Deer hunter advocate Mark Johnson settles into Lessard-Sams

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Deer hunter advocate Mark Johnson settles into Lessard-Sams post
By Dave Orrick St Paul Pioneer Press
Posted: 11/01/2014 12:01:00 AM CDT | Updated: about 11 hours ago


Photo: http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_268 ... on-settles
Mark Johnson, 55, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, responds to questions during a meeting of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council meeting Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. The council voted 9-2 to recommend hiring Johnson to become the council's next executive director. (Pioneer Press: Dave Orrick) Related Stories

In September, following a contentious process, Johnson won approval from the council, and soon after from the Legislative Coordinating Commission -- the body that manages the OHC -- to succeed Bill Becker, who will retire Nov. 18. Johnson starts the job at an annual salary of $107,000.

The council vets and recommends to the Legislature how roughly $100 million should be spent annually on wildlife habitat projects vying for money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund. That's one-third of the proceeds from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, approved by voters in 2008. Becker, a veteran of the state Capitol, has been the executive director since the council was established.

Johnson, 55, a native of Fertile, in northwest Minnesota, is no stranger to the Capitol. He has worked for 15 years for the Grand Rapids-based Minnesota Deer Hunters Association -- 14 of those years was as executive director. The group has advocated for deer hunters with lawmakers and the state Department of Natural Resources and has been awarded several million dollars for habitat projects that range from wetland restorations to efforts to improving moose habitat.

Now Johnson's on the other side and trying to settle into a new job and a new home.

Q. How are you settling in?

A. It's been a fast-paced, trying-to-drink-in-the-information month.


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I picture that I am shadowing Bill and absorbing everything I can. We close on selling our (Grand Rapids) house (Friday, Oct. 31), and then we're moving into a rental until we can find the right place with a little bit of elbow room. We like gardening, and I like woodworking, so we have to find a place that can handle that.
Q. Living in the metro and working in downtown St. Paul will be quite a change.

A. I know. It used to take me five minutes to get to work in the morning, and I couldn't tell whether I would be dodging a deer or a bear, or both. It's a little different here.

Q. What are your first impressions of the job?

A. There is an extraordinary amount of attention by council and staff to make sure all the expenditures are done properly and in accordance with statute. That's the No. 1 takeaway so far.

Q. What's surprised you?

A. Realizing how much you don't know until you're on the inside looking out. The amount of detail is just incredible, and I've been struck by the staff (of three) has focused on doing everything right.

Q. As executive director, you don't actually vote like council members, but you do still have power and influence. How will you ensure you don't treat MDHA differently than other groups?

A. Well that's misunderstood. Our direction comes in statutes, and what I've seen is that everyone in the office follows the statutes. In that respect, it's very equal for everyone involved.

Q. You weren't the first choice for many council members, and even in the final vote, two voted against selecting you. Are you worried about the lingering effects of that whole process?

A. No. They're professionals, and so am I. We're all in it for the natural resources.

Q. Are you planning on making any changes in the office?

A. I don't see any changes in the short term. There are so many nuances, and I want to make sure I have all those down first. The staff is so professional. I wouldn't even consider making any changes without consulting the council. I'm not a real advocate for turning things upside down unless that's needed, and I don't think that's needed here.

Q. What are your parting thoughts for MDHA?

A. I was there 15 years. That's a pretty long run, and I don't regret a day of it. It was such an incredible time to be involved. I wrote a farewell for the upcoming issue of Whitetails (the MDHA's magazine). My main message to the membership was how wonderful it was to work with them, the quality of the volunteers we had.

Q. What was your proudest accomplishment?

A. I can't say it's mine, but I'm really proud of how the board members and the members have gained a wider view of conservation. Rather than just saying is it good for deer, they're saying is it good for natural resources. So we have projects that help moose and elk, but helping their habitat also helps grouse and songbirds and other critters as well.

Q. The MDHA is the state's largest deer hunter group, but of the roughly 500,000 deer hunters in Minnesota, your actual membership was only about 16,000. Did that ever bother you?

A. Not having at least 20 to 30 percent of the deer hunters as members of MDHA was frustrating. But you don't find any other interest group that has 20 to 30 percent membership, and once I realized that, I realized it was reality. But I did want more members. I think we are blessed with so much abundance of wildlife in Minnesota that people become complacent. Why should I be worried about that when I just walk out the back yard and can shoot a deer? Of course, in times of excitement and challenge, that drives membership up.

Q. What's your parting advice for MDHA?

A. Keep telling their story, and all the great things they're doing. It's all about getting kids into the outdoors and making sure they have quality places to enjoy, and that story sometimes gets lost. You have no idea how many programs there are throughout the state because of the dedication of members and volunteers.

Q. When it comes to deer, do you think there's too much emphasis on simply the numbers of deer from the hunt, rather than the habitat?

A. I do think people lose their focus and they see what's close to them. Most people walk out to a blind and see a deer and shoot it. Or don't see a deer and wonder what happened to the deer. That's not 99 percent of the equation. There's thermal cover, escape cover, there's the quality of the habitat that deer live the rest of their lives in.

It's like going to the grocery store to buy broccoli, and it's not in the shelves. Sure that's frustrating, but that broccoli wasn't going to instantly appear. There has to be a way to grow it and get it to the shelves. Maybe that's a weird analogy. Not that many people really like broccoli. My point is that it's people being disconnected from the outdoors.

Q. Is it possible to make everyone happy with deer numbers?

A. (Chuckling.) It'll never be at a level where everyone's happy. It'll always be at a level where there are too many or too few, depending on who you are. We do have to remember that hunting is the number one tool for managing deer, and the more you kill, the fewer there are to reproduce. And we need to remember that we can't control the weather -- but better habitat can lessen the effects. You're still going to lose the ones that nature meant to lose, the late-born fawns or the sick or the crippled.

Q. Will you be hunting on the deer opener?

A. That's the irony. I'm probably not. We're moving and everything. If I do, it'll probably be for muzzleloader and maybe then just for a day. Maybe I'll just have to get out for squirrels and coyotes once the snow falls.