directed conservation officers in the 17-county metro region.

The Star Tribune based its report last week largely on documents obtained under the state public records law. Coyne said on Monday that an internal review has concluded that all documents requested by the newspaper were made available.

David Shaffer • 612-673-7090