Two issues are likely to dominate the Department of Natural Resources' leadership in 2007 -- recruiting the next generation of conservationists and the pressing immediate need for a long-term solution to the money crunch facing the agency.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries, entering her third year leading the agency, said that those issues, along with a handful of others, will be her focus in the 2007 as the agency prepares to deal with another tight budget.

"There's no question that the fiscal health of the department will be a top priority," said Humphries. "For the last several years, our revenues have been flat while the cost of doing business has gone up steadily. This has created a structural deficit in our main fund -- the Game and Fish Protection Fund -- that will need to be addressed this year or we face an even more uncertain 2009-10."

A long-term solution to funding conservation in Michigan is a top priority for Humphries and DNR leadership. The agency will host, along with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Agriculture, a statewide Conservation Summit on Feb. 7 in Lansing. The summit will bring together a wide array of organizations to discuss the need for broader financial support for conservation efforts in Michigan.

"The summit will be a status check on where we are in the DNR, DEQ and MDA after the loss of General Fund support over the past several years," Humphries said. "Each agency will present information about their financial health and the impact of funding losses. Our hope is there will be significant interest in the issue to form a steering committee to further study the issue of long-term funding for conservation needs in our state."

Humphries said the DNR has a list of pressing needs that require funding support, including the monitoring and enforcement of captive cervid facilities, state forest campgrounds in need of repairs and improvements, facility and infrastructure repairs and improvements at many state parks, and wildlife and fish disease surveillance.

Expanding the user base and attracting new customers also is a priority. Humphries said that she has adopted a "do anything, go anywhere" approach to reaching out to new customers. She also wants the department to take a look at more cross-marketing and customer-based approaches to doing business. For instance, when checking in to a state park, campers should be offered the chance to purchase fishing licenses. Hunters should be offered the chance to buy state park motor vehicle permits.

As a part of reaching out to new users, Humphries also wants to boost mentoring efforts among DNR employees and customers.

"We need to constantly be thinking about mentoring and bringing up the next generation of conservationists," Humphries said. "Michigan has a deep, rich outdoor legacy that we must pass on to future generations."

While the new laws to lower the hunting age and create the hunter apprentice program will help with mentoring efforts, Humphries said she wants to work more closely with hunting and fishing organizations to raise awareness of the important need to get more youth involved in the outdoors.

"Sometimes the future of conservation is not yet in the field or the lake, and we have to find new ways to reach out to children who are not active in the outdoors to make sure they have an interest in nature and the outdoors," she said.

Going hand in hand with recruiting new users, Humphries said another top priority would be more efforts to promote stewardship.

"Everyone must realize that being part of a conservation community means helping take care of public land and taking care of rare, threatened or endangered species," Humphries said. "A strong conservation ethic is the best thing we can pass down to our children and grandchildren."

Preparing the DNR and conservation organizations for the future is also near the top of Humphries' to-do list.

"The next wave of leadership both inside and outside the DNR must be recruited and retained now," Humphries said. "We must identify the next generation of conservation leaders and get them in the pipeline at the DNR and conservation organizations. They must know our business, understand it and carry out work forward."

To learn more about the DNR, please visit the department's Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.