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New DNR forester settling in nicely to Caledonia area
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By Daniel McGonigle
Argus Managing Editor
Jason Bland is the new forester for the DNR in the Caledonia office.
After working in the Side Lake area, the Iowa City native took the job recently to be closer to his family.
“My wife Melissa is expecting in September and we wanted to be closer to the family,” said Bland.
So he jumped at the chance to transfer with the DNR.
After just a month and a half on the job, Bland is settling in nicely.
“It’s going well,” he said. “Val (Valiree Green) has been very helpful. She has worked here for 15 or 16 years and knows all the people and the area.”
Bland said that he is adjusting to the different forest type from that which he was accustomed to dealing with in Northern Minnesota.
“This is more like where I am from and what I grew up with,” he said. “More the broad leaf species.”
So the oak, hickory, walnut and ash trees of southern Minnesota are now Bland’s work environment.
Bland is also a fire fighter and did much more of that in northern Minnesota.
“Normally I travel to the states which need the help in the summer,” said Bland. “I’m not doing that this year because my wife is pregnant. But normally that is something that keeps me pretty busy in the summers.”
Forestry matters
Bland has been spending his days doing a lot of forest inventory work. He also spends his time marking timber for sale at auction.
When someone calls from the area Bland will come out to the property and offer various forms of advice.
“If they are trying to turn old ag fields and turn them into forestry I give them advice on how to get the forest to take off,” he said. “Various checks, what weeds might need to be sprayed for with herbicide.”
He also spends some of his time addressing landowners’ concerns with potential diseased trees.
Bland and his wife are settling in nicely to the Caledonia area.
“We like it here,” he said. “We’re looking for a home. It is different from where I grew up, a smaller town, but where I came from I used to have a 30 minute drive and now I live just a half-mile from work. We like the proximity to La Crosse. And of course, we love the scenery. It is very neat. Different.”
You can contact Daniel McGonigle at
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