Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Holsten says he and his office would take final responsibility for a controversial game-warden conference under state investigation.

"I'm ultimately responsible for all the pieces,'' Holsten said. "It ultimately resides in the commissioner's office."

The state's legislative auditor is investigating whether the DNR or individual employees misused state funds or staff time to put on an international conservation officers conference in St. Paul in 2007. Holsten also has ordered an employee investigation by Minneapolis law firm Parker Rosen. A joint House-Senate legislative hearing addressed the issue in May.

Two employees who played key roles in bringing the conference to Minnesota have been placed indefinitely on paid leave during the investigation: Col. Mike Hamm, chief of the DNR's Enforcement Division, and his wife, Capt. Cathy Hamm, who supervises officers in the state's central region. That region includes the Twin Cities.

Cathy Hamm, a conservation officer for 28 years, denies she did anything wrong. Mike Hamm would not comment on the investigation.

"Every major expense was signed off by the commissioner's office," Cathy Hamm said. "I'm shocked that people think this flew under the radar. I have three years of performance reviews where this conference was mentioned. I was rated as 'exceptional' in my work."

The Hamms were among dozens of staff and administrators who helped organize the

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conference. Mike Hamm and others in the commissioner's office signed off on expenses dating back to 2005, according to DNR documents Cathy Hamm provided to the Pioneer Press.

The DNR has denied a Pioneer Press request for all documents relating to the conference, citing them as private because of the ongoing investigation. The Pioneer Press has appealed the denial, which is being reviewed by the state's Department of Administration. The requested documents, however, are the same ones given by the DNR to the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune prior to the state's investigation.

The Hamms have been on leave for one month. The DNR notified them this week and said they were being investigated for alleged misuse of state money and staff time. They have hired an attorney.

At issue is whether the DNR wrongly spent about $193,000 in state funds for the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association conference at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul.

According to documents provided by Cathy Hamm, the largest fund request occurred April 23, 2007. Deputy Commissioner Laurie Martinson signed approval for $160,000 in special expenses for lodging, meals and conference registration for DNR conservation officers for July 15-22, 2007.

In 2005, Assistant DNR Commissioner Brad Moore and Department of Employee Relations Commissioner Cal Ludeman approved requests for Cathy Hamm and two other officers to attend the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association conferences in British Columbia in 2005 and Quebec in 2006. Those travel expenses were about $3,700 and $4,730, respectively, according to DNR documents and Cathy Hamm.

The goal was to research how the conference worked in other cities prior to being hosted in St. Paul, Cathy Hamm said.

Planning for the St. Paul conference began in 2004 when the Minnesota Conservation Officers Association, the union that represents the DNR's officers, approached the DNR about hosting. The event also would celebrate the 120th anniversary of conservation officers in Minnesota.

All of the DNR's 204 officers attended the conference, and many stayed at downtown hotels. Cathy Hamm said another 500 conservation officers from out of state attended.

The conference was planned jointly by the MCOA and the DNR, Cathy Hamm said. Retired officer Brad Schultz, who used to work for Hamm, agreed.

"It was a team effort," Schultz said. "It looked like a golden opportunity to showcase our law enforcement division."

Two other conservation officers still on their beats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they have been instructed by DNR officials not to comment on the matter, confirmed that it was a joint effort.

"What distresses me more than anything," Schultz said about the Hamms, "is that it looks like the upper echelon is hanging them out to dry."

Holsten said Friday that he believes the Hamms were the only DNR employees who "knew all the pieces" about organizing the conference, while supervisors in the DNR didn't. He said he also wants to know whether the MCOA was intended to be the sole sponsor of the conference and how the DNR became a sponsor. "Where is that line?" Holsten said.

He also acknowledged that the Hamms' marriage has been "a source of contention" within the enforcement division, and "I think there's an issue of nepotism, whether it's a real or perceived conflict."

Holsten also praised Mike Hamm for staffing the agency's field officers to full force for the first time in years and described Cathy Hamm as "a sound manager."

Despite concerns about how the DNR spent money on the conference, Holsten praised the event for the training it provided conservation officers.

"From an agency perspective and a conservation officer perspective, I think it was a good thing," he said.

Chris Niskanen can be reached at 651-228-5524.