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Retirements are hitting the Minnesota DNR en mass this month. Of the DNR's 2,630 employees in November, 120 have accepted the state's 2010 early retirement incentive. That's better than 41⁄2 percent of the agency's full-time equivalents, and that doesn't include people leaving under normal attrition. Moving these folks off the state payroll will save tax dollars in the long run, but in the short run, it's gotta be one of the largest brain drains in the history of the agency. Experienced names you've read in this newspaper for years, like Mark Ebbers and Harlan Fierstine in DNR Fisheries, and Dick Kimmel, who's led the Madelia research office, are retiring. Nothing wrong with making room for the next generation of public servants, but the looming natural resources retirements you've been reading about in Outdoor News the past few years? They're here. And given the status of the state budget, there's no guarantee that the agency can immediatly fill all those positions.
I want to offer a special tip of the hat to New Ulm-based DNR Public Information Officer Tom Conroy, who's among the 120 early retirees. He marks his last day on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Outdoor News readers may recognize Tom's name for the frequent column he wrote about DNR projects and priorities in the farmland region. Conroy's hunting buddy, C.B. Bylander, a state planner for the DNR, summed up why his friend in New Ulm was successful in his communications role.
"Tom has an appealing writing style because he was able to convey natural resource management in a way that people easily understood," Bylander said. "He's folksy and readable, and that's a nice combination you don't come across a lot."
A Vietnam vet, Conroy, 63, tells me that he's looking forward to enjoying his good health afield, but don't be surprised to see him still mixing it up with the written word on the state conservation scene. Who knows, now that he's a civilian, maybe we'll get him writing for Outdoor News more frequently.
Retirements are hitting the Minnesota DNR en mass this month. Of the DNR's 2,630 employees in November, 120 have accepted the state's 2010 early retirement incentive. That's better than 41⁄2 percent of the agency's full-time equivalents, and that doesn't include people leaving under normal attrition. Moving these folks off the state payroll will save tax dollars in the long run, but in the short run, it's gotta be one of the largest brain drains in the history of the agency. Experienced names you've read in this newspaper for years, like Mark Ebbers and Harlan Fierstine in DNR Fisheries, and Dick Kimmel, who's led the Madelia research office, are retiring. Nothing wrong with making room for the next generation of public servants, but the looming natural resources retirements you've been reading about in Outdoor News the past few years? They're here. And given the status of the state budget, there's no guarantee that the agency can immediatly fill all those positions.
I want to offer a special tip of the hat to New Ulm-based DNR Public Information Officer Tom Conroy, who's among the 120 early retirees. He marks his last day on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Outdoor News readers may recognize Tom's name for the frequent column he wrote about DNR projects and priorities in the farmland region. Conroy's hunting buddy, C.B. Bylander, a state planner for the DNR, summed up why his friend in New Ulm was successful in his communications role.
"Tom has an appealing writing style because he was able to convey natural resource management in a way that people easily understood," Bylander said. "He's folksy and readable, and that's a nice combination you don't come across a lot."
A Vietnam vet, Conroy, 63, tells me that he's looking forward to enjoying his good health afield, but don't be surprised to see him still mixing it up with the written word on the state conservation scene. Who knows, now that he's a civilian, maybe we'll get him writing for Outdoor News more frequently.