[mou] Non Game Change Source

[Dennis/Barbara Martin]

There was also a large article in the sports section of the Minneapolis
paper on either Sunday or Monday.

Dennis and Barbara Martin
dbmartin@skypoint.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sharon Stiteler" <sharon@birdchick.com>
To: "mou-net" <mou-net@cbs.umn.edu>; "Mnbird" <mnbird@lists.mnbird.net>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 1:08 PM
Subject: [mou] Non Game Change Source


> 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
>
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