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<br />OBITUARY ART HAWKINS
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<br />:= The natural world loses a friend
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<br />Conservationist dies, fittingly; on the land
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<br />BY CHRIS NISKANEN
<br />. Pioneer Press
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<br />~ One of Minnesota's giants in
<br />< conservation has died.
<br />~ Art Hawkins, a tireless oppo-
<br />>= nent of unfettered development,
<br />~' an early pioneer in waterfowl
<br />o! management and mentor to
<br />i= generations of like-minded stu-
<br />Vl dents and conservationists, died
<br />Thursday at his home in Hugo.
<br />He was 92.
<br />Family members said he suf-
<br />fered a heart attack during a
<br />hike on his 5O-acreformer dairy
<br />farm. He died with a pair of
<br />binoculars around his neck and
<br />ski poles, used as walking aids,
<br />still in his hands.
<br />As one of the last living stu-
<br />dents of AIdo Leopold, the
<br />father of modern wildlife man-
<br />agement, Hawkins helped pio-
<br />neer waterfowl surveys that
<br />: spanned North America, and he
<br />: spent nearly 40 years as a U.S.
<br />Q. l Fish and Wildlife manager.
<br />a::. But he also was a local envi-
<br />: ronmental activist; at age 80,
<br />Z Hawkins was sued by a develop-
<br />o er for defamation after he spoke
<br />out. against a town-house proj-
<br />ect on nearby Lake Amelia
<br />''He was a biologist but also
<br />an environmental advocate,"
<br />said his son, Tex, a U.S. Fish and
<br />Wildlife manager in Wmona.
<br />MinD. "It went back to Leopold's
<br />roots: He. felt environmental
<br />protection and restoration was
<br />everybody's respotlsibility."
<br />Said conservation advocate
<br />Dave Zentner of Duluth, Minn.:
<br />"For me and our state, it's the
<br />passing of one . of our most
<br />notable memberS. of those pio-
<br />neering conserv.ationists. He
<br />labored for the benefit of ducks,
<br />. but he saw a bigger picture. He
<br />talked about Homo sapiens
<br />needing to prove we aren't an
<br />endangered species."
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<br />LEARNED FROM
<br />THE MASTER
<br />
<br />Born in Batavia, N.Y.,
<br />Hawkins parlayed a young-
<br />ster's love of nature into biology
<br />and wildlife degrees from Cor-
<br />nell University and the Univer-
<br />sitjof WISCOnsin.
<br />the
<br />
<br />dilapidated Wisconsinfann,
<br />remains the seminal book on
<br />COIl$Elrvation.
<br />Noting Leopold as his great-
<br />est influence, Hawkins followed
<br />in his mentor's footsteps by
<br />restoring his Hugo farm to a
<br />wildlife sanctuary and keeping
<br />a detailed journal of nature,
<br />weather and natural events.
<br />. The diary, started Jan. 1,
<br />1957, ended Wednesday with
<br />Hawkins'last entry. It noted the
<br />approaching spring weather
<br />and anbnal tracks around his
<br />home.
<br />Hawkins kept a. photo of
<br />Leopold on his desk and was
<br />fond of quoting from his work.
<br />Fresh out of college,
<br />Hawkins joined the Dlinois Nat-
<br />ural History Survey in 1938 and
<br />worked with pioneering water-
<br />fowl biologist Frank Bellrose on
<br />wood ducks and other species.
<br />Hawkins served in the Army
<br />from 1941 to 1945 but never saw
<br />action overseas because of a
<br />foot ailment In 1946, he joined
<br />the U.S. Fish and Wlldlife Ser-
<br />vice, where he left his biggest
<br />mark on waterfowl manage-
<br />ment
<br />He pioneered aerial water-
<br />fowl surveys in the United
<br />States and Canada. developing
<br />routes for counting waterfowl
<br />that are still used today. He
<br />developed many of the nation's
<br />earliest waterfowl management
<br />and research plans, creating a
<br />roundtable of biologists from 13
<br />states along the Mississippi Fly-
<br />way who discuss and set water-
<br />fowl seasons and bag limits.
<br />Hawkins served as the fly-
<br />vvay's chief biologist from 1954
<br />to 1972, when he retired from
<br />the Fish and Wildlife Service,
<br />though he worked part t!me
<br />until 1983.
<br />"Art was a real legend in the
<br />waterfowl and wetland research
<br />world," said Harvey NelSon of
<br />Bloomington, a retired U.S. Fish
<br />and Wildlife manager, adding
<br />that Hawkiils influenced gener-
<br />ations of waterfowl biologists in
<br />the United States and Canada.
<br />Hawkins and his wife, Betty,
<br />offered their home as meeting
<br />place for conservationists and
<br />wildlife students, many of whom
<br />. at for
<br />
<br />
<br />j
<br />
<br />visit but to talk strategies," said
<br />Ed Pembleton, director of the
<br />Leopold Education Project in St
<br />Paul .
<br />The developer's lawsuit
<br />against Hawkins eventually was
<br />dropped, . but it helped prompt
<br />the Minnesota Legislature. in
<br />1994 to pass the Minnesota Citi-
<br />zens Participation Act, which
<br />prohibits lawsuits known as
<br />Strategic Lawsuits Against Pub-
<br />lic Participation.
<br />
<br />and he conducted volunteer
<br />studies on purple loosestrife, an
<br />exotic plant, for North Oaks.
<br />A founding member of the
<br />Wood Duck Society, Hawkins
<br />and his wife had 30 wood-duck
<br />boxes on their property. On
<br />Thursday, Hawkins has been
<br />prowling his property for signs of
<br />wildlife, and he noted the aniva1
<br />of severalmaIIards and geese.
<br />"He had been looking over
<br />the marsh," said Amy, his
<br />daughter. ''The mallards were
<br />MAN .OF MANY WORDS paired up, and geese were on
<br />the lawn. It was a perfect day."
<br />
<br />.,.A.~~cor ~~o~a::t~ ~~f:n;~~~dr:
<br />J~ books on water- Amy DonliJlof LinoLakes, Tex
<br />~.. .... a nearly daily Hawkins of WinQJl8.and Ellen
<br />~ of letters to friends, Hawkins BrancJ~burg of TOfte,
<br />lleWSpapers and politicians, usu- . Minn.; IInd fO'lJl'grandCbiIdreD.
<br />ally espousitlg the importance of FlnnilY metqbers. said there
<br />Preservb;lg the environment His will be no funeral or memorial
<br />last letter, mailed Friday by his service.
<br />daughter, Amy Donlin. \V~~ to Memorial contribUtiOns can
<br />the Metropolitan CounClI. and be sent to two environmental
<br />argued against development in ~UP$.;
<br />Lino Lakes. Au
<br />In recent years, Hawkins had
<br />taken up the cause.of declining
<br />waterfowl populations inMin-
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