'Old dog' Roger Johnson retires from DNR

Berk Brown
Sports Editor

A self-described "old dog," Roger Johnson now has more time to play.

Johnson retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in August of 2002 after a 36-year career working to preserve the environment. More than half that time Johnson was the Regional Wildlife Manager for the seven-county Twin Cities area.

While Johnson hasn't had to punch a time card for five months, his time is still occupied with outdoor activities.

Instead of tracking the movement of possums, studying wildlife habitat or helping enrich the wild turkey population in Minnesota, Johnson spends time working in his woodshop or making his own fishing lures or just hanging out with his six grandchildren.

Sometimes, Johnson said, it's when he's doing such things as teaching his oldest grandchild the finer points of trapping that he realizes just how important the work he did for more than three decades was and will continue to be.

"I did it partly because of my own sake, partly for the sake of other people and partly for the sake of all the future generations," Johnson said. "How you take care of the land will determine how your kids will live."

Growing up in northeast Minneapolis, Johnson said he never dreamed he would have a career in wildlife. Although, looking back, he said it's not surprising he was draw in that direction.

Roger Johnson

As a youth he would trap muskrat, take trips to North Dakota farms, North Shore cabins and his parents both had an appreciation for the outdoors.

As a family, Johnson said, they would often take bike rides to Silver Lakes and his parents always allowed him to explore.

"They told me they would rather I broke my arm (being adventurous) than have my spirit broken," he said.

After high school, Johnson went into the Army for six months and then went on to college. His intent was to go to college for forestry, but on his application, for whatever reason, he wrote forestry/wildlife.

Then, in what Johnson said amounts to nothing more than luck, the college simply put him into the wildlife program. From there, he became enthralled with the wildlife library, and his career path was set.

Johnson started with the DNR in 1966 by doing pheasant research and a few more strokes of luck, as he calls it, led him to the Twin Cities area, later to the title of Area Wildlife Manager and ultimately the Regional Wildlife Manager.

Looking back, Johnson said he may not have taken the prototypical path into the wildlife career, but he wouldn't change anything about it.

"Wildlife management is a tremendous career," he said. "I think there were probably 10 days in my whole career that I didn't want to go to work. That's pretty remarkable.

"It went kind of fast for me. Kind of in the blink of an eye."

Johnson may have loved all but 10 days of his 36-year career, but there are certain accomplishments which stand out for the area resident.

Johnson is very proud of the research he did over the years which has helped improve wildlife habitat and better protect the environment.

He was the lead biologist on the project which helped bring wild turkey from Missouri to Minnesota. Johnson said that's not the only reason the turkey population is thriving in the state now, but it did play an important role.

"Just look at the turkey population now," he said. "It was a huge, huge success."

He's also proud of the goose removal program for the urban area, the goose comeback in general, the increased amount of wildlife land in the Twin Cities area, the much-improved working relationship between the DNR and sportsmen and the responsibility municipalities have taken to ensure environmental stability.

Future environmental and wildlife stability, Johnson said, is a concern given the economic shortcomings at the state capitol and the ever-increasing population of the region.

"In the short term, the main concern is money," Johnson said. "But, the real challenge is going to be how to deal with all the new people and the new opportunities for recreation while still protecting the resources.

"The land can only produce so much. We need to figure out how to preserve those resources while maintaining quality experiences for people when they go to the outdoors."

And while Johnson admits it will be hard not having an active role in making those decisions, he said he will continue to let his feeling be known when he feels the need.

"I still know people," he said. "I can still make phone calls."

In the meantime, Johnson is content enjoying the riches of retirement in combination with the outdoors, because he said it's important to never lose touch with the land.

"I think in a lot of ways, we've lost a little of our connection with the land," he said. "People need to maintain their connection with the land. There's a further and further severance of that connection.

"We don't eat computers."

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