The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

As a kid I was always into the outdoors. I moved to Worthington, Minn., at the age of 13 and after my folks bought me a new bike, I was the traveling fisherman and hunter. I would ride my bike to the local lake in my town almost every day and when I reached the age of 14, which is when you can hunt without an adult present, I would ride my bike about 6 miles out to the Lake Ocheda Waterfowl Refuge and try to shoot a Canada goose. I looked pretty rudimentary riding home with a shotgun in one hand and, if I was lucky, a goose held by the neck in the other.

When my son was about 10, he really wanted to start hunting and this was when hunting became a bigger part of my life. So fast forward almost 50 years from that new bike, and wildlife habitat and the conservation of our natural resources now occupy almost all of my non-work hours. I was a self-taught outdoor person and my internal flame was fuel without the help of a significant mentor.

I was at the Minnesota DNR Round Table a few weeks back and ran across an old friend by the name of Jason Garms. He really didn’t know it, and I really didn’t really realize it, until that chance meeting last week but my encounter with Jason was a pivotal moment in my life.

I was working to enroll a portion of my parents farm into a state program call the Minnesota Native Prairie Bank Easement Program. This program was state funded and paid owners of remanent native prairie parcels to protect those lands from ever being plowed up or converted to other uses like housing etc. 97% of all the native prairies in Minnesota are long gone. These unique spaces can give you a look back to what the state might have looked like before modern civilization. 

Many have plants and flowers that exist no where else in the state. Back in the days before the plow, native prairie could support as many as 250 different plant species all living in harmony at the same time. Native prairies are a look into the past and are my very favorite places to spend my time in the wild. Jason came down to do a site inspection on my parcel. My parcel was not very large, 20 acres or so. This put it pretty far down on the priority list, as protecting the largest blocks of remaining native prairie made the most sense.

I was doing my best to convince Jason that my spot was important. After a short walk I asked him if he thought I could qualify. He responded: I have already made up my mind to recommend this spot for protection. Now I am just going on a treasure hunt. What he meant was he was exploring for as many different plant species as he could identify. 

It was on that day at that very moment that I was forever changed. My immersion into native prairies and the creatures that lived there had begun. I knew almost nothing on the subject matter of native prairies and over the past two decades that has changed a lot.

Every year I try to learn and remember, that is the hard part, the names of new plants and flowers. This includes their call names and the scientific names used by biologists. I was asked the other night how I came to be knowledgeable about prairies? I responded that I have spent as much time as I can with DNR wildlife biologists, DNR ecologists and DNR resource managers as I possible can. Hanging out with folks that are a lot smarter than you are is the very best way to get smarter. I have attended many tours with long drive times and the are always worth the time and effort and expense.

When I met Jason, his title was a Prairie Stewardship Specialist. Today he has been promoted more then a few times and now holds the title of Agricultural Program Liaison. It had been more then 10 years since I had talked to him last and he looked the same. He is aging far better than I am.

My engagement in the outdoors now results in countless hours a year volunteering for Pheasants Forever, Minnesota DNR, Prairie Chicken Society, Round Lake Sportsman’s Club, Quail Forever, Ducks Unlimited Okabena/Ocheda Watershed and many others. 

You hear it all the time that you should always be good to one another. That every meeting no matter how insignificant, could be a life changing event for you or the other person. I never really realized it until my drive home from the metro that day just how important my chance meeting with Jason Garms was and to the person I have become. Lighting a spark, creating a curiosity, opening someone’s eyes to the wonders of nature is something that every adult and child need and deserve. Jason did it for me and I truly believe I will spend the rest of my life trying to do the same for every person I might have the opportunity to interact with. I am sure Jason has no idea the affect that he has had in my life and the results that my efforts since have achieved. Thank You, Jason, and I will do my best to carry on your spark.