Growing up in small-town Indiana in the 1960s and '70s, Steve Merchant wanted to be Curt Gowdy — the legendary host of ABC Television's "The American Sportsman."
Gowdy was born in Wyoming with a fly rod in his hand. Yes, he was a famous sports broadcaster. But to Merchant, Gowdy was the worldly hunter and angler who was a gentleman in the field and who preached respect for the land.
Merchant, retiring in three weeks from the wildlife division at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), doesn't hunt and fish with celebrities like Gowdy did. But for part of his career he lived the same dream of unlimited exposure to the wild, never letting dust settle in his double-barreled shotgun.
As his career draws to an end, he is concerned that fewer modern hunters and anglers see themselves as stewards of the natural world.
"I worry that some people who are engaged in hunting and fishing … consumptive outdoor wildlife activities … are listening to a narrative that the environmental mind-set is not needed," Merchant said in an interview last week.
He sees economic interest groups purposely trying to divide game and fish types from other outdoors stakeholders. The issues include proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, take-backs of public land, and protecting the use of toxic lead shot over nontoxic ammunition.
"Ensuring that wild things have a place in the modern world is an uphill battle," Merchant said.
One of his proudest DNR accomplishments was helping Minnesota establish sustainable forestry practices on nearly 10 million acres of state land. Once dominated by timber values, DNR forest decisions now consider other interests on a more consistent basis. The checklist includes habitat for deer, moose, elk, bear, wolves and non-game wildlife.