by Dave DeMars
news@thenewsleaders.com
The Department of Natural Resources scored a win-win when it recently moved its offices in Sauk Rapids, centralizing its mission and saving money at the same time.
The office in Sauk Rapids has four divisions that serve many counties in the central region of the state. Divisions include the Division of Parks and Trails, Division of Ecological and Water Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife-Wildlife Section, and Division of Fish and Wildlife-Fisheries Section.
The DNR has lots of equipment, said DNR spokesperson Mark Hauck. It was becoming more difficult to manage from a logistical standpoint and was costing the department a good deal of money that was being put into fuel and added personnel time. Hauck works in the Ecological and Water Resources Division.
“We ran out of space for our equipment and ran out of space for our people,” Hauck said. “The old place was just too small.”
For years, the DNR stowed equipment at various sites around the St. Cloud area, including Dalbo and Little Falls. That meant a trip to another site to pick up needed equipment and then proceeding to the operation location. Maintaining several sites meant increased security risks, vandalism and more insurance costs.
“It was increasingly more difficult to get the equipment and get the supplies and then go to the job site,” Hauck said. “It was a lot of traveling and a lot of time on the road for staff, plus that just causes increased risk of getting in an accident.”
Finding a new home became imperative. The search was on and after looking at several sites in various locations, they found the ideal site right in their own backyard at 1035 S. Benton Drive, not more than two blocks from their old location.
“It’s very convenient for the public, and they are able to find us fairly eas(ily),” Hauck said. “We are right on the south end of Benton Drive near the intersection of Benton Drive and Hwy. 10. That makes it very convenient for our trucks to get onto major arteries (Highways) 10, 15 and 23.”
Even more convenient is the fact the fisheries section was able to be moved from a location in Montrose to Sauk Rapids.
“It used to be located in an old house in Montrose and had been there for years,” Hauck said. “It seemed to work OK, but that old house had bats, mice and snakes in the basement. The only bathroom was located in the basement and when the rains came in the springtime they had to put lumber on the basement floor in order to walk over the water to get to the bathroom. The facilities just weren’t what they should be.”
Add to those problems the fact the fisheries section was located in the far southwest corner of the three-county service area, and it’s easy to understand why Hauck and his staff are much happier with their new Sauk Rapids location.
“It’s a more central location (in Sauk Rapids) and much easier for people who have fisheries questions to come to south Benton Drive and get their questions answered,” Hauck said.
The new location also means trailer tires do not have to be changed in the parking lot and time spent in traveling has been decreased. That means more time can actually be spent on doing the conservation work with which the department is charged.
Mark Pelham works at repairing a fish net used for seining walleye so they can be examined for age and health. All kinds of critters such as muskrat, snapping turtles and humans do damage to the seining nets, and they are repaired on a regular basis. Now the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a nice facility in Sauk Rapids where nets can be repaired and dried.
Mark Hauck stands in the middle of the cold storage area at the Sauk Rapids Minnesota Department of Natural Resources facility. The area looks empty now but will be filled with boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, jet skis, trailers, washers and a host of other equipment before the next change of season is complete. Next door is a heated shop area. Equipment can be pulled out of cold storage and repairs made for the next season. Tires won’t have to be changed in the parking lot as was the case in the past, Hauck said.
Mark Pelham carefully examines some scales under the telescope in the lab area of the new Minnesota Department of Natural Resources facility in Sauk Rapids. Pelham works for the Fisheries Division. He explained that now they have a nice facility where fish can be carefully examined as to age, diet, disease and other issues affecting the health of the fish.
