September is National Suicide Prevention Month
By Jill Westberry, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator
In July 2013, I received word that a close family member had died of suicide – a young relative with so much promise and potential, and one that we never would have suspected to die in this way.
It was a storm that completely took our family by surprise as we did not realize their mental health was a concern, at least not to this magnitude. That day left a lasting imprint on my perspective toward mental health.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, with World Suicide Prevention Day being Sept. 10 and National Suicide Prevention Week from Sept. 5-11. We can all have a part in helping prevent suicide by being informed and aware.
We all have associates, friends, relatives and yes, coworkers, that might be struggling with life, and we don’t want to take that for granted or brush it off.
Mental health and substance abuse can take on many forms. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the CDC, studies show that mental health in the United States is worsening among all age groups:
- One in five Americans live with a mental health condition and nearly half (46.4 percent) of adults will experience mental illness in their lifetime.
- In June 2020, 40 percent of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse.
- Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10-34 in the U.S. and the tenth-leading cause of death overall.
- In the U.S., only 41 percent of people who had a mental disorder in 2019 received professional healthcare or other services to address the illness.
- In Minnesota, a record 830 people died by suicide in 2019.
To combat these numbers, it’s important to learn the signs of mental illness in yourself and others and who to reach out to if you or others need help.
In recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the DNR is hosting a virtual webinar “Mental Wellness: A Road to Recovery” on Oct. 21 from noon to 1 p.m., which will focus on mental health in the workplace. If you would like more information on ADA or need reasonable accommodations to participate in the event, you can reach me at Jill.Westberry@state.mn.us.
For more information on mental health and suicide prevention, check out these resources:
It’s National Preparedness Month: send your family back to school prepared
It’s been a long pandemic, but now is the time to charge of the things in which we have control and move forward.
We don’t know when the next disaster will come or how long the pandemic will last, so take the time during National Preparedness Month to help you and your family be safe and prepared.
Use the start of the school year (even if you don’t have school-age kids) as an opportunity to build or update your preparedness plan and kit and update your emergency communication plan.
If you do have kids, get them involved in the planning by having them build their own emergency kit and learn about different emergency alerts they might get on their phone.
For emergency preparedness planning specific to back-to-school:
- Sign up for updates from your children’s school(s) in case of an emergency.
- Update school records with accurate contact information.
- Discuss emergency contact numbers with children.
- Communicate with your children about safety, peer pressure, confrontation, appropriate behavior. Instilling good habits goes a long way.
Particularly with COVID-19, consider these health recommendations in your planning:
- Ensure you and your family are up to date with recommended immunizations (including the COVID-19 vaccine for those 12 years or older).
- Stay home if you have signs of any infectious illness and contact your healthcare provider for testing and care.
- Know the signs of if a young person is struggling with their mental health.
Take the time to consider the impact a disaster might have on your life. Being prepared can help minimize that impact. Learn more about emergency preparedness at Ready.gov. Find tips on preparing you and your children for an emergency at ready.gov/kids and sesamestreet.org
DNR exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair
 TOP (L-R) The north side of the DNR's building at the State Fair, crowds gather at the outdoor fish pond on south side of DNR building. BOTTOM (L-R) New signage throughout the DNR Park, the bird show on west side of DNR building.
The 2021 Minnesota State Fair continues through Monday, Sept. 6. The DNR is providing both in-person and virtual events at this year’s fair.
Our exhibit highlights opportunities to connect people to the outdoors. We are welcoming guests to ask questions at our Info Booth, watch native fish in the fish pond, visit our numerous partner booths, watch a bird show, and listen to live bands and presentations on the outdoor stage throughout the day.
The DNR is also hosting several educational Facebook Live opportunities for guests at the grounds and online, including Fish Talks, Ask the Bug Nerds, Climate Talk and Tree Talk.
The DNR is concerned with the health and safety of DNR employees, volunteers, and the public in light of the recent surge in cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
Additionally, the DNR faced some challenges in terms of recruiting the hundreds of staff and volunteers needed to successfully manage all the buildings and grounds during the run of the fair. Because of this, the main building and a few other nearby exhibits around the DNR Park are closed to visitors this year.
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Commissioner at DNR info booth
 Commissioner Sarah Strommen (right) visited with fairgoers at the DNR information booth on Saturday, Aug. 28 at the Minnesota State Fair.
Fish posters
 Fish posters are a big hit at the DNR exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair.
For a schedule of events at the DNR’s State Fair exhibit, go to DNR’s website.
State Fair Fish Cam
Lots of people are checking out the DNR's Fish Cam which provides a live look at the fish in the popular outdoor pond at the Minnesota State Fair.
As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, the Fish Cam had 10, 503 views on YouTube with people watching it for 3,854 hours.
People from around the world are checking out the Minnesota fish. Views from other countries include: United Kingdom 65, Japan 41, India 36, Germany 35, Brazil 33, Canada 11.
The watch the Fish Cam, visit https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/statefair/webcam/fish.html
Share ideas on the state’s COVID-19 response funds
Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders agreed to set aside $1.15 billion to address long-term needs as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. These funds will be part of the supplemental budget process during the 2022 Legislative session.
You can share your thoughts on how the long-term COVID response funds should be spent by completing this form (Hmong, Spanish, Somali). The public idea submission period will close Sept. 17.
Gov. Walz will offer his recommendations in early 2022 and the Legislature will act during session.
Letter: Officers recognized for work on West Zone Fire
 Enforcement Division Director Col. Rodmen Smith recently received the following note from Rod Hansen, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who worked with a number of conservation officers on a recent wildfire:
“I have had the privilege of serving as the security manager on the West Zone fire complex on the Superior National Forest near Ely. Almost my entire crew were Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, including three of your accomplished field lieutenants
Our mission was to assist the U.S. Forest Service with securing wildland firefighting facilities and equipment, and to assure the safety of the general public by securing the entry points to the closure area of the Boundary Waters Canoe Access Wilderness Area.
I want to commend the professionalism, teamwork, and efficiency of your conservation officers. As a security manager, I generally supervise a team of individuals from multiple departments or agencies from around the country.
What made this incident so easy for me as a manager was having a group of officers who are already used to working together as a team. I was able to give only general objectives, and they simply figured out the details how to implement what needed to be done as a self-reliant team. I am confident in saying that over my 20-plus years with ICS firefighting, I have not had the privilege of working with such a well-oiled machine as this crew of Minnesota DNR conservation officers.
Thank you for allowing your officers to help with these important national emergencies. I have worked with a few Minnesota DNR COs on a few out-of-state fires as well, and I was always glad to have them on my team. When given an option, I would prefer to order resources that include Minnesota COs in the future.
The West Complex incident is winding down, at least for now, and only a few officers will remain for a few more days and I am leaving for my next assignment in Montana. I look forward to working with your officers in this capacity again in the future.”
Letter: Kudos for Big Bog State Recreation Area
Dear Big Bog:
My husband and I visited your boardwalk area last week for a few hours. We are former national park rangers who appreciate good interpretive signage. WE LOVE BIG BOG'S INTERPRETIVE WAYSIDES. They are thoughtfully written to tell the story of the area from many vantage points, and they succeed with gusto. Kudos to the team that created them.
The boardwalk itself is an engineering feat that should be shared with other MN state parks whose boardwalks are of deteriorating wood. It is a delight in every way. Thanks for planting the three Ruffed Grouse beneath it for us, too.
We zipped through the lovely campground to see where we might stay when we come back some time when spring flowers are blooming. It is an impressively-kept campground. More kudos ~ to the maintenance team!
You've much to be proud of, and we applaud you. Keep your chin up -- Labor Day is coming!
Sincerely,
Kathryn & Chris Dyas,
Austin, Minnesota
Capt. Shelly Patten honored
 The Minnesota Conservation Officers Association recently presented Northeast Region Capt. Shelly Patten with a plaque recognizing her contributions working on behalf of the Enforcement Division Honor Guard with the families of fallen officers.
The plaque reads: “In appreciation for your selfless dedication to the families of fallen Minnesota conservation officers.”
Rain allows for easing of some
wildfire-related restrictions in Minnesota
With cautious optimism, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is adjusting some wildfire-related restrictions in Minnesota due to improved field conditions.
While a large portion of the state remains in drought conditions, recent rain events have decreased, though not eliminated, wildfire risk in northern and central Minnesota.
NEWS RELEASE
Hello Microsoft Office 365!
The DNR is migrating from Microsoft Office 2016 to Microsoft Office 365. Starting Sept. 17, Microsoft Office 365 will be available for install to all DNR employees through the Software Center.
How you can prepare
- Connect to VPN and run updates through the Software Center prior to downloading Office 365.
- Restart your machine.
- Connect to VPN and download and install Office 365 from the Software Center when it becomes available on Sept. 17.
To learn more about Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft programs, training, and events, visit our Intranet page.
If you want more information or have any questions, please contact DNR IT Services at 651-259-5900 or mnitservices.dnr@state.mn.us
Recordings of Wireside Chats available
 Just a quick reminder that the Commissioner's monthly Wireside chats are recorded and available to watch when you have time. Previous Wireside chats are available on the intranet.
Reminder about Teams auto-delete schedules
Teams’ channel posts automatically delete after 180 days. DNR adopted Teams just over six months ago, so some of the original teams are just hitting that 180 day mark.
If you need to preserve information from those early posts, please be sure to save the content somewhere else before the post reaches 180 days old.
Identify sophisticated cyberattacks
Shlayer, IcedID and Emotet might sound like a list of bad bands at a music festival, but they are actually names associated with phishing, trojan and malware attacks.
Professional cybercriminals send phishing emails using sophisticated strategies. These criminals are looking to get something of value from you using a variety of tactics, including seeming to come from legitimate organizations – like your healthcare, bank,
or credit card companies.
These emails are more difficult to identify than they used to be. To spot them and protect state devices and data, you’ll need your own strategies. These include:
- Checking and double-checking emails you receive.
- Asking yourself if you expected the email.
- Verifying the email comes from a legitimate source and hovering over links and attachments to check their legitimacy without clicking them.
- Contacting the sender using an alternative method to confirm the email is legitimate.
- Reporting suspicious emails to the MNIT Security Operations Center using the “Report Phishing” button on the Outlook ribbon.
For more strategies, check out the recognize, avoid phishing page of the Intranet.
Help improve MnTOPO - take a short survey
Help the DNR update MNTOPO, an aging web application. If you’re familiar with MNTOPO, Please take short two-minute survey and share your thoughts on how it can be improved.
The DNR launched MnTOPO in 2013 as an easy-to-use web application for viewing, printing and downloading LiDAR-derived elevation data distributed from MnGeo servers. MnTOPO is used by many DNR employees as well as a broad range of academic, government, and private sector organizations.
However, MnTOPO is starting to show its age in terms of its functionality and data availability. DNR staff developed the survey with the goal of keeping MnTOPO a useful tool for evolving user needs, technological advancements, and new lidar currently being collected in Minnesota.
Not Familiar with MNTOPO?
Go to DNR's MNTOPO site to learn more about this helpful tool, and then use the "Proceed to the MnTOPO viewer" button, or go directly to the MnTOPO viewer.
Thanks for the three decades, Cathi!
 Cathi with Smokey Bear at FarmFest in 2019.
By Dan Ruiter, DNR regional information officer, New Ulm
Come October, south region planner Cathi Fouchi will no longer be coordinating, facilitating or mediating – at least for the Department of Natural Resources. Instead, she will be coordinating how to handle her free time as she navigates retirement, her reward after 37 years with the DNR.
A self-described introvert, this “people” person created connections personally and on behalf of the agency with her pleasant demeanor and ever-present smile.
Growing up in Louisiana with one sister and five brothers, Cathi followed the example her mother and grandmother put forth when it came to embracing outdoors recreation.
After attaining a degree from Louisiana State University in Forestry and Wildlife, Cathi found herself in Wyoming to begin her career. She met a friend there who introduced her to Minnesota, and eventually, the man she would marry.
Starting life in Minnesota, Cathi’s first job was with the Minnesota Conservation Corps (now Conservation Corps of Minnesota) at the region headquarters in Bemidji, where she conducted nongame colonial bird surveys and also burned prairies. Soon after, she moved on to the wildlife office in Virginia to become a wildlife technician.
In 1987, Cathi moved to southern Minnesota to become the assistant wildlife manager for the Nicollet office, where she would serve before taking over the state’s Roadside for Wildlife program in 1990. Her myriad experiences continued with an eight-year stint as the Blue Earth River Watershed Coordinator. Then, in 2005, the New Ulm Headquarters beckoned her to become the regional planner, a position she will hold until October.
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As you might expect, it will be those connections with people that Cathi will miss.
“People in the DNR have been absolutely wonderful to work with,” Cathi said. “They’re passionate. They’re dedicated to the resource. That’s what’s made the job so much fun.”
Cathi cites the great mentors she’s had over the years as a key to providing success in her career.
“I worked with Ken Varland and Larry Nelson early on in my career. They were great supporters. In the Virginia office, it was Jeff Lightfoot, and I always knew he had my back. It’s also been interesting working for different regional directors, too. Dennis Frederickson had a very broad viewpoint in his position and had many connections. And I love how Scott Roemhildt is always positive, and the amount of energy he puts into the job is infectious.”
Starting a natural resources career in 1984 wasn’t easy for a woman, but like her smile, Cathi’s effort persisted. Fortunately, she forged a bond with other women in the DNR, too. (in photo to the right, Cathi is in front row, second from the left).
“It was helpful to have a female contingent,” Cathi said. “We were all hired about the same time, and we would go canoeing in the Boundary Waters during the summer.”
She also found that the farmers of southern Minnesota were supportive of having women working in natural resource careers.
“They were great,” she said. “They welcomed me like a granddaughter. They were just excited to see their (Swan Lake habitat) project take off.”
Going forward, it will be the gardening, the canoeing and traveling to see family that will fill her time. She and her husband Ken look forward to the “next chapter.”
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 Work location: New Ulm headquarters building
Position: Regional planner (since 2005), with DNR since 1984.
Education: Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA)
Something my co-workers may not know about me: “Our daughter Karin traveled with Ken and I to Ireland, England, Sweden and Italy – all ancestral homes for our families. And yet, I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, so that is where a retirement celebration trip is planned in spring 2022.”
Parade at Grygla Fall Fest
 Photo courtesy of the Thief River Falls Times
During a downpour, Jon Myhr, DNR Forestry Division technician, handed out Smokey Bear items to a youngster at the Grygla Fall Fest on Saturday, Aug. 28.
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