Rep. Rick Hansen, a persistent critic of decisions made by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, has been removed from the 12-member body.

Former DFL turned Independence Party Sen. Bob Lessard endorsed DFL nominee Mark Dayton for governor Wednesday, coming about a week after Dayton released a seven-point plan spelling out his commitment to work with the hunting and fishing community.

The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council has approved a list of 25 projects that include buying land and restoring habitat.

It might be a little unkind to say members of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council were flying by the seat of their pants as they cobbled together recommendations for 2009 conservation projects to be funded by the dedicated sales tax that Minnesota voters passed in the 2008 general election. But the process of recommending $56 million in projects to lawmakers for 2010 is going much more smoothly than the council's inaugural year.

Some lawmakers pushing to use a large chunk of new money to conserve forest Some state lawmakers and conservation groups want to spend dedicated state ...