Wally Dog
Well-known member
Subject: DNR CyberNews Feb 17, 2005 - NEW Ag Connections Correction
> The e-mail address in the original message contained a typo. The correct
e-mail address for Tom Conroy is now listed in this version.
>
>
> February 15, 2005
>
> Ag Connections
> News from the DNR
>
> DNR Column Will Speak To Landowners
> As the Shooting Editor for Outdoor Life magazine and an acclaimed book
author, the late Jack O'Connor was widely considered to be America's
foremost gun and hunting writer.
> In 1967, O'Connor wrote a letter to an Idaho newspaper in response to a
comment from then Gov. Don Samuelson stating that he received more criticism
of the state "game department" than any other department.
> "I've got news for Big Don," O'Connor began. "If he fired every member of
the department and staffed it with St. Peter, the Angel Gabriel, Sir Isaac
Walton, Nimrod, Diana, Daniel Boone, and Charles Darwin he'd still get more
criticism of the game department than any other."
> O'Connor went on to jest that he had "long ago found out that if I wanted
to get all the correct answers to the problems of game management I was
wasting my time if I went to see the game department biologist*.They only
know something about ecology, biology, chemistry, and various worthless
subjects. As a consequence these biologists are all fatheads*"
> Instead, O'Connor said he got "all the answers but quick" by going to "any
bar, barber shop or sporting goods store. I quickly find out that many
people know exactly how all the problems should be dealt with, and that all
this wisdom comes to them through a sort of osmosis-through having bought a
hunting license, having spent two weekends hunting deer, or having talked to
old Hi Jenkens, who used to be a market hunter and who came here in 1908."
> "When I feel lousy," O'Connor continued, "I wouldn't think of consulting
an M.D. Instead I pull a hair out of my head, send it to an old barber I
went to when I was in college down in Arkansas. He burns the hair in a
darkened room, notes the color of the flame, and tells me what is wrong."
> "The fact that I am still alive and relatively frisky at my advanced age
shows the old boy knows his stuff."
> In some ways, things haven't changed much in the world of natural resource
management since O'Connor wrote that letter. In fact, it has become more
complicated and contentious because there are simply a lot more people today
than 40 years ago - and we're not making any more land.
> Land use conflicts today are common. Take a single parcel of land. One
person would prefer to bowhunt on it while others think it would make a
great area to ride ATVs. Someone else would like to pick berries there while
another fellow looks at it and imagines a new housing development going in.
> Conflict and criticism are part of daily life in DNR. Always has been,
probably always will be. But that's not all bad. For one thing, it
demonstrates that people in Minnesota are passionate about natural resources
and outdoor recreation. And it also keeps us constantly on our toes,
re-evaluating, strategizing and looking for better and more creative ways of
doing our work.
> On the other hand, conflict and criticism are sometimes needlessly born
out of confusion and misunderstandings. The intent of this monthly column
will be to provide timely information about DNR programs and policies so
that misunderstandings and conflict can hopefully be avoided. It will also
provide information on how landowners, in particular, can more easily obtain
technical or even financial assistance through DNR.
> DNR is a large and complex agency, one that touches virtually every
Minnesotan in one way or another. From state parks to state forests, from
deer management to wild turkey research, from trails and prairie to wetlands
and minerals, DNR plays a major role. What we do, how we do it and why we do
it can be mystifying to many people. Hopefully, this column will take some
of that mystery out.
> Questions or suggestions about topics readers would like to see addressed
are welcome. Contact Tom Conroy, DNR New Ulm, at 507-359-6014 or e-mail
[email protected].
>
>
> The e-mail address in the original message contained a typo. The correct
e-mail address for Tom Conroy is now listed in this version.
>
>
> February 15, 2005
>
> Ag Connections
> News from the DNR
>
> DNR Column Will Speak To Landowners
> As the Shooting Editor for Outdoor Life magazine and an acclaimed book
author, the late Jack O'Connor was widely considered to be America's
foremost gun and hunting writer.
> In 1967, O'Connor wrote a letter to an Idaho newspaper in response to a
comment from then Gov. Don Samuelson stating that he received more criticism
of the state "game department" than any other department.
> "I've got news for Big Don," O'Connor began. "If he fired every member of
the department and staffed it with St. Peter, the Angel Gabriel, Sir Isaac
Walton, Nimrod, Diana, Daniel Boone, and Charles Darwin he'd still get more
criticism of the game department than any other."
> O'Connor went on to jest that he had "long ago found out that if I wanted
to get all the correct answers to the problems of game management I was
wasting my time if I went to see the game department biologist*.They only
know something about ecology, biology, chemistry, and various worthless
subjects. As a consequence these biologists are all fatheads*"
> Instead, O'Connor said he got "all the answers but quick" by going to "any
bar, barber shop or sporting goods store. I quickly find out that many
people know exactly how all the problems should be dealt with, and that all
this wisdom comes to them through a sort of osmosis-through having bought a
hunting license, having spent two weekends hunting deer, or having talked to
old Hi Jenkens, who used to be a market hunter and who came here in 1908."
> "When I feel lousy," O'Connor continued, "I wouldn't think of consulting
an M.D. Instead I pull a hair out of my head, send it to an old barber I
went to when I was in college down in Arkansas. He burns the hair in a
darkened room, notes the color of the flame, and tells me what is wrong."
> "The fact that I am still alive and relatively frisky at my advanced age
shows the old boy knows his stuff."
> In some ways, things haven't changed much in the world of natural resource
management since O'Connor wrote that letter. In fact, it has become more
complicated and contentious because there are simply a lot more people today
than 40 years ago - and we're not making any more land.
> Land use conflicts today are common. Take a single parcel of land. One
person would prefer to bowhunt on it while others think it would make a
great area to ride ATVs. Someone else would like to pick berries there while
another fellow looks at it and imagines a new housing development going in.
> Conflict and criticism are part of daily life in DNR. Always has been,
probably always will be. But that's not all bad. For one thing, it
demonstrates that people in Minnesota are passionate about natural resources
and outdoor recreation. And it also keeps us constantly on our toes,
re-evaluating, strategizing and looking for better and more creative ways of
doing our work.
> On the other hand, conflict and criticism are sometimes needlessly born
out of confusion and misunderstandings. The intent of this monthly column
will be to provide timely information about DNR programs and policies so
that misunderstandings and conflict can hopefully be avoided. It will also
provide information on how landowners, in particular, can more easily obtain
technical or even financial assistance through DNR.
> DNR is a large and complex agency, one that touches virtually every
Minnesotan in one way or another. From state parks to state forests, from
deer management to wild turkey research, from trails and prairie to wetlands
and minerals, DNR plays a major role. What we do, how we do it and why we do
it can be mystifying to many people. Hopefully, this column will take some
of that mystery out.
> Questions or suggestions about topics readers would like to see addressed
are welcome. Contact Tom Conroy, DNR New Ulm, at 507-359-6014 or e-mail
[email protected].
>
>
