MINNEAPOLIS _ Amid what likely will prove to be another so-so Minnesota duck season (at best), and on the cusp of what probably will be another so-so Minnesota pheasant season, start with this premise:
Notwithstanding certain wildlife, conservation and environment gains that have occurred in recent decades _ turkey, deer and goose populations have risen, the Mississippi River is cleaner, among other examples _ just about everything to do with the state's farmland wildlife has, in the aggregate, gotten worse.
And few knowledgeable observers expect matters to improve _ again, notwithstanding the formidable efforts put forth by key conservation players, including Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, and others.
Now another premise:
The only way to ensure a brighter future for ducks and pheasants in Minnesota, and a more diverse farmland landscape, is to change dramatically the way the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) operates in the southern two-thirds of the state _ a change the DNR likely would fight tooth and nail, regardless of its potential improvements to farmland conservation.
