DNR urges caution on foraging bill language, warns of federal funding risk; task force to refine recommendations before Jan. 27 vote

Bob Myers, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told the Foraging Task Force on Jan. 20 that the department "strongly supports foraging" but has "serious concerns about the lack of any conservation perspective" in earlier drafts of the group's recommendations. Myers read a message from DNR Commissioner Sarah Stroman and pressed the group to keep resource protection and enforceability central as it drafts statutory or rule changes.

The task force, chaired by Senator Susan Pah, is preparing a legislative report due Feb. 28, 2026, and plans to vote on final recommendations at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 27. The group has been meeting since late 2025; this session was its eighth. Myers said the DNR supports education and partnerships—naming the University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota Mycological Society as potential collaborators—but urged caution about creating new statewide permit systems or broadly opening the state's outdoor-recreation statutes.

"Any limits definitions need to be enforceable," Myers said, warning that a new, expensive permitting system could confuse the public and place administrative burdens on the DNR. He described concerns raised by field staff and more than 200 land managers at a recent town hall, including the possibility that people unaware of permit requirements could be blamed for violations.

Myers also flagged federal grant conditions as a legal constraint. He cited the department's work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff and referenced regulatory authorities including 2 CFR 200.311 and 50 CFR 80.134, saying that many wildlife-management areas were acquired with federal grants and that those programs'requirements must be respected. "We receive about 30 plus million dollars a year" from the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson programs, Myers said, arguing that statutory changes that conflict with federally authorized purposes could jeopardize that funding.

Task force members pressed on several fronts. David Schultz (professor, Hamline University; representing the Minnesota Foraging Alliance) and others argued the group should recognize foraging as a legitimate recreational and cultural activity in statute. Greg Qualley and other members urged the group to define commercial harvesting and personal use clearly so rules and enforcement can distinguish the two. University of Minnesota Extension's Angela Gupta suggested that social-science research and large-scale education efforts might be better led or funded directly through the legislature or academic partners rather than relying solely on DNR grant applications.

Several members, including Dale Gentry and Peter Martyniak, noted limited population-level data on specific foraged species and recommended targeted biological monitoring or LCCMR (Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources) proposals to fund county biological surveys. Members discussed whether some land types'such as scientific and natural areas'should remain off-limits, whether pilot projects could test limited openings in select parks, and how to protect culturally sensitive sites and tribal access.

Tribal and public comments emphasized access and food sovereignty. Nibi Okechida Ikwe (Minnesota Indian Affairs Council) urged the task force to prioritize tribal access to plants and medicines and to add protections against pesticides and toxic chemicals on state lands. A public comment read a letter from the Prairie Island Indian Community requesting that tribal members be allowed to forage on state lands without permits.

The task force directed members to collaborate in a MURAL workspace to revise draft recommendations; staff said no decisions would be finalized during the edit session and promised updated drafts and deadlines for written input before the Jan. 27 vote. The chair emphasized the voting rule that a recommendation will be included only if 80% of voting participants support it.

Votes at a glance: the only formal vote during the session approved the minutes from the Dec. 2 meeting (motion by David Schultz, seconded by Greg Qualley), recorded as 16 yes, 0 no.