Anderson: At DNR, Dave Trauba, a prairie guy, now oversees wildlife throughout Minnesota

Longtime Department of Natural Resources wildlife manager Dave Trauba was appointed Jan. 15 to lead the agency’s Wildlife Section, overseeing species as diverse as mallards and mink, moose and mourning doves.

Trauba had been appointed interim Wildlife Section manager in July 2024, replacing Kelly Straka, who was promoted to Fish and Wildlife Division director when Dave Olfelt retired.

A passionate waterfowl hunter who is widely respected within the DNR and by those it serves, Trauba, 58, led habitat development projects at Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area in western Minnesota for more than two decades. As a DNR regional wildlife manager for the past nine years stationed in New Ulm, he oversaw management of ducks, pheasants, deer and other wildlife throughout much of the southern half of the state.

Trauba will lead a Wildlife Section with an annual budget of $35 million and a staff of about 260, some of whom have been at odds with DNR leadership in St. Paul in recent years, citing lack of support. Particularly troublesome has been timber cutting on state wildlife management areas, which wildlife managers have said benefited the timber industry at the expense of wildlife. The Legislative Auditor is reviewing the conflict and is expected to issue a report in coming months.

In the interview below, which has been edited for length and clarity, Trauba discusses his new responsibilities.

Q: Was leading the DNR Wildlife Section one of your professional goals?

A: I jumped at the chance when Kelly [Straka] asked me if I wanted the appointment. I had been at Lac qui Parle 24 years, most of that time as wildlife area supervisor. Then I was in New Ulm as the regional wildlife manager for nine years. To lead wildlife management statewide is a great opportunity.

Q: You’ve spent your career working in Minnesota, but you grew up in Wisconsin.

A: Some of my fondest memories are as a kid hunting waterfowl with my dad, brothers and my grandpa. Horicon and Theresa marshes were nearby, and it made for a great childhood. I was still young when I saw a poster for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point of a guy holding two black bear cubs. Then and there I said that was what I wanted to do with my life, work with wildlife. I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Stevens Point, then spent time in Ely [Minn.] doing black bear research. My dream job was to be a northern forest wildlife manager. But when I got hired by the Minnesota DNR in 1992, I was assigned to Lac qui Parle on Minnesota’s prairies and farmlands, and soon grew to love the area.

Q: When you arrived at Lac qui Parle it was significantly different in terms of the waterfowl it attracted than it is now — and more different still than it was in the 1970s and 1980s.

A: When I arrived, 150,000 Canada geese along with a bunch of mallards would stop at Lac qui Parle in October. In the years since, migrations have gotten smaller and smaller, and the birds arrive later. This year, many of the mallards that came through Lac qui Parle didn’t arrive until December. It’s still a wonderful area with 100,000 acres of public lands, including those surrounding Lac qui Parle. In spring, when ducks migrate north, wetlands in the area — many of which aren’t in great shape, I agree — are chock full of birds. But not in fall. The migration has shifted. The reasons are complicated. But with ducks and geese and their habitat, we have to take a long-term perspective and protect their habitat. The migrations can change back.

Q: Traditionally, the Lac qui Parle area has had some of the state’s best pheasant hunting. But throughout the state’s ringneck range last fall, bird numbers were spotty. Unlike in recent years, hunting was tough at times.

A: We came through last winter, which was very mild, in great shape with pheasants. Then we got all that rain in May and June, which obviously hurt production. This winter has been cold at times. But there’s no snow across the pheasant range. If that continues and we have decent nesting weather, the birds will bounce back.

Q: As regional wildlife manager you oversaw wildlife in 32 counties of southern Minnesota. What’s your sense of duck and pheasant habitat conditions in that area?

A: A big issue is managing the 700 state wildlife management areas (WMAs) we have in that part of the state. Managing habitat on them is a priority and we’re building the partnerships necessary to get it done. I’m very proud of the acquisitions we’re making in the region with Legacy money. A stickier issue is water and draining it off the landscape in ways that protect our rivers and lakes and other habitats. Upstream landowners want the water off their property, while downstream landowners don’t want to be flooded.

Q: A new federal farm bill, which still hasn’t been written and perhaps won’t be for a while given all the changes in Washington, could help a lot if it included significant soil and water conservation provisions, as it has at times in the past.

A: I look at acquisitions and habitat work we’re doing on public lands as a way to build the foundation, the core, that sustains wildlife during times when we don’t have strong conservation measures in the farm bill. A wildlife friendly farm bill benefits farmers, too, by conserving soil, as one example, while also benefiting wildlife.

Q: The DNR wildlife section has had some legendary leaders over the years, including, among others, Dave Vesall, Roger Holmes, Tim Bremicker, Ed Boggess and Tom Isley. They weren’t afraid to speak their minds to protect wildlife regardless of the consequences. Regarding draining wetlands and otherwise adversely affecting wildlife, Holmes, according to Isley, had three ways to say no — “No, hell no, and over-my-dead-body no.‘’

A: We still have very passionate people in the section. We have great people and we’re going to do great things. That’s the mindset I have.

Q: Regarding staffing, in the DNR’s field staff reorganization completed a few years ago, some offices were closed and coverage territories were expanded significantly.

A: In 2019 we completed a plan that looked at the work we had to do with the number of employees we have. Our budget, as is well known, is driven by hunting license fees. Then COVID hit, and we weren’t able to hire for about two years. This exacerbated our staffing issues and we have had some morale issues as a result. Now, however, we’ve been back hiring for about two years and have built back our staffing. That said, I don’t think we hit a home run with the plan we developed in 2019. We need to take a look at it and we will.

Q: Expanding hunter numbers is one way to increase the DNR’s Game and Fish Fund and therefore the section’s budget. What’s your sense of today’s kids, and adults, and the likelihood they’ll become hunters?

A: The good news is Minnesota is bucking national trends. Our hunter numbers are generally stable. Yet the baby boom generation is moving on, and subsequent generations are smaller. Plus, kids’ time is highly structured today and there’s the issue of phones and so forth. However we do it, I think it’s essential we connect more people with nature. I think it is vital for us as humans. The uptick of hunting and fishing license sales during COVID was positive. I want to be hopeful, and I am.

Q: Wolves, forest management and a lack of deer in the north are just a few topics you’ll have to deal with in your new position that weren’t on your radar in southern Minnesota.

A: I’m familiar with our wolf management plan, and when wolves come off the federally protected list, that plan will guide us. Regarding forests, our [DNR] Forestry Division will soon begin to develop its next 10-year forestry management plan, and the Wildlife Section is gearing up to be part of it. As for deer in the north, in the near term, if this winter continues as it has, with no snow, we’ll have two winters in a row in which deer should come through in pretty good shape.