Minnesota DNR's Passionate Entrepreneurial Editor

With an estimated readership of nearly a half million Minnesotans, the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer is one of the best loved and mostly widely read magazines in the state. Through engaging stories and stunning photography, it educates hunters, anglers, birders, paddlers, hikers, schoolchildren, and everyday citizens about the delights and dilemmas of caring for the state's natural treasures and wildlife. Publisher and Editor in Chief Kathleen Weflen WEC '81, the magazine's first female editor, has directed it for 20 years, leading the publication from 80,000 subscribers to reaching over 185,000 households, from black-and-white photography to color, from typesetting to desktop publishing, from a state-funded organ to one entirely donor supported -- no tax dollars.

Most importantly, however, she has encouraged Minnesotans to become ever more environmentally aware and conservation oriented by conveying a passion for the natural world and offering people well-researched scientific information and accessible outdoors adventures. "I typically assign stories to other writers, but I occasionally find time to write a feature story."

At times, these are powerful stories that reverberate beyond the magazine readership, such as "Crossroads of Climate Change," in the January-February 2001 issue. Based on intense research, the article examined the potential impact of global warming on Minnesota's natural resources. It was one of the first news stories to address the environmental effects of climate change already observed in Minnesota and forecasted for the future. The story was so talked about that it became linked to various web sites and reprinted in the Pioneer Press newspaper, local newspapers, and conservation group newsletters. It launched discussion across the state as well as conversations within the Department of Natural Resources.


Financially Challenging, Varied, and Rewarding Work

Though some stories ignite controversy, most spark curiosity. They are quieter, closer to home, hands on, and satisfying. "Readers tell us about taking action based on our stories—from building a rain garden to landscaping a lakeshore with native plants, from taking a fishing trip to constructing a snow shelter, from starting a neighborhood cleanup to drawing up a land conservation easement." Like the circular movement of the water cycle, this feedback energizes Weflen and keeps her coming back to each new issue renewed. "I believe in our conservation mission and the power of communication to clarify issues and inspire action. . . I keep doing it because our readers are counting on the magazine, and I have been determined to ensure its survival. The readers are an editor’s dream: They read the stories, admire the pictures, send us encouraging words, and give financial support."


Weflen oversees all aspects of developing the magazine, raising funds for the budget, circulating the publication to an ever-wider audience, and reaching readers through the Web presence. She has opened every magazine since 1991 with an editor's essay -- "This Issue."

Welfen's work has resisted falling into a rut. "The creative opportunities are endless," she says. "My staff and I have a chance to do new stories with new twists in every issue. We are continually learning about new subjects and experimenting with ways to present them to readers. We’ve created many new departments, as well as a regular children’s feature called Young Naturalists and its online teachers guide. Now we’re working on a redesign of our Web edition, which we hope will appeal strongly to the 18- to 30-something-year-old crowd."

Over the magazine's nearly three-quarters of a century (69 years), Weflen is its longest running editor besides being its first female. "I am also the first person to be charged with raising all the money to cover all the costs of publishing, everything from pencils and paper, to printing and postage, to staff salaries and rent. As publisher of a nonprofit magazine within state government, I had no model to follow. In fact, I have been creating a unique, successful model, which has yet to be duplicated [by another state publication]."

Weflen has made sure the magazine stands on its own merit. "The challenges of being an entrepreneurial operation within a government agency are many," she admits. But the state's residents appreciate her efforts. "All you need to do is request a copy or a subscription, and we send it for free," Weflen says. "Donations alone pay for publishing Minnesota Conservation Volunteer." People give to what they love.


Prepared by St. Kate's to Be Lucky

Weflen attributes her editorial and managerial readiness to her B.A. in Communications from St. Catherine's. "I had been hopping in and out of colleges since graduating from high school in 1967. I’d been an English major and a Spanish major before enrolling in Communications in Macalester College’s adult scholars program. As part of the consortium’s exchange, I signed up for a rhetoric course at St. Kate’s. I remember the moment I walked into that first class and saw Dr. Julie Belle White standing at the lectern: I was stunned to realize she was the first female professor I’d had in my entire college career. A self-proclaimed feminist, I was even more abashed to realize that I had never noticed this glaring omission. "

"Not only did Dr. White deliver an outstanding lecture, but she also offered me a personal connection by telling us about her recovery from cancer. At the time, my mother was dying of cancer. That class was a turning point for me. Dr. White became my advisor and St. Kate’s my alma mater, giving me the most inspiring and academically rich education I’d ever had."

Weflen adds: "I believe our lives depend on luck and being prepared to be lucky. My good fortune in becoming associate editor of Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine in 1986, and editor in chief in 1989, was made possible by my preparation at the College of St. Catherine." Weflen is an alumna of the initial years of Weekend College.

After graduation, Weflen worked as a freelance writer, graphic designer, and information officer for the state Department of Jobs and Training. "In the summer of 1986, I received a letter from the editor of the Volunteer magazine at the Department of Natural Resources inviting me to interview for associate editor. I held the letter up for my husband to read and said, 'You see this job. I am going to get this job!' I was prepared to be lucky."

And she was. And so were citizens of Minnesota, as demonstrated by the popularity of this magazine and the wide-ranging enthusiasm and enjoyable interaction with the natural world Minnesota Conservation Volunteer engenders.




Photographs: (Top) September 2008 at Hawk Ridge in Duluth -- Kathleen Weflen held and then released a young male merlin (Falco columbarius) after signing up for the Adopt-a-Hawk Program to help support the reserve’s education program.

(Middle Right) On a remnant of native prairie in the southwestern corner of the state, Kathleen Weflen and other Minnesota Native Plant Society members find white lady’s slippers in bloom.

(Horizontal) In June 2008, Kathleen Weflen stands on an outcrop of Sioux quartzite at Blue Mounds State Park, overlooking southwestern Minnesota farmland.

(Bottom Left) Another side of Kathleen -- enjoying the Travel Section of The New York Times.

Related Links:
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer