New DNR conservation officer arrives to Cook County following retirement of Mary Manning
The Gunflint Mail Run sled dog race is the hot event this weekend on the Gunflint Trail. Among the mushers competing in the field this year is Mary Manning.
A Cook County resident, Manning has been mushing for about 25 years.
In addition to mushing, Manning used her dogs for work as a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer while patrolling the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including many of the remote lakes along the Gunflint Trail.
The 55-year-old Manning joined the DNR conversation force in 2005. She has worked locally in Cook County throughout her entire career. And as of the first week in January, Manning can refer to her tenure with the DNR in the past tense. Just ahead of the Mail Run, Manning retired from the state agency.
Manning grew up in lower Michigan, though it wasn’t until she arrived in Minnesota that she became interested in sled dog racing and the mushing lifestyle. Manning and her wife currently have about 30 dogs at their DoodleDog Kennel near Hovland.
In addition to being a musher and now retired conservation officer for the DNR, Manning is a former on-air volunteer host at WTIP. She also took an abundance of time to share stories about things happening in our local woods and water, including the time she rescued a deer stranded on the ice in the Grand Marais Harbor.
In addition to the Gunflint Mail Run, Manning has competed in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, the Ely Wolf Track Classic, the Apostle Island Sled Dog Race in Bayfield, the U.P. 200 and CopperDog races in Michigan, the Can-AM 100 in Maine and the West Yellowstone Special in Montana, among other races.
The new conservation officer taking over for Manning is Hudson Ledeen. A fall 2022 graduate from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Academy, Ledeen will assume many of the duties Manning had with the DNR.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Ledeen for the most recent episode of the WTIP Outdoor News Podcast. Audio below.
Joe Friedrichs January 7, 2023
