Melrose man honored for his conservation work

[h2ofwlr]

Anderson: Melrose man honored for his conservation work
Article by: DENNIS ANDERSON , Star Tribune
Photo: http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdo ... 43231.html


NEAR PADUA, MINN. – He’s older now — 87 — but still strides with an energetic gait, perhaps never more so than when tall grass stretches out before him, with a wetland to one side and a small woodlot to the other.

Such was the scene that unfolded Wednesday in rural Stearns County as Mel Roehrl checked out a new state wildlife management area that will be named in his honor Saturday.

It’s a rare feat, this, to have one’s name attached to anything, absent its appearance previously on an obituary page. But no one is more deserving of the honor than Mel, whose conservation ethic and work arguably have not been exceeded in Minnesota. And that covers some ground.

Born in 1926 in tiny Lake Henry, Minn., Mel moved with his family to the outskirts of Melrose, northwest of St. Cloud, as a toddler. He’s remained there his entire life.

Mel and I first met in 1983 when Jeff Finden and I drove to Albany, Minn., to gather with a small group of hunters to gauge their interest in forming a Pheasants Forever (PF) chapter in Stearns County. This was at the old Sands Motel, and Mel was joined by Pete Fischer, Roger Weller, Jim and Doug Mohs, Mike Hanan, Jake Whitten and Jim Schmiesing.

It speaks well of Minnesota that anyone would show up at a meeting to join a bird club that at the time had barely taken wing. PF’s first chapter fundraiser had been held only a year before in St. Paul, with fundraising banquets following in Kandiyohi and Stevens County. Now Finden and I were gauging interest among this Stearns County bunch in joining the fold, essentially to benefit themselves, because the PF model was and remains one in which most funds raised remain with chapters for local habitat work.

Fast forward to today, and the Stearns County PF Chapter can boast of a nearly endless list of accomplishments.

It’s one of only two PF chapters nationwide, for example, that has spent more than $4 million for local habitat work, land acquisition and related conservation efforts. Last year, Stearns County was named Minnesota’s PF Chapter of the Year, and this year it received the organization’s Excellence Award.

All of which reflects the dedication of scores of conservation volunteers in Stearns County, and on a broader scale argues well that all “environmentalism” is local, even though Congress and state legislatures have over the years passed such large public policy initiatives as the Wilderness Act, the Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, among others — each of which broadly protects, and improves, society.

Yet in the end, a nation, state or county whose citizens don’t “get it” about the importance of clean air, clean water, soil conservation and a balanced landscape that includes redoubts for wildlife won’t be saved by someone legislating from afar.

Put another way, if this planet has a future, it needs more people like Mel Roehrl.

More: http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdo ... 43231.html

[h2ofwlr]

Chart: Maximizing funding for the Mel Roehrl State Wildlife Management Area
Article by: DENNIS ANDERSON , Star Tribune
Updated: April 26, 2014 - 4:57 PM

funding the mel roehrl Wildlife MAnagement area

Pheasants Forever (PF) matches state and federal conservation funds to multiply their benefits. The new Mel Roehrl State Wildlife Management Area provides an example.

First, PF regional biologist Eran Sandquist negotiated with the property owners to purchase most of the area’s 303 acres and donate the remainder. Then Sandquist — working with DNR area wildlife manager Fred Bengtson, Stearns County PF volunteers and others — applied for and received federal and state funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Reinvest in Minnesota Critical Habitat Match.

To optimize those funds, contributions were subsequently sought and received from:

The Pheasants Forever Build a Wildlife Area Fund

The Buckentine family

Tri-County Pheasants Forever

Jackson County Pheasants Forever

Lyon County Pheasants Forever

Mower County Pheasants Forever

South Central Minn. Pheasants Forever

Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA)*

Todd County Pheasants Forever

Padua Conservation Club

Green Grove Rod and Gun Club

Steve Thompson Memorial

MDHA Hides for Habitat Fund

MDHA Habitat Committee

More: http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdo ... 43121.html