Eric Nelms of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division at his last day of work at the DNR office in Grand Marais on Friday, January 3, 2014.
Eric Nelms of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division was at the Grand Marais DNR office in his official capacity for the last time on Friday, January 3, 2014. Nelms retired after nearly 40 years with the DNR.
Nelms started work with the local DNR in the summer before graduating from Cook County High School in 1975.
Asked if the DNR had changed much over the years, Nelms said not really. He said the mission of the fisheries division has remained the same through the years.
Would he recommend a job with the DNR to a young person? Nelms said yes. “If you like working outside, it’s a nice job. I got to meet a lot of nice people and work with some good people.”
Nelms said the work is sometimes difficult—and dangerous—such as a trek into Mountain Lake for an egg take. The routine trip to catch lake trout in a trap net and squeeze them for eggs turned treacherous. “We ran into some really rough weather—fivefoot waves. That was a rough day,” he recalled.
Another tough day, said his colleague David Johnson, was when they had to hike into Crooked Lake for a lake assessment. That work day included 18 portages (nine in; nine out) on a very hot day. Nelms chuckled, “I’ve never had cramps like that! I wasn’t drinking enough water. You forget when you set out how long a day it’s going to be. It was 12 hours.”
But overall, Nelms said, he enjoyed the work, but said, “It’s time to go.”
Nelms will continue his volunteer work with the DNR, teaching firearm, snowmobile and ATV safety. An avid outdoorsman, Nelms said, “I enjoy working to make sure people are safe enjoying our sport.”
Finally, the Cook County News- Herald tried to use Nelms’ fisheries knowledge to find the best walleye lake in the area. Nelms just grinned some more and said, “I’m partial to the Fowls.”
Nelms owns a cabin on South Fowl Lake in the Hovland area. “That is where I’ll be spending most of my time.”
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