Written by Dr. Eric Ruhland, Upstream Unsung Caretaker 2024
Dr. Eric Ruhland has been a scientist, avid outdoorsman, and conservation steward for as long as he can remember. Dr. Eric grew up in a large family on a small dairy farm in Western Minnesota. The son of a conservation-minded dairy farmer, whose farming practices used the words, “riparian buffer strips”, “cover crops”, “grass waterways”, and pasture it was no wonder that Eric’s young mind for science constantly floated between the realms of animal and plant health. The interplay between human health, animal health, habitat, and wild spaces was not a theory taught in a college class to him. It was physically taught through hard labor, and Mother Nature’s emotionless laws of science. Dr. Eric spent his youth milking cows, overseeing animal health(surgical and population health measures) hunting, fishing, and driving a lot of tractors. All of this background gave him a unique but common “farm kid” mentality that he wishes to show people today.
After graduating from North Dakota State University with a degree in Zoology in 2003, he received his doctorate at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008. In 2012 he founded the St. Paul Pet Hospital where he works to this day. Dr. Eric has served on various Veterinary boards and task forces ranging from the American Veterinary Medical Association to the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association. He is the resident in-house Veterinarian for Minnesota’s local Fox 9 Channel and is a regular on their morning show GOOD DAY program.
When not donning a stethoscope he can likely be found on a river, or in the woods. He is a member and stockholder in Pine Valley Farm, an eco-cooperative in Western Wisconsin with over 1,200 acres of contiguous private land that serves as a sensitive ecosystem with 9 miles of trout stream that are home to both native Brook Trout and Wild Brown Trout. He serves their board as a member at large and serves as the Chair of their Hunting and Fishing Committee. This is where he does the lion’s share of his habitat and conservation work. Through this organization Dr. Eric has been able to start launching private programs that help children from urban communities experience the outdoors, particularly teaching young boys about conservation-minded fishing practices, foraging, habitat management, archery, and firearm safety, among many other outdoor skills. Beyond work on Pine Valley Farm Dr. Eric has engaged with several local farmers in the Wisconsin area to lease previously row-cropped farms and assist in converting them into both tallgrass and pollinator habitat, doing this solely out of his own pocket.
On his days off Dr. Eric also serves as a part-time fly fishing guide in Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. He is a staunch supporter of catch and release practices and couldn’t be bothered to harvest a fish that could someday be caught by one of his friends or son. Beyond catch and release he also strictly adheres to proper fish handling, teaching both children and adults the impact that little things do to fish. This applies to time out of water, correct hook removal, monitoring water temps, fish handling, and proper fish resuscitation/release.
Dr. Eric currently lives in St Paul, MN with his partner in crime, Mya Honeywell, son Boden Ruhland, and dogs Butter and Princess Leia. When not in St. Paul they can be found at either of the cabins in Northern Wisconsin and the Driftless area of Minnesota, South of Winona. North or South, it doesn’t really matter, he just wants to be out in it!
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