Northern Michigan University alumnus Kassy Dumke has been named as one of Minnesota’s “Seven Young Conservationists to Watch” by Star Tribune columnist Dennis Anderson. Dumke is a waterfowl biologist in Windom, Minn. (Photo courtesy of NMU)
MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University alumna Kassy Dumke has been identified as one of Minnesota’s “Seven Young Conservationists to Watch” by Star Tribune columnist Dennis Anderson. Dumke, a 2013 NMU graduate with a bachelor of science degree, is a Ducks Unlimited waterfowl biologist in Windom, Minnesota.
According to Dumke’s description in the newspaper, her interest in animals stems from her childhood, growing up on a hobby farm near Grand Rapids. At NMU, she studied wildlife management and worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dumke interned with Ducks Unlimited in conservation policy before heading to South Dakota State University for graduate school.
There she studied grassland birds while earning her master’s degree.
“I’ve been with (Ducks Unlimited) four years,” Dumke was quoted as saying in the Star Tribune column. “I coordinate public land acquisitions, wetland and grassland restorations, shallow lake surveys and enhancements, public policy and waterfowl surveys. It’s all part of my job, which I love.”
In a telephone interview with The Mining Journal, Dumke said the most satisfying part of her job is interacting with volunteers who are using the land base that’s being restored.
Many of these lands, Dumke said, occur along with existing wildlife management areas in Minnesota.
Land is acquired, a survey is made and engineers design the wetland restoration, she said. Her duties involve overseeing the implementation of the restoration efforts, with fields reverted to their native state.
Dumke also coordinates the seeding of uplands to “vaccinate a prairie.”
That’s the term she used.
“Our seed mixes are petty diverse — over 100 species, grasses and forbs,” Dumke said.
Those grasses include blue and little bluestem as well as Indian grass, while the flowering plants, called forbs, include sunflowers, coneflowers and butterflyweed.
Are the efforts working?
“It’s amazing how quickly wildlife returns to these areas,” Dumke said.
Her specialty is waterfowl, but other bird species benefit as well.
Species that nest in grasslands rear their broods on the shallow lakes that are enhanced, she said.
Bobolinks and meadowlarks, which she noted used to be prominent in the region, are coming back because of these projects.
“We always find nests after our projects are done,” Dumke said.
She said attending NMU helped launch her career, although her career plans took a different trajectory from when she started school.
“It prepared me in a big way because I originally went to Northern hoping to be a vet,” Dumke said.
She participated in field laboratory work, which provided her with experience outside the classroom.
“That’s where I garnered this interest and passion in natural resources and conservation, kind of found my place in the world,” Dumke said.
While she’s enjoying her time in Minnesota, she said she wants to go out west someday.
In the meantime, Dumke has an important message she wants to convey to people:
“Less than 10% of original wetlands and less than 1% of native prairie remain in the landscape that I work in,” she said. “Every small impact that’s made is a big impact.”
Dumke, 28, and her husband, Nick, have two labs and two French Brittany spaniels that they hunt with and train as competitors in hunt tests, the column noted. The couple also enjoys hiking, camping and fishing.
“The young biologists, researchers, managers, conservation officers and others charged with protecting our lakes, rivers and lands are highly qualified and as impassioned in their work as any previous generation of Minnesota conservationists,” Anderson wrote in his column. “Stewards of fish, wildlife and open spaces, they energetically safeguard the state’s most valuable assets — its natural resources.”
The other top young conservationists recognized in the column, which had the tagline “Treasured lands find themselves in the best of hands,” were: Rachel Hoveland, 30, a Pheasants Forever web developer; Alex Nelson, 31, Pheasants Forever habitat restoration manager; John Lindstrom, 30, Ducks Unlimited waterfowl biologist; Katherine Glodoski, 22, a University of Minnesota senior; Eric Sanft, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Section specialist; and Kylan Hill, 27, DNR conservation officer.
Christie Bleck can be contacted at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is [email protected]
