Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

State government agency in Minnesota, United States

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U. S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals, wildlife, and forestry throughout the state. The agency is divided into six divisions Ecological & Water Resources, Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife, Forestry, Lands & Minerals, and Parks & Trails.

Efforts to conserve Minnesota's wildlife began as early as 1876, with a forestry association established to protect the state's timber resources. However, those efforts became futile as the industry took over and people sought the money that could be made on the land. Over time, there were other attempts to control the destruction of resources, but most only had effects on what was done to public land, such as the Land Commission established in 1885. In 1911 the Minnesota Division of Forestry was established to conserve the state's forests by promoting fire prevention and protection. The first agency created to protect the state's resources was founded in 1931 by the Minnesota Legislature as the Minnesota Department of Conservation. When the Department of Conservation was created, it brought together four separate state entities: forestry, game and fish, drainage and waters, and lands and timber, while adding a division of state parks and a tourist bureau as well. The Great Depression was an important time for the Department of Conservation. Federal unemployment programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration provided labor to construct buildings, clear trails, and plant trees. Many of the buildings in Minnesota's state parks were built during this period. In 1971 the name of the agency was changed to the Department of Natural Resources to "better reflect its broader responsibilities." The division enforces permits implemented to protect and preserve Minnesota's water resources. The program works on observing the effects of climate on the water resources and analyzes the data in order to understand and address the impact the climate has on the Minnesota's wildlife and its citizens.

As the name implies, the division focuses on the enforcement of Minnesota's natural resource laws. Originally part of the Fish and Game Division, the Enforcement Division's goal has not changed much: keep the public safe. Conservation Officers employed by this division enforce laws regarding hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational vehicles, State Parks and wild rice harvesting. A second focus is educating the public about safety. Classes are taught by trained volunteers and are often related to the enforced laws. Itasca State Park is the second oldest state park in the U. S., established in 1891 and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The largest state park in size is the 33,895 acre (13,717 ha) Saint Croix State Park.

On November 27, 2012, the White Bear Lake Restoration Association filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota DNR for what the group alleges is the agency's role in the city's disappearing lake. This resulted in the DNR getting 13 communities to adopt water conservation tactics to reduce water consumption.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources publishes a magazine called the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. Most of the articles are also made available on the official DNR website.

Many of the services provided by the Minnesota DNR are actually done by the more than 33,000 volunteers that actively contribute. The department has volunteer positions ranging from jobs that require little to no prior experience, to jobs that require specialists with varying skills and a great amount of experience. There are over a dozen specific volunteer programs offered through the DNR that aim to preserve the state's natural beauty.

The DNR offers a variety of educational resources including curriculum supplements (Project Learning Tree, Project WET, Project WILD, MinnAqua), outdoor skills and safety training, education materials (field guides, learning kits), volunteer training (Master Naturalist, hunter education), and a variety of other resources (DNR for kids, grants). For a comprehensive list visit http://www. dnr. state. mn. us/education/index. html.