About 350 of Minnesota's conservation leaders will gather Friday, Jan. 8, and Saturday, Jan. 9, in Brooklyn Center for the Department of Natural Resources' 20th annual Roundtable, an invitation-only event that focuses on fisheries, wildlife and ecological issues.
The gathering provides hunting, angling and conservation organization representatives the opportunity to share insights with DNR staff and receive updates on the latest trends, research and natural resource issues.
"The Roundtable is an important gathering," says Mark Holsten, DNR commissioner. "It is an opportunity for conservationists of all stripes to come together, listen, learn and share ideas for the betterment of our state."
Roundtable discussions, he added, help shape DNR decision making on natural resource management, legislative initiates and policy changes.
This year's Roundtable will include presentations by representatives of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, Clean Water Council and Anglers for Habitat. Participants also will attend breakout sessions that focus on hunting, angling and ecological/waters issues.
Wildlife Roundtable
Other topics to be covered at the Wildlife Roundtable include an update on hunter harvests and hunter trends, youth hunter regulation simplification and a summary of wildlife conservation highlights. |
Fisheries Roundtable
Later, presentations will be given on a number of topics related to recreational walleye management, fishing tournament and muskellunge and northern pike management. Participants also will receive updates on the DNR's coldwater fish production program, the Red Lake recovery, invasive species, shore land and structure rules and a recently completed walleye angler survey. |
Eco/Waters Roundtable
Other Roundtable presentations will focus on enhancing local decision-making that supports healthy watersheds and updates on shoreland and structure rules and invasive species management |
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MN Department of Natural Resources
This year's Wildlife Roundtable will focus heavily on waterfowl populations and waterfowl habitat issues. A number of speakers will address historical changes to Minnesota's landscape and the implications these changes have had on quantity and quality of habitat and related waterfowl populations. Similarly, a number of experts will address the DNR's waterfowl plan objectives. A proposal to establish a duck plan implementation committee also will be discussed.
This year's Fisheries Roundtable will begin with presentations that revolve around the theme of ensuring the future of angling in Minnesota. This will include updates on current and future management approaches, aquatic habitat conservation and actions related to fish-eating cormorant populations.
This year's Eco/Waters Roundtable will focus on integrating the DNR's Ecological Resources and Waters divisions and the relationship between Minnesota's lands and waters. The meeting will begin with an overview of recent accomplishments of the two divisions and a science-based presentation that revolves around surface water, groundwater and rare resources. Later, participants will learn about and discuss the status of the integration of the divisions into a single division.