[mou] Dave Ahlgren

[Sharon Stiteler]

I got this from Carrol Henderson.

Sharon Stiteler
Minneapolis, MN





Good morning. I thought you would want to know that Minnesota's  
bluebirds, trumpeter swans, the Nongame Wildlife Program staff, and  
I, among many others, lost a very special friend yesterday. Dave  
Ahgren passed away after a long and courageous battle with prostate  
cancer. Dave was one of those "once in a lifetime" personal and  
professional friends who epitomized the "bluebird of happiness" that  
he did so much to help. I guess you could say he was the "Dave of  
Happiness."

I first met Dave in about 1982 when I was working on revising my old  
eight-page Birdhouses in Minnesota booklet and developing it into the  
first "Woodworking for Wildlife" book. I had learned about Dave's  
carpentry skills when he was a volunteer at the Minnesota Zoo. I had  
asked him if he would be willing to review some of the birdhouse  
designs that had been proposed by various "experts" for the various  
species involved like purple martins, bluebirds, and wood ducks. He  
didn't like the designs...they looked like they had been designed by  
a biologist. He suggested improving the designs  by eliminating as  
many angled cuts as possible, and converting many of the plans into a  
simple "one-board" design.  It was a stroke of genius that laid the  
groundwork for one of the most successful birdhouse books in the  
country.

When I wanted to expand our Nongame Wildlife Program's bluebird  
conservation efforts statewide at the urging of Dick Peterson,  I  
decided that we needed bluebird workshops in each of our six DNR  
regions. I figured that we needed one hundred Peterson bluebird  
houses to distribute to the workshop participants.  I called Dave and  
asked  if he could make some bluebird houses for the Nongame Wildlife  
Program.  He said "sure."  Then he said, "How many?"  When I said  
600, I recall there was a temporary silence; then Dave said "sure."   
Those initial workshops helped give rise to the Bluebird Recovery  
Program which is now looked on as one of the most successful in the  
nation.  Since learning how to make Peterson bluebird houses in  
quantity, Dave has cut out about 80,000 bluebird houses. Everywhere I  
go in Minnesota, there are Peterson bluebird houses--probably made by  
Dave.  I think we have more nest boxes per mile of highway than any  
other state in the nation. Dave has made a difference.

When I began planning the Minnesota trumpeter swan restoration  
project in the early to mid '80s, I told Dave that I was planning to  
go to Alaska to get eggs from swan nests in central Alaska. I had  
countless people offer to be a volunteer assistant on those trips,  
but Dave had a special advantage.  He was a pilot for Northwest  
Airlines and he knew the vice-president, Bill Wren.  He was able to  
get first class seats, for the comfort of the eggs, of course. In  
June of 1986, 1987, and 1988, Dave and I made trips to central Alaska  
with US Fish and Wildlife Service pilot Rod King to collect swan  
eggs. What great adventures! Dave was an invaluable partner as we  
collected eggs. At the research cabin on Minto Lake,  he boiled water  
to put in hot water bottles to keep the eggs warm as we collected  
them. On one occasion when Dave was with Rod and I to collect eggs,  
we landed on a small lake, taxied to the nest, and we got the eggs.  
Meanwhile the wind died. Rod backed us up to one shore and attempted  
to take off, but as we reached the other end of the lake, the plane  
failed to break free from the surface tension of the water, and he  
shut the plane down.  We thudded into the opposite shore. We tried  
again; with the same results.  Then he explained that this lake had  
changed from a three-person lake to a two person lake and that one of  
us had to go. I lost.  Rod dropped me off with a sack lunch on a tiny  
island in the middle of the lake  and explained that I should be safe  
from the bears there. Just before they taxied off, Dave threw me a  
sleeping bag, and I remember Dave's big grin as they departed. Rod  
did manage to find me again.

Anyway, Dave helped collect the Trumpeter Swan eggs, and he helped  
with the swan releases at the Tamarac National Widlife refuges. In  
more recent years, he and Jan have made regular trips to Monticello  
to see the growing flock of trumpeter swans at the home of Jim and  
Shiela Lawrence.  He was, once again, an integral part of a great  
widlife success. Wildlife conservation is a long term, lifelong  
commitment, and Dave saw this project through from its beginnings to  
the wonderful success that it is today.

When I got the idea to do a book on bird feeding, Wild About Birds,  
who did I see but Dave.  He had some great ideas on some very  
functional and easy-to-build bird feeders. The Wild About Birds book  
has much of Dave in it.  He knew what worked, and he was happy to  
share his ideas with others.  Dave was a very common-sense type of  
person who interspersed every conversation with abundant smiles and  
nonstop humor.  He was uplifting to all who knew him.

Dave and Jan believed in practicing wildlife conservation around  
their own home. They have lots of bird feeders with lots of bird  
traffic, along with a few deer and other assorted critters. And their  
tree, shrub, and flower plantings are a model for the concept of  
"landscaping for wildlife." In fact, Rebecca Kolls did one of her  
television shows at Dave and Jan's home a couple years ago featuring  
the landscaping for wildlife theme. Dave became a regular TV  
personality. There were other programs on his bluebird  
accomplishments featured on KARE-11 TV with interviews by Ken Speake.  
He was also a recipient of the "Eleven Who KARE" awards because of  
his volunteer efforts to help bluebirds.

Dave was a continuing inspiration throughout the 25 years that I knew  
him, and hopefully I can continue to pass on that uplifting lifestyle  
to others.  His unselfish manner, humility and vast knowledge were  
also special because he was so dedicated to helping wildlife. I gave  
him his own carousel with our DNR bluebird conservation program and  
he did many seminars and programs for civic groups and school  
children throughout the metro area.

Dave was a pilot. He knew the beauty of flight, and he made a  
difference in helping put wild birds like swans and bluebirds back in  
the sky that had been missing for many years.  The bluebirds should  
be back any day now. Each returning bluebird is an opportunity  
remember Dave's legacy and to realize that we each have an  
opportunity to be an inspiration to others and to make a difference  
for wildlife.  As for Dave, I shall be checking for any cedar sawdust  
sifting down from above. I'm sure he has already checked to see if  
they have a really nice woodshop in Heaven where he can make some  
Peterson bluebird houses for Heaven's backyard.