[mou] Non Game Change Source

[Sharon Stiteler]

I've gotten some emails about where I got my information.  Here is  
the news blurb that I got from news.google.com.  It looks like it  
originated from the Pioneer Press and made it into the Grand Forks  
Herald:

Sharon Stiteler
Minneapolis, MN
www.birdchick.com
Bird/Wildlife Observation Specialist for www.eagleoptics.com




DNR plans changes in Nongame Program

The Nongame Program at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources  
is slated for reorganization, but the changes won't diminish one of  
the agency's most popular programs, DNR officials say.

"There will be changes,"' said Lee Pfannmuller, director of the  
agency's Division of Ecological Services, which oversees the programs  
that address the needs of popular animals such as loons, trumpeter  
swans, peregrine falcons and songbirds. "But I strongly believe in  
the (Nongame) program and its mission."

Started in 1977, the Nongame Program relies on a special checkoff on  
state income tax forms for funding. It has grown from one staff  
biologist to six field biologists and a $1 million budget. Its  
supervisor, Carrol Henderson, is a popular speaker and author of  
books on wildlife landscaping and woodworking and birding.

Henderson was in Costa Rica last week on a birding trip and  
unavailable for comment. But Pfannmuller said she was aware staff and  
some citizens are concerned about the Nongame Program's future, as  
well as Henderson's future with the agency. She said changes in the  
Nongame Program are part of an overhaul of the Ecological Services  
Division, and the overhaul is still in the proposal stage.

But one of the ideas is for more Ecological Services staff to report  
directly to field regional supervisors, instead of managers in St.  
Paul. That includes the six Nongame field biologists who report to  
Henderson. She said having Nongame biologists report directly to  
field managers will help them coordinate projects with other DNR  
field employees.

"We want to have a voice with what other regional manager teams are  
doing," she said. "We would benefit from bringing in their expertise."

The Nongame Program had been under the umbrella of fish and wildlife  
managers. Recently, it was transferred to Ecological Services, a  
division that deals with environmental monitoring, research and  
management of scientific and natural areas.

The DNR has decided to keep the Nongame Program with Ecological  
Services so the Fish and Wildlife Division can concentrate on its  
traditional hunting and fishing programs, Pfannmuller said.

While it's unlikely Henderson will continue supervising the Nongame  
Program, which he founded, "there are no plans for demoting Carrol in  
pay or status," Pfannmuller said. She didn't know what Henderson's  
future role will be.

"Carrol will always be here as long as he wants to be doing good  
wildlife education and recreation," she said. "That's what I want to  
encourage him to do."

St. Paul Pioneer Press