Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1942-08-27
The Ta1narac
Refuge


Herewith is an article written
by the well known Editor Lou
Benshoff of the Detroit Lakes
Record, who is greatly interested
in MinneSota's outdoor life. Mr..
Benshoff is a man with years
of experience and has made a
study of conservation. This edi-
torial deals with cooperation, or
lack of cooperation, between the
federal and state governments
with special reference to the
Tamarac Refuge located in the
vicinity of Detroit Lakes. Mr..
BenShoff'S editorial follows:
missioner of conservation, stirred up
a veritable hornets nest when he
accepted the hospitality of a private
hunting club in Becker county dur
ing two or more recent shooting sea-
sons and then joined with his hosts
and others in blocking the compile
ton of the Tamarac National Wild
life Refuge as promulgated eight
years ago and definitely outlined by
an executive order of President F.
D. Roosevelt on May 81, 1888, is now
quite apparent.
Rapid progress had been made in
the development of this wildlife
sanctuary, over which experts from
Washington waXed enthusiastic and
declared that when and if the plans
were, brought to full fruition, it would
be the outstanding migratory and
upland game bird productive area
on the continent. A CCC crew of
200 young men worked for three
years in building roads, fences, dams,
etc., and satisfactory progress was
being made in the acquisition of
land titles until Commissioner Strunk
interviewed and through an amend
ment or alteration in the state stat
utes, induced the governor to sign
proclamation dividing the Refuge
into two sections and by so doing,
permitted few private hunting club
owners and members to sit at the
exits of the flyways and retain
privilege whereby all efforts of the
federal government and conserva-
tionists are nullified and a "kill' of
birds made each open period that
BODIED no good for the hunters of
tomorrow-the next generation.
The attitude of the Izaak Walton
League of Minnesota, and number
of other sportsnlen's groups with a
large membership, in criticising the
reversal of former state policy by
Commissioner Strunk in behalf of
his duck-shooting hosts, has appar-
emily become a campaign issue for
at least three of Governor Stassen's
opponents have intimated that if they
are successful in reaching the guber-
material chair, a new conservation
commissioner and a policy of COOP
Grafton with the federal government
will follow.
This newspaper has no especial
criticism against those men who dis
like to relinquish today's preroga-
tives for an uncertain tomorrow
when they may be unable to enjoy
a privilege now denied the less for
tunate of the citizenry as a whole,
but We join the Waltonians in con-
demning the state commissioner for
injecting himself into a position of
policy reversal which is both unten-
able, reprehensible and does not in
any sense orient itself with any true
conservation precepts.
The controversy is purely one be-
tween the federal government and
the private landowners-not over
conservation policies, but over land
and privilege values, compensation
and acquisition. The establishment
of this and other refugees was soli-
cited by official Minnesota and local
conservationists, and to now attempt
to block fulfllment of carefully
draw plans is as asinine as it is i'm
possible of understanding other than
the assumption of guest endeavor-
ing to repay his hosts for courtesies
received.
The decision of Federal Judge M.
M. Joyce has been appealed to the
Circuit Court of Appeals but in the
interim the electorate are destined
to learn many more details of this
quite obvious personal and puerile
attempt to throw an important CO.
operative conservation policy into
the political chicanery hopper.