Meet our Volunteers

Volunteer carrying an arm full of branches

Park Rapids volunteers awarded President’s Volunteer Service Award for Lifetime Achievement

Four long-time volunteers at the Park Rapids Forestry Shop received the President's Volunteer Service Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2023. They are Tom Stursa (retired DNR staff who used to supervise this group and now is a volunteer), Russell Johnsrud, Denny Ernst, and Chuck Yliniemi.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is the highest volunteer award possible to achieve. These volunteers are best known for woodworking projects they have completed in the shop over the last 25 years.

winners of the Presiden'ts volunteer servive aware. Names provide below image.

Left to Right: Denny Ernst, Tom Stursa, and Russell Johnsrud. Missing is Chuck Yliniemi.

They have built:

  • hundreds of bluebird and wood duck houses
  • bird feeders and bee boxes
  • custom storage solutions for DNR truck toolboxes
  • clothing lockers in the Park Rapids Forestry office
  • a wooden Suggestion Box for DNR public participation meetings

These volunteers have also:

  • sanded and prepared tree cookies for a display at the Minnesota State Fair
  • repaired wooden DNR signs and forest road closure barricades  
  • re-built two insulated seedling storage boxes for transporting a trailer load of seedlings during planting season and a portable prairie chicken observation blind for the Detroit Lakes Wildlife office

Congratulations to all four volunteers! We are proud to work with them!

Park Rapids DNR staff and volunteers group photo. People name's provided below image.

Park Rapids DNR staff and volunteers
Back row left to right: Mike Lichter, Kent Wolf, Russ Johnsrud, Joe Kuhlmann, Tom Stursa, Denny Ernst, Kyle Haugen, Garrett Loper, Brad Witkin, Kevin Lapinoja, Mark Palm, Jordan Griffing, Jon Neumann
Front row: Dawn Plattner, Donna Edelman, Steve Bade, Kristi Henderson, Heath Wilson, Cory Kimball


Nobles County Pheasants Forever: Adopt-a-WMA Program

Nobles county pheasant forever group. Names provided below image.

Left to Right: front row - Jake Pomputis, Mary Jo Rapp, Kristi Palmer, Bruce Michelsen, Gordy Heitkamp, Kaden Teerink, Cliff Ross and Dave Scherf.
Left to Right: back row - Scott Roemhildt, DNR Southern Region Director; Scott Rall, Nobles County Pheasants Forever Chapter President; PF members - Tim Boots, Gary Gilbertson, Clarence Mess, Dave Rapp, Chris Palmer, Steve Gnoza, Ken Hoefker, Nick Griffith, Bryon Foote and Nathan Holt.

We want to tip our cap to this volunteer group in southwest Minnesota! Nobles County Pheasants Forever - Minnesota adopted every Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in their county. This summer, volunteer projects ranged from sign replacement and trash pick up to tree removal.

Nobles County Pheasants Forever has been named the National Pheasants Forever Habitat Chapter of the Year three times. We can see why! This chapter has invested more than $14 million into 40+ public land acquisitions, despite there being less than 2% public land in the intensively farmed county.  They have also helped host the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener twice, in 2014 and 2022.

We applaud this chapter’s volunteer efforts in helping to improve and maintain these lands where wildlife can thrive, and the public can view or hunt. Thank you for your dedication and impact in southern Minnesota!

See this group in action in this DNR Adopt-a-WMA video.


Tim Kraskey and Brown County Pheasants Forever Adopt-a-WMA Project

Tim Krasky with a German shorthair dog and a pheasant in his hand.Tim is the president and leader of the Brown County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. He organizes and implements projects the chapter works on through the Adopt-a-WMA program in Brown County. His chapter has adopted all 23 Brown County WMA's consisting of 32 unique units.
In 2022, ten chapter members and many youth volunteers from the area trap shooting teams helped maintain and improve wildlife management areas by volunteering 100 hours planting food plots for wildlife, assisting in the development and maintenance of seven parking areas, maintaining ten boundary projects replacing WMA's signs, removing old barb wire fence on a WMA, and establishing plum thicket winter cover by planting 300 bare root American plum shrubs. The chapter strives to improve public lands that Pheasants Forever has acquired over the years, and not just keep acquiring land if it is not maintained.

All of this was made possible by an Adopt-a-WMA and No Fee Contract agreement with Brown County Pheasants Forever that allows the chapter to act as an agent of the DNR. In addition, Tim has assisted and guided the Brown County 4-H Federation who has adopted the Somsen WMA which is a waterfowl refuge on the edge of New Ulm.

Thank you, Tim and Brown County Pheasants Forever, for heading up this effort!


How does Minnesota rank for volunteering?

  • In 2021, Minnesota ranked #3, with more than 1.5 million residents volunteering through an organization contributing $3.5 billion in economic value.

Source: Corporation for National and Community Service

 

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