Cliff Buchan
News EditorIn the spring of 1974 when he first went to work at the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, Lloyd Knudson couldnít help but be impressed with the land and the wildlife living there.
When he would travel the wildlife area, first as a wildlife manager for the north metro area and later as the manager of Carlos Avery, Knudson would admire the planners who helped set aside what would become a 23,000 acre state-owned facility sprawled across Anoka and Chisago counties.
Now 29 years removed from his first days at Carlos Avery, the value of the wildlife area continues to impress Knudson, 58, who retired on Jan. 2 after nearly 32 years with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He spent 26 years at Carlos Avery before moving to St. Paul three years ago as Farmland Wildlife Program Leader for the DNR.
ìWhen I got assigned to go out there (Carlos Avery), I was somewhat impressed with the size of the complex and the amount of wildlife in the area,î Knudson said.
The DNRís vision of preserving a vastly unchanged habitat area covering 23,000 acres so close to the metro area was truly remarkable, Knudson said.
ìThatís my lasting impression,î Knudson said, talking about the wildlife area where he spent 26 years of his work life.
The first sections of what is today Carlos Avery were acquired in 1934 when the state bought the former Crex Carpet wire grass camps west of Forest Lake in Columbus Township.
ìIt was one great decision for the people of Minnesota to preserve a section of land that large and that close to the metro area,î Knudson said.
Knudsonís part
For his quarter of a century plus one year stay at Carlos Avery, Knudson said he takes pride in being a part of projects to improve the water quality and enhance the area for its still-growing wildlife base.
Carlos Avery is a ìunique pieceî of land that holds a ìvaried and good variety of wildlife and waterfowl,î Knudson says.
ìItís really a very unique area for wildlife,î he said. From its many varieties of migratory birds to sandhill cranes, bald eagles and trumpeter swans, Carlos Avery is home to a vast array of birds, he said. That many birds such as bald eagles and swans have made comebacks is a credit to natural areas like Carlos Avery, he said.
ìYou can see a Peregrine Falcon there now on occasion,î Knudson said.
Looking back on 26 years of work at Carlos Avery, Knudson says he is proud of the gains wildlife have made but also that the area has become a popular facility used more and more for hunting and other wildlife recreational pursuits such as bird watching and photography.
During his years at Carlos Avery, habitat management was always a priority, Knudson said. Without strong efforts to manage habitat there would be no wildlife and none of the recreational avenues that follow the wildlife year in and year out, he said.
With the land purchased and managed with dollars generated from hunters, hunting will always have its key place, Knudson said. ìHunting has been one of the constants,î he said.
As wildlife manager in the north metro, he helped broker the purchase of the Lamphrey Pass Preserve, an 1100-acre wildlife area and former private hunting club land on the northwest quadrant of CR-23 and I-35 in Columbus Township.
The purchase was made with the partnership of the Nature Conservancy and involved the first use of the ìChickadee Check-offî on state income tax forms where non-game wildlife programs can receive donations from taxpayers.
A long career
A native of the Grand Rapids area, Knudson found his way to the DNR after college at the University of Minnesota and four years in the Navy. The Naval duty came in late 1967 after he earned his college degree in fish and wildlife.
ìIt was called the draft,î Knudson said of his military stint. ìOnce you got out of college you became eligible for the draft.î
Rather than waiting for his call, Knudson enlisted in the Navy. He served as a radioman on the USS McDonough, a guided missile frigate based at Charleston, SC.
Knudson saw duty throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas but the luck of his assignment spared him from duty in Vietnam.
The Navy was a great opportunity for seeing parts of the world at an early point in his life, but when he was discharged in December of 1971, he quickly returned home to Minnesota.
His first job was as a technician for the DNR in St. Paul, assigned to sectional leadership. In April of 1974 he drew the Carlos Avery assignment.
He remained as game farm manager and wildlife manager in the north metro until being named Carlos Avery manager in 1988. He held the latter post for 12 years until his transfer to the St. Paul office three years ago.
ìChange is good,î Knudson said. ìI enjoyed the last three years.î
While he missed the broad expanse of Carlos Avery, he poured his time and energy into farmland wildlife programs working in close harmony with sportsmenís and conservation groups including Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and the National Wild Turkey Association.
ìCarlos Avery gave some wonderful opportunities but it was localized,î he said. ìThis gave me an opportunity to work statewide and have some impact on these programs.î
Much of Knudsonís work the past three years has involved conservation programs and dealing with the impact of the federal farm bill.
If the full impact of the bill is achieved, upwards of 500,000 acres of wildlife and habitat area could be improved, Knudson says.
No big plans
After 31‡ years of state work and four years of military service under his belt, Knudson said heís not looking for any new work. That may change in the future, he says, but for now he wants to hunt, fish and spend some time traveling with his wife, Patt, a mortgage banker in Forest Lake.
Stepping back will be a nice change, Knudson said.
He has always managed to keep busy.
Prior to moving to Hugo three years ago from a home on the Carlos Avery grounds, Knudson was active in a number of civic ways here. He is a long-time member of the Forest Lake Rotary Club and a past chair of the Forest Lake Area Youth Service Bureau Advisory Board.
He spent 12 years as an elected official on the Columbus Township Board of Supervisor and was on the townís planning commission for two years prior to joining the town board.
As an elected official, he was involved in joint governmental efforts with Forest Lake, including service on the joint fire board and the cable TV commission.
Now, with retirement in hand, Knudson says he will enjoy even more his occasional drives through Carlos Avery. With no place to be and no work projects to finish, Carlos Avery can be a place to hunt or a destination to simply enjoy wildlife, he says.
And that is what Carlos Avery is all about for citizens of Minnesota and why he so enjoyed being a part of it for 26 years, he says.
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