Minnesota DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr opened the DNR's annual stakeholder meetings Friday in St. Paul listing accomplishments his agency and supporters have achieved in the past year, and challenges that lie ahead.
Accomplishments cited by Landwehr:
• Successful wolf season
• A hunting and fishing license fee increase
• The undertaking of two enforcement academies
• Wild lands and waters secured by the Outdoor Heritage Fund (Legacy money.)
• The writing of a state prairie conservation plan
• Changes in the waterfowl season; establishment of a new invasive species research center at the U
Challenges:
• Water quantity and quality
• Loss of grasslands
• Aquatic invasive species
• Recruitment of hunters/anglers
• Mille Lacs walleye management
• Decline of the state's moose
• Forest management in a time of difficulties for the forest-products industry
