Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Paul W. Langseth, Brian G. Napstad, and Gene Tiedemann to the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). All three are appointed to four-year terms that expire on January 6, 2014.

Langseth, of Worthington, is the president and manager of Prairie Land Trees Inc., in Worthington. He has been an elected Nobles County Soil and Water District Supervisor since 1996, and is also the Indian Lake Township treasurer. Previously, Langseth was the dean of students and a school board member for Worthington Independent School District 518, and an assistant credit and receivables manager for Sather’s Inc. in Round Lake and ConAgra Inc., Armor Food Division in Fairmont and Monroe, Wisconsin. Langseth earned his bachelor’s degree from Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in Marshall, and is currently enrolled in SMSU’s master’s degree program in educational leadership. Langseth, who has been a member of the BWSR since 2006, is reappointed to a position for a soil and water conservation district supervisor.

Napstad, of McGregor, is the owner of Fisherman’s Bay Restaurant on Big Sandy Lake. He has also been an elected Aitkin County Commissioner since 2005, and previously served on the McGregor School Board. Napstad’s prior employment positions have included a sales representative and project manager with Hewlett Packard in St. Paul, sales director with ENSCAN, Inc., in Minneapolis, senior sales representative with General Electric Company’s Calma Company Division in Minneapolis, and an applications engineer with National Computer Systems in Minneapolis. He earned a bachelor of science degree in manufacturing and engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Stout in Menomonie. Napstad, who has been a member of the BWSR since 2006, is reappointed to a position for a county commissioner.

Tiedemann, of Euclid, is a full-time farmer with his brother and two sons in Polk County, and lives on the homestead his family settled in the 1870s. He is currently vice president of the Red Lake Watershed District, representing western Polk County. Tiedemann also chairs the Euclid Town Board, is a member of the Red River Valley Sugar Growers Association, and his local farmers co-op. Tiedemann earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Moorhead State University. Tiedemann, who has been a member of the BWSR since 2006, is reappointed to a position for a representative of a watershed district or watershed management organization.

The Board of Water and Soil Resources is the state's administrative agency for 91 soil and water conservation districts, 43 watershed districts, 27 metropolitan watersheds, and 80 county water management organizations. BWSR’s purpose – working through local government – is to protect and enhance the state's irreplaceable soil and water resources by implementing the state's soil and water conservation policy, comprehensive local water management, and the Wetland Conservation Act as it relates to the 41.7 million acres of private land in Minnesota. The board consists of 20 members, including 15 appointed by the Governor.