Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced his citizen member nominees to the newly formed Conservation Legacy Council (CLC). The CLC will provide advice and recommendations to the Governor on how the state can better govern and fund conservation, protection and enhancement of the state’s natural resources.

“Wise management of our natural resources is part of our heritage and it must be part of our future,” Governor Pawlenty said. “Minnesota’s waters and woods are too precious and too important to be managed in two-year legislative cycles. We must put politics aside to create a long-term strategic vision for natural resource and conservation management, governance and funding for Minnesota”

Currently, various government programs and the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund are funding the protection, enhancement and improvement of our State’s natural resources. However the current funding and delivery structure may not be sufficient to ensure that Minnesotans will continue to have access to quality hunting, fishing, and enjoyment of the state natural resources.

The CLC will review and consider how natural resources are currently governed and funded and will recommend future state government operated or managed activities relating to fish game and wildlife habitat protection and restoration, water quality protection and enhancement, forestry activities, prairie restoration, and biological diversity.

Once the CLC determines its governance and funding recommendations, it will develop a strategic plan for the State to implement reform efforts. The Council will consider partnerships between governmental entities, non-governmental entities, organizations, land owners and others in it process.

Governor Pawlenty signed an executive order earlier this fall to create the CLC and citizens have applied through the Secretary of State’s open appointments process. The CLC will be comprised of 15 members; 11 public members and four legislators. The following are the public members:

• LeAnn Buck of St Paul is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Association of Soil andWater Conservation Districts. Ms. Buck has served in that role since 1999. Local soil and water districts provide technical and financial resources to assist private landowners with the implementation of conservation practices. She has been active in a broad-based stakeholder group that successfully advanced clean water funding and policy implementation at the state capitol. Ms. Buck is also active with the National Association of Conservation Districts to address provisions of the federal farm bill conservation programs and with the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

• Joe Duggan of Bloomington is Vice President, Corporate Relations and Marketing with Pheasants Forever. He has been named “Man of the Year” by Outdoor News and “Minnesota Conservationist of the Year by the Minnesota Conservation Federation. Mr. Duggan has served on a number of state and federal task forces and committees relating to wildlife conservation and natural resources. He was a member of the Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture Board, founder of the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance, officer of the Executive Committee Environmental Trust Fund Coalition and Minnesota Public Lands Task Force. He also served on the Governor’s Trust Fund Citizen Selection Committee for the LLCM.

• Bruce Hawkinson of Welch is a conservation consultant for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and has worked extensively with other states, the Corps of Engineers, coastal programs and hunting and fishing groups to design, facilitate and develop strategies for enhancement of natural resources. He has been a fisheries researcher, area fisheries manager, lake management planner, and strategic and operational planner for fish and wildlife.

• Dawn Hegland of Appleton co-owns a family soybean farm in Lac qui Parle County with her husband, Ed Hegland. She is the Director of the Transportation, Recreation and Tourism Division for the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission. Hegland also serves as the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway Coordinator and has extensive experience with recreation and tourism planning and funding. Ms. Hegland and her family enjoy camping, birding and biking.

• Mike Kilgore of Lino Lakes is an Associate Professor of Natural Resources Economic and Policy at the University of Minnesota and serves as the Director of the Center for Environment and Natural Resources Policy, Department of Forest Resources. Kilgore is the former Executive Director of the Minnesota Forest Resources Council, and an avid outdoorsman.

• Jane Kingston of Eveleth is a self-employed consultant and a Trustee with the Nature Conservancy. She is a member of the Trout Lake Association of Itasca County, Ducks Unlimited, and the Ruffed Grouse Society. Ms. Kingston also served on the Governor’s Trust Fund Citizen Selection Committee for the LLCM.

• Carrie Mellesmoen of Minnetrista is a real estate attorney. Mellesmoen is also active with the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance, North American Bear Foundation, and the Minnesota Chapter, Safari Club International. Ms. Mellesmoen has been a hunter education instructor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and served on the agency’s Game and Fish Fund citizen’s oversight committee.

• Kirk Schnitker of Champlin is an attorney. He worked on the ballot initiative for securing the right to hunt and fish in the Minnesota Constitution. He is a member of Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Sportsmen for Change, and Pheasants Forever. Mr. Schnitker also served as Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commissioner from 1992 – 1996, Champlin City Council from 1990-1996, and the Champlin Planning Commission from 1990-1992.

• Lawrence Sukalski of Fairmont is a family farmer and the recipient of the 2006 National Conservation Legacy Award from the American Soybean Association. Mr. Sukalski is the Secretary of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and a member of the Minnesota and National Corn Growers Association. He is a member of the Natural Resource Conservation Service State Technical Committee and Martin County Conservation Club. Mr. Sukalski and his family practice 100 percent conservation and minimum tillage on their 2,400 acre family farm. He has enrolled 67 acres of his land in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and restored 24 acres of wetlands.

• Ron Schara of Ramsey is an outdoor writer and owner of a television production company. Schara’s Minnesota Bound TV show is in its 13th year and airs in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Rochester, and Fargo markets. He is also an award-winning outdoor columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

• David Zettner of Duluth works in the insurance and financial services industry and has served as the Co-chair of the Environmental Natural Resource Trust Fund Task Force. Mr. Zettner served as Chapter, State and National President of the Izaak Walton League, receiving the organization’s Sigurd Olson Award. He was also named Conservationist of the Year by Outdoor Life Magazine.

“The CLC will build on my administration’s efforts to reform the way natural resources are managed in Minnesota” Governor Pawlenty said. “These public members are from diverse backgrounds with a variety of perspectives on how we preserve and enhance Minnesota’s natural resources. I look forward to working with them to make Minnesota a national model in conservation.”