Federal audit of Minnesota DNR logging program finds no violations, but gives critics their due

A federal review cleared the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources of any wrongdoing associated with its controversial logging practices on public wildlife lands.

The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Interior said its auditors did not find any contract violations despite concerns raised by federal and state biologists that some timber harvests have harmed wildlife habitat. Still, the review offered some validation of criticism that DNR’s logging priorities at times conflict with the conservation purposes of the federal program that helps Minnesota acquire and manage wildlife lands.

The wildlife management areas (WMAs) in question were acquired and improved with money derived from hunters and anglers via license sales and excise taxes. Known as the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, it’s a national pillar of outdoors funding and a vital source of revenue at DNR.

The controversy over timber sales on WMAs arose in summer 2019 when 28 DNR field employees wrote to DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen saying that the DNR’s logging program was hurting wildlife habitat on hunting lands and it was “scientifically dishonest” for the agency to say otherwise.

Two years ago, scrutiny of DNR’s forestry actions escalated when the acting regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) stopped the flow of $22 million in grant money to Minnesota. The money was released after the two agencies reached an agreement to ensure all DNR-arranged logging on wildlife lands suited wildlife purposes.

Retired DNR biologist Gretchen Mehmel, one of the whistleblowers, said the audit validates what she and others have been complaining about for years.

“When wildlife staff are pressured to meet timber targets instead of ecological objectives, the mission gets lost and so do habitats,” Mehmel said.

But in the very next sentence, the report said USFWS has valid concerns regarding potentially competing priorities at DNR between wildlife managers and foresters when it comes to maintaining wildlife conservation objectives. For example, the report said, most DNR area wildlife supervisors contacted by auditors said they “felt” DNR executives “prioritized meeting timber industry cordage targets, which is a forestry objective, over maintaining wildlife habitat” for a variety of species.

DNR fish and wildlife staff “felt they did not have the ability to deny harvests on WMAs,” the report said. Strommen and other agency executives also were interviewed by auditors. They all said timber harvests on WMAs benefit wildlife habitat, the report said.

The Inspector General’s Office said in its audit that it reviewed $76 million in grant-related expenditures leading up to the pause in funding to DNR. “We found that the (DNR) ensured that grant funds and license revenue were used for allowable activities and complied with applicable laws and regulations,” the audit said. “We did not identify any reportable conditions.”

The DNR issued a statement saying it was gratified but not surprised by the finding. “We have been working with the USFWS and resolved their concerns about timber harvest activities,” the statement said.

The DNR’s statement about the audit noted that while auditors reported the highlights of interviews with DNR wildlife staff, they did not include interviews with other staff from the divisions of forestry and ecological and water resources. All three sectors are involved in the agency’s interdisciplinary forest management.