When he started volunteering with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Tim Pulis had no idea what was in store for him. Who knew bison would be so popular?
He found out quickly that they were and has devoted the last eight years to being lead bison ambassador at Mankato’s Minneopa State Park.
“The park was overwhelmed with how many visitors showed up to see the bison,” he said. “They asked for volunteers to deal with the public’s questions about the bison.
“So right now we have about 12 ambassadors. What we do is after you drive through the bison range — which is kind of neat because you can be surrounded by bison as you drive — the drive takes you up a hill to a parking lot where you can walk to an overlook.
“You can see the entire bison range down below you, and that’s where we volunteers station ourselves at the overlook. We have all kinds of bison artifacts such as bones, teeth and fur, that people can pick up and ask questions about. It’s unbelievable how many people we deal with.”
During a typical three-hour volunteer shift on any given Saturday, he interacts with up to 200 people who have traveled from all over the Midwest to visit the famous bison range, Pulis said.
“It’s quite a draw,” he said. At a recent year-end party, a Minneopa staff member revealed that the bison ambassadors had interacted with 11,800 people throughout the year.
One of the most popular questions he gets from bison enthusiasts is where do the animals go during the winter? He said they don’t go anywhere but instead stay put at Minneopa.
Pulis, a Mankato resident who has been retired for nine years, said he has plenty of time to volunteer with the DNR. That’s happy news for the agency, which is seeking thousands of volunteers to fill posts throughout the state. Its volunteer numbers peaked at about 35,000 in 2009 but, like many organizations, the agency now struggles to fill openings.
“Volunteers bring community connection and support for natural resource management,” said Renee Hartwig, alumni and volunteer programs director for the DNR. “DNR’s mission is to work with Minnesotans and volunteers to provide a hands-on approach to that management.
“Volunteers share their time, talents, skills and networking capabilities to make natural resources and outdoor recreation a key component to the quality of life we enjoy in this state.”
Another retiree, Tom Rice also volunteers for the DNR and toils at Chamberlain Woods near Le Sueur. His focus is on invasive species control and monitoring plant communities there.
Rice enjoys when, once a year, a Gustavus Adolphus College conservation biology class professor brings her students to Chamberlain Woods to help clear brush. Once the brush is cleared, Rice and his volunteer cohorts can more easily find and identify invasive species.
“I did a tour of the site and discovered garlic mustard, which is an invasive,” he said. “Luckily it was a small patch and was well contained. It was the first we’ve seen it there. We aggressively tried to control that. We worked in the fall and will go back in the spring to revisit it.”
Located outside of Jordan, Rice commutes to his post and is also part of a team that ensures the Chamberlain Woods property is kept free of debris, vandalism and hunting. Then site stewards like him report back to the DNR what they’ve found, and the agency takes care of it from there.
Eric Anderson, a former Mankato mayor who is a financial adviser, finds time in his busy schedule to volunteer with Minnesota Pheasants Incorporated of Blue Earth County, which in turn works with the DNR. The group was organized in 1987 and he got involved 25 years ago.
“Like a lot of us, I was younger then,” Anderson said. “I enjoyed hunting and the outdoors and I was looking for an organization that did conservation work.”
Wildlife management areas are “dotted all over the state,” he said, and the DNR needs help managing them. That might mean dealing with tree removals, helping care for parking lots or signage and, in some cases, the parcel they’re improving is hundreds of acres, Anderson said.
“When things come to fruition, there’s a sense of accomplishment,” he said. “We’re doing things to enrich other people’s lives. I think you can stand back and look and say, generations from now they may be able to enjoy the same thing. I like to see the end results.”
To volunteer with the DNR, go to www.mndnr.gov.