The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found several examples of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources misusing federal funds to facilitate logging in Wildlife Management Areas. While the federal government provides tens of millions of dollars in grants each year to support state habitat acquisition and management efforts, an audit in 2020 discovered that in some instances, forestry officials authorized logging in areas dedicated for wildlife, without any input from wildlife biologists.
The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) was responsible for the FOIA request that resulted in release of the draft document. The group says the new rules are the most rigorous penalty that USFWS has imposed on any state agency in decades.
