Audit: DNR lacks up-to-date plans, clear guidance for timber harvests on wildlife management areas

A special review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor released to the Legislative Audit Commission on Oct. 14, 2025, found the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lacked up-to-date plans and clear, consistent guidance for timber harvesting decisions on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), and that those gaps contributed to federal scrutiny and staff dissatisfaction.

The report, presented by Deputy Legislative Auditor Catherine Tyson, concluded that DNR managed about 5,600,000 acres of land statewide with WMAs comprising roughly 1,300,000 acres; "Only 7 of Minnesota's over 1,500 WMAs currently have plans," Tyson said during the commission meeting. The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) opened the special review after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service temporarily suspended federal grant payments to DNR in August 2023; the grant was later reinstated with conditions in December 2023.

Why it matters: WMAs are statutorily required to be managed "for the benefit of wildlife and related recreation," the auditors wrote, and DNR is authorized to harvest timber on WMAs only to "protect, perpetuate, or reestablish wildlife habitat." OLA found weaknesses in four areas—lack of plans, poor documentation of wildlife benefits from harvests, conflicting goals among DNR divisions, and unclear guidance on who has decision authority—each of which makes it difficult to show compliance with statutory purposes and federal grant conditions.

Key findings and figures - Planning: The auditors reported that only seven WMAs had plans and many plans had not…