Join LWV ABC and guest speaker Carrol Henderson, former Director of Nongame Wildlife Program, to learn more about the history and promise of Minnesota’s Nongame Wildlife program. This Department of Natural Resources program focuses on protecting and managing the state's nongame wildlife, such as songbirds, eagles, turtles, frogs, and rare mammals. Since 1981, the Nongame Wildlife Program has been largely funded by the “Chickadee Checkoff” on Minnesota Tax forms which allow residents to easily donate to the program.

Carrol Henderson was the Director of the DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program from its inception in 1977 until his retirement in 2018. He grew the Nongame Wildlife Program from a one-man show with a meager $25,000 annual budget (which included his salary) to an established program that today boasts an annual budget of nearly $3 million and protects thousands of species.