DNR Commissioner Says Minnesotans Spoke Up for the Outdoors

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The Department of Natural Resources got most of the money it requested from the Legislature, and its head credits an outcry by Minnesotans who hunt, fish, use state parks and ride snowmobiles and ATVs.

Commissioner Tom Landwehr says the user fee increases his agency needed weren't a foregone conclusion. He says the original budget bills left out all or nearly all the hikes.

The increases didn't make it into the DNR's budget bill until the very end of the session.
Gov Mark Dayton signed the bill Tuesday.

Landwehr says it's a huge victory for citizens who use state parks and trails, or go hunting and fishing.

Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, who was on the conference committee that crafted the final version, concurs that public pressure made the difference.