Volunteer student cleaning out plugged culvert to restore the proper pool elevation to a large wetland on the Soberg WPA.

Dan Stinnett retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) in 2006 but his passion for protection and education of natural resources and habitat conservation has brought him back, however not as a Service employee.  Stinnett is now an instructor for the Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn., and has been hired to lead several environmental courses.  As a part of his course curriculum,  Stinnett emphasizes involvement in the community through volunteering.  Given his previous ties to, and tremendous affinity toward the Service, Minnesota Valley NWR and WMD has been a natural arena for his program. 

Stinnett and his students have taken part in several clean up projects as recently as late May when he brought students to the Soberg Waterfowl Production Area (WPA).  Stinnett and eleven of his students along with Minnesota Valley’s Chris Trosen, worked together to refurbish this WPA.  In four short hours the group collected trash, removed a quarter-mile of 50-year-old barbed wire fence and cleaned out the 18” beaver-plugged culvert functioning as the outlet to the 20-acre Horse Shoe Lake.  The students enjoyed using a floto-pump, 100’ of 1½” hose and 40’ of ¾” steel pipe to get the water flowing through the 18” culverts. They finished up the morning by mapping and determining the condition of all the signs, parking lots, gates and water control structures using a combination of Arc Pad and RLGIS.  

“I have always loved this WPA and have enjoyed watching it change over the years,” Stinnett said following the event.  Just over seventeen years ago Dan was present at the dedication of Soberg Waterfowl Production Area marking it the first WPA owned by the Minnesota Valley WMD.  Since the dedication Stinnett has supported Minnesota Valley’s Biological Program by spending many spring nights collecting amphibian data from several of Soberg’s eighteen wetlands.  The volunteer event held in May is to be the first of many on this specific WPA and the participation of Stinnett and his students will be greatly anticipated in the future.