The Office of the Legislative Auditor, or OLA, has announced it will undertake what’s known as a “special review” to examine the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ alleged misuse of federal grant funds designed to benefit wildlife and their habitat. The OLA informed DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen of the review in a March 1 letter that noted that the legislative auditor recently completed a preliminary assessment of the allegations.
The Timberjay reported on the allegations most recently back in January, when the Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft report on its findings in the matter in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. That report, originally written in early 2020 during the final year of the Trump administration, provided stunning conclusions on what appeared to be a wholesale violation of a federal grant program by the Minnesota DNR.