Auditor: DNR needs to do more to fix concerns about logging on wildlife lands

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources cannot show that it’s protecting wildlife from harmful logging on public lands, six years after the concern was raised by the DNR’s own field staff, a state audit concluded.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor undertook a special review of DNR timber sales in 1.3 million acres of wildlife management areas (WMAs) across the state. The review found that a lack of plans, poor documentation and unclear guidance makes it uncertain – even today – whether the DNR is protecting wildlife habitat as required by law.

Deputy Legislative Auditor Katherine Theisen, who ran the special review, told legislators Tuesday at a hearing that the DNR has written only seven management plans for more than 1,500 WMAs. She noted that the agency waited more than 30 years to write an updated management plan for Red Lake WMA – the state’s largest.

“By law, DNR is authorized to harvest timber in WMAs only to protect, perpetuate, or re-establish habitat to produce wildlife, including for public hunting, fishing, trapping and similar outdoor recreational uses,’’ Theisen and Legislative Auditor Judy Randall wrote in the report.

Without those plans or documentation, it’s not possible to know whether the DNR is following that law, Theisen said. The report recommends the Legislature step in to help fix the problem.

Putting timber up for sale is a legitimate way to manage wildlife landscapes, but DNR wildlife managers have been objecting for years that cordage demands from the Forestry Division have taken priority. In particular, wildlife managers have regretted the loss of older timber stands with special wildlife values.

Theisen said her office decided to investigate the DNR after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August 2023 prohibited timber sales from Minnesota wildlife management areas, temporarily suspended a multimillion-dollar grant to the state agency and delayed approval of another grant.

The special review led by Theisen documented deep and lingering staff dissatisfaction stemming from conflicting goals, unclear leadership on policies and procedures, including confusion over who has decisionmaking authority related to timber harvesting.

DNR Fish and Wildlife Division Director Kelly Straka said Tuesday in an interview that the agency has begun a “continuous improvement action plan’’ to move forward.

“There’s a strong desire to fix things right now,’’ Straka said. “We’ve made some progress.”

She acknowledged that the airing of dissatisfaction among field staff at the DNR has exposed some “uncomfortable realities.”

In the Legislative Auditor’s report, for instance, a Fish and Wildlife Division staff member was quoted anonymously as saying WMA managers feel pressure to allow timber harvests for the purpose of Forestry Division’s cordage goals. Another wildlife manager was quoted saying, “Current forest practices are to maximize harvest goals, not to maximize the habitat benefits.”

In April 2024, according to the Legislative Auditor’s review, some DNR foresters were still uncertain how to properly identify and cut timber stands on WMAs. The report quoted a Forestry Division survey respondent as saying that staff has been asking questions about logging on WMAs since the sustainable harvest analysis was created. The staff has been receiving vague answers, no answers or mixed messages from leadership across different divisions, the survey respondent was quoted as saying.

Straka said she’s aware of “ugly and messy” experiences in the field that have lowered staff morale.

The Legislative Auditor’s report said the DNR needs to do more than implement its own “continuance improvement plan.” For one, the agency should amend its policies and procedures to clearly state that timber will be harvested in WMAs only to the extent consistent with documented wildlife habitat goals specific to each area.

DNR leaders also must specify how the agency will ascertain and document how proposed timber cuts are primarily in keeping with wildlife habitat values, the report said.

The Legislative Auditor’s report also recommends that the Legislature should step in to specify – “independent of DNR staffing decisions” – which WMAs in the state should have individual master plans. Lawmakers also should indicate what the DNR should include in the plans.

“DNR has asked staff with different disciplinary objectives, different conservation motivations , and different chains of authority to work together to make timber harvest decision in WMA lands,’’ the report said. “At the same time, DNR has not given these staff clear collective priorities or a clear roadmap for how to make such decisions, but has instead provided mixed messages.’’

DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen wrote a response letter to Randall, the legislative auditor. “We’re pleased that this is the second recent independent review that did not find statutory or grant compliance issues,’’ Strommen wrote.

The letter said recommendations in the report “generally align with areas of improvement DNR independently identified and is actively addressing.” The commissioner highlighted the “continuous improvement action plan” she called for. It was initiated in September 2023 by three division directors and should close out by the end of May, the commissioner’s letter said.