Ted Suss

Appointed by the Senate

Public member Ted Suss was appointed to the Outdoor Heritage Council by the Senate in 2025. His current four year term ends in 2029.

Ted grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota where he spent many long days enjoying the outdoors while driving a tractor (without the luxury of an enclosed cab) in the farm fields. As a young person, his main recreation was horseback riding in the large woods that abutted the family farm. Ted still rides his mule in those same woods.

Ted spent most of his working life as a school administrator including serving as a Superintendent in three different rural Minnesota school districts. Prior to working as a school administrator, Ted served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives and was the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Board of Education.

Since his retirement from public education, Ted has devoted as much time as possible to volunteer work. Most of his volunteer work has focused on natural resources, conservation, environmental protection, and the promotion of conservation agricultural practices. Ted has been the volunteer Executive Director of Friends of the Minnesota Valley and recently became the organization's President. Ted is President of the Minnesota Valley Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America and has served as President, Vice President, and Board Member of the Minnesota Izaak Walton League. Ted was one of three people who founded an informal group that has grown into the Minnesota River Collaborative which focuses on improving water quality and reducing erosion and sediment transfer in the Minnesota River Valley.

Ted has a particular interest in parks and trails in Greater Minnesota. He was a Board Member and President of the Greater Minnesota Parks and Trails organization and was a member of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. He is also very interested in preserving wetlands, preserving unique ecosystems, protecting public lands from invasive species, and re-establishing natural prairie across the state.

Rice County, MN

lsohc@lsohc.mn.gov
(Communications will be forwarded to Mr. Suss.)