In Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for the conservation and management of the state’s natural resources.  The DNR also maintains the state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas.

The functions of DNR include:

• to conserve and manage the state’s natural resources;
• to provide outdoor recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, wildlife-watching, camping, skiing, hiking, biking, motorized recreation, and conservation education;
• to provide for the commercial use of natural resources in a manner that creates a sustainable quality of life;
• to integrate and maintain the interdependent values of a healthy environment and sustainable economy;
• to protect the state’s natural heritage by conserving the diversity of natural lands, waters, and fish and wildlife;
• to manage natural lands such as forests, wetlands, and native prairies;
• to maintain a healthy population of fish and wildlife;
• to protect rare plant and animal communities throughout the state;
• to manage the state’s water resources and ground water resources;
• to support natural resource-based economies;
• to manage state forest lands for multiple forest values;
• to ensure the maximum long-term economic return from school trust lands; and
• to provide other economic opportunities in a manner consistent with sound natural resource conservation and management principles.

The administrative and executive head of DNR is the commissioner of natural resources.  The commissioner is appointed by the governor[i].  In general, the commissioner has the following powers[ii]:

• to control all the public lands, parks, timber, waters, minerals, and wild animals of the state;
• to control the use, sale, leasing, or other disposition of the natural resources of the state; and
• to control all records relating to the performance of the commissioner’s functions.

DNR has the following divisions: ecological resources, enforcement, fish and wildlife, forestry, lands and minerals, trails and waterways, parks and recreation, and waters.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

[i] Minn. Stat. § 84.01.

[ii] Minn. Stat. § 84.027.