This essays is one of four written by alumni of the University of Minnesota Forestry Class of 1957 alumni and a dean of the former UMN College of Natural Resources (CNR), which became the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) in 2006. To learn more about this project and to access the other essays, return to the Class of '57 Essays web page.
No edits have been made to the original content; it is published as it was written.
Essay by Robert L. Herbst
Written c. 2021
I came from a large family. Being the oldest of five boys meant I was on my own during much of my youth as Mom and Dad needed to tend to my younger siblings. Father was a mailman, so he was not "well-to-do." But he was able to provide a good home, food, and occasional vacations. He and my mother were wonderful parents.
When I graduated from Central High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, my family was sure I would become a Lutheran Minister as seven generations of our family were ministers. But having been in Boy Scouts and enjoying fishing with my father, I developed a love of the "outdoors" and wanted a career to protect nature. And so, I pursued Forestry at the University of Minnesota.
As I look back on my youth, I remember I was able to always find a job to earn money. I had several paper routes, worked in a hospital kitchen, and was employed as a librarian for a medical library. I had enough money saved to purchase a car while in high school. That was important for my college days, as I did not live on campus and needed to drive every day. During my youth, I learned how to find jobs, to work hard, and to achieve success. I also learned that tips were not given by the wealthy but by those that had little. I am glad that I found time to be a Boy Scout because it not only gave me a love for the out of doors, it also taught me to be a leader. All these lessons benefitted me throughout my life. I recognized that my skills were in writing, speaking, making decisions, being a leader, and in helping others to succeed. I also realized I was not good with tools and did not do well in sports.
Although I was no athlete, I loved to watch others play basketball, including a wonderful girl named Evie. Before we finished college, we were married. I thought about quitting to support us. But Dean Kaufert and our Student Advisor, Ken Winsness, convinced me to continue. The school provided me a teaching assistantship in Dendrology and Mensuration, which helped immensely in allowing me to complete my BS degree.
Let me not forget to mention that as a student at the College of Forestry, I had the opportunity to acquire summer forestry jobs in the Superior National Forest of Minnesota and the Plumas National Forest of California. Both jobs helped me resolve to be a Forester.
Let me share a few of my experiences, challenges, and successes. Following these examples, I would like to tell you what I learned and what I would suggest to you as you start your careers.
In my first job as a field forester, I planted or supervised planting of over 10 million trees and I prepared about 2,000 forest management plans for tree farmers. And, as I have said, I did a lot of public relations work on my own as an extra effort to sell tree planting and fire prevention. Because of my speaking on conservations and being named "Forester of the Year," Dr. Kaufert and the Board of Keep Minnesota Green, Inc., hired me as Executive Director. During my two year with Keep Minnesota Green, I promoted forest fire prevention and tree farming throughout the state by speaking and writing many news articles. Large Smokey the Bear signs in Scotch light were donated by 3M Corporation and I had them et up on many of Minnesota's highways. This experience led to me being chosen as Minnesota's Deputy Commissioner of Conservation. [Note: There is a jump in the text here on the original document, likely due to a missing page. We have omitted any sentences that were not complete due to this.]
I worked hard to connect with the public and gave talks in the evening and enjoyed setting up exhibits at county fairs and in the Minnesota State Fair. This exposed me to the public and also got me "noticed." The "extra" public relations work honed my skills as a communicator. Later in my career, I was referred to as the "Billy Graham of Conservation." (Billy Graham was a famous preacher at the time.)
Following this first job, I continued my career as Executive Director of Keep Minnesota Green; Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of the Minnesota Conservation; and the first Commissioner of Natural Resources for Minnesota. After these experiences, opportunities became available at the national level.
During my 65 years of a career in Forestry, I traveled to 47 different countries, met with the rich and famous, as well as with political leaders at every level, and I founded or co-founded over 20 environmental organizations. I prepared over 5,000 reports and speeches and I appeared on television programs over 200 times and on many radio shows. I had my life threatened twice. I received over 200 major awards for my conservation and administrative work, including the "Outstanding Achievement Award" from the University of Minnesota and the honor of being inscribed on the University of Minnesota Alumni Wall as one of the Outstanding Graduates of the University of Minnesota.
During my years as Executive Director of the Izaak Walton League, I had the honor of being called by President Nixon to meet him in the Oval Office of the White House and advised him on the environmental issues of our nation. It was also during this time that I filed a successful lawsuit to stop mining in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. And I coordinated the "Citizens' Crusade for Clean Water," which led to $800 million being appropriated by Congress for clean water in our nation.
The years as Minnesota's first Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources were extremely busy for me. I made many decisions such as closing the deer season because of low deer population and closing all of Northern Minnesota to logging, mining, and tourism because of a critical Forest Fire Season. The pollution of Lake Superior led to a major lawsuit by our Department, the Pollution Control Agency, and the US EPA. I served as a state witness, and we were successful in stopping the lake dumping. The Leech Lake Native American community sued Minnesota for hunting, fishing, and ricing rights in much of the middle of Minnesota. Rather than go to court, I worked to negotiate a settlement with the Chippewa Indians, which was approved by the state legislature. As a result, I was involved in other Native American issues in the future because they trusted me.
As a Forester in Cambridge, I went to the management of NSP (power company) when I read that they intended to to sell the flowage right-of-way lands on both sides of the St. Croix River and I suggested that they not sell but consider the property for public benefit being so close to Minneapolis and St. Paul. They agreed to stop the sale and ultimately donated to the National Park Services, Minnesota, and Wisconsin over 75 miles of frontage (31,000 acres). The St. Croix River then became one of the nation's first Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Perhaps my major achievement as the Commissioner was organizing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, expanding its programs, and finding new ways of raising revenue and financing the budget. Of course, we also planted 400 million trees during that era.
One day the phone rang in my office and it was President Carter. He wanted me to come to Washington, DC and meet with him in the Oval Office. I was offered and accepted being nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. I would be in charge of over 35,000 employees, millions of acres of Park and Refuge lands, and a budget of several billion dollars. President Carter wanted me to lead efforts to expand the National Systems of Parks, Refuges, and Trails. [Note: There is a jump in the text here on the original document, likely due to a missing page. We have omitted any sentences that were not complete due to this.]
A few other experiences included being the Chairman of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to control lampreys, which were destroying the fish population of the Great Lakes. I initiated the fish management plan for fisheries restoration, which was agreed to both by the United States and Canada and the states surrounding the Great Lakes. Today, the economic value of sport fishing exceeds $2 billion a year. For this accomplishment, I was inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.
One day the family lawyer for the Rockefellers came into my office and discussed the Rockefeller Property in New York (which held over 20 mansions) and the possibility of it qualifying as a National Historic Park. I visited the property in 1979 and had studies made to document it as qualifying. The wills were prepared for each member of the family to leave their property to a "trust." The trust could then offer the property to Congress at some point in history to be a National Historic Park. But in the meantime, the trust provides for public tours similar to Mr. Vernon (George Washington's home).
Another major historic decision was after seeing the ruins of Ellis Island, I had the National Park Service develop plans to restore it and started the programs to raise funds for the restoration. It is now restored and available to the public to see.
I could go on and on with activities when i was with the US Department of the Interior, like dedications of Labs, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and National Historic Sites. We initiated a study of the East Coast and barrier islands. My office had one of the best affirmative action programs in the government. It was my honor to present Horace Albright of the National Park Service the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A major achievement was getting legislation and funds to improve the Appalachian Trail. [Note: There is a jump in the text here on the original document, likely due to a missing page. We have omitted any sentences that were not complete due to this.]
After I retired from "paid" positions, the Clinton Administration chose me to be the United States' board member of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. We served 33 countries on environmental issues and provided grants for conservation projects. It was an honor I had for eight years. I donated my time as it was an "honorary" position. I have always felt that it is important to donate time and talent to help others. I still volunteer my time to organizations to this day.
Let me conclude by sharing what I learned along the years:
- Understand that as an employer or deputy you "give the gravy" to your supervisor and you take the lightning.
- You can make a difference if you are "the right person at the right time."
- Choose a diversity of employees to give you a range of ideas and let them run!
- Sharpen your skills to be an administrator by learning to supervise, make decisions, and budget realistically.
These skills will be important no matter what job you hold. The University of Minnesota has prepared you well. Go forth and do the best you can!
Most important, on all success and achievement, remember is it not "I" but "We." All accomplishments are the result of many working together. For example, in achieving the Alaska Lands Act, it took many committed staff, conservation groups, the press, individual leaders, the President, and of course Congress. I was honored to be a part of it.
And if you believe in God, prayers are important, believe in what you do. As I look back on my life, I can see the goodness and blessings of God. I hope you will, too. One of my greatest blessings in my life is my wife, children, and grandchildren. I have the University to thank as I found my wife there.
About the author: Robert (Bob) Herbst was a former Commissioner of Minnesota Natural Resource, later served as Executive Directors to both the Izaak Walton League of American and Trout Unlimited. His most influential government position was as the US Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and National Parks in the Carter Administration.