This Issue

What does your ideal conservationist look like? If you're a hunter or an angler, the ideal might look a lot like you. Then again, if you're a birdwatcher, you might select someone who focuses on birds. Other kinds of activists might find role models in the Sierra Club or Wilderness Society.

Asking myself this question, I thought of nominating my cousin Ron. He's an obvious choice: A hefty 6-foot-tall guy, he epitomizes the all-American angler and hunter. More than a weekend sportsman, he tests and markets gear for the outfitter Cabela's. Ron is a regular on fishing tournament rounds, but he still likes to come home to Minnesota to fish with his uncle Darryl, his childhood model of outdoorsmanship. Ron married an outdoorswoman, and he and his wife are raising their two girls to be the same.

But if Ron seems perfectly suited for the role of conservationist, so does his brother Rick. Another athletic guy, Rick climbs mountains. Like Ron, he found his outdoor calling as a youngster. From the rocks at Taylors Falls, he graduated to Mount McKinley. Rick became a leader of outdoor education and recreation programs for youth. Today, he and his wife climb mountains around the world, and he leads a youth program based in Poland.

Your exemplary conservationist could be close to home - could be the guy next door. Or the girl next door. Ducks Unlimited just announced the 2003 Budweiser Outdoorsman of the Year'a woman named Sandi Beitzel. She won $50,000 to give to the conservation groups of her choice. Besides DU, she belongs to the National Wild Turkey Federation, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Walleyes for Tomorrow, Wisconsin Bowhunters, and Becoming an Outdoors Woman.

Of course, most conservationists go unrecognized. Luckily, our state has more conservation volunteers than we could possibly honor individually. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer provides a case in point: Though we acknowledge gifts of $50 or more in the magazine, we don't have space to print the names of the more than 20,000 people who give each year, forming the very foundation of our funding.

Who are these Volunteer conservationists? Roughly 70 percent of Volunteer subscribers are men. Just over half of them hunt, more than 75 percent fish, and 58 percent go birding. Naturally, subscribers also include people who prefer less-common pursuits, and there's no telling how many points of view are represented among subscribers. On any topic (ATVs, hunting, fishing, land use) we're likely to get letters from both ends of the conservation spectrum. Regardless of their interests or views, all subscribers count themselves as conservationists.

A few years ago, I traveled to Alaska and visited another cousin. One morning I went running with his neighbor, who told me she liked being a doctor in Alaska because Alaskans don't judge her by the kind of earrings she wears. Nobody judges anyone by appearances, she said; even personal hygiene is irrelevant because so many people live in the bush. Her comment made me wonder how much more judgmental Minnesotans might be.

Do we expect a conservationist to look a lot like ourselves? Or do we recognize that anyone can cherish the outdoors? The possible ways to work for our environment and natural resources are varied and endless.

Our challenge is not to measure our credentials against those of others. Nor is it to measure others according to our standards. To improve performance, athletes aim for their personal best; and that would seem to be a sensible goal for any conservationist as well. Be the best conservationist you can be, and that will certainly be good enough.

Kathleen Weflen, editor

kathleen.weflen@state.mn.us