The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced the appointment of Erik Thorson as Park Rapids area wildlife supervisor. Thorson had been serving as the Park Rapids acting area wildlife supervisor for several months.
Thorson began his career with the DNR in 2001 as a private lands specialist in Jordan. Later that year he moved to Park Rapids and held the assistant area wildlife manager position before accepting his most recent position as a forest wildlife coordinator for the Northwest Region in 2008. He also serves on the DNR Wildlife Section’s Deer Management Committee.
“We’re pleased that Erik will be joining the Northwest Region area supervisor team,” said John Williams, DNR Northwest Region wildlife manager. “He has an excellent background in wildlife management and brings great deer management expertise to the position.”
Thorson received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in wildlife management from the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate research focused on moose foraging behavior in Sweden and his graduate research on tundra swan ecology of the Upper Mississippi River.
Thorson and his wife Sara live in the Park Rapids area with their three children. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, harvesting wild rice and vegetable farming.
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“I look forward to continuing the excellent work of the staff in the Park Rapids wildlife area,” said Thorson. “It’s a privilege to be able to manage the area’s diverse wildlife resources and habitats in a community where I have lived for more than a dozen years.”
