ATV Mendacity

Dear True,

ATVer rants lately have taken more twists and turns than the trails they like to carve through fragile wetlands, but I’m hearing that the community is finally getting fed up as the club now demands unfettered riding privileges throughout the county. It is time we come to our collective senses and bring ATV trail blazing to an abrupt halt.

The club initially said all they wanted was to run a ways down the road to have coffee with their like minded neighbors; that they were not at all interested in unlimited access or in turning Cook County into a magnet for Twin City ATV riders. Then, at the last county board meeting, we saw the mask drop and reality revealed in the demands they made and the threats they leveled against the county board members if the board had the temerity to put any restrictions on ATV travel. A look at members’ comments, the club’s website, the lobbying of its affiliates, of the ATV industry, and of the DNR reveals a clear, grim, picture of the future of our community as run by the ATV club.

Contrary to their original disclosures, ATVers now demand unrestricted riding throughout the county. Demonstrating a total lack of respect for the work of the ATV task force, a group known mainly for its imbalance in favor of the ATV club, club officers told the board it had to open all roads in the county to ATV riding under all circumstances – it is all or nothing. They also now insist they should be allowed to police themselves. The county board is to roll over, or else! Whatever happened to their previous promises? Whatever happened to civil, if not honest, discourse?

The local club also wants an ATV park in Cook County. On its website, www.atv.rideupnorth.com (how’s that for deterring an onslaught of Metro riders?), the club states an ATV park is a key priority. Surely there is a club member willing to donate his property for this worthy venture and no doubt he is surrounded by neighbors willing to sacrifice their peace and quiet for this noble cause. Will the lucky winners please make themselves known?

Opening the North Shore Snowmobile Trail to summer-long ATV travel is another club goal; it is shared with clubs statewide. This club priority also gets support from industry and the DNR, disregarding the original purpose and restrictions on that trail. This would allow an unlimited flow of riders from Duluth and beyond to roar into our county. It is such a comfort to know just how caring and sharing the ATV club is – caring only for themselves and sharing their hobby’s noxious noise with the rest of us.

Trashing the North Shore Snowmobile Trail is a key component in a linked, statewide system. The ATV clubs, ATV industry, the DNR and their ilk are all working on statewide connections in total disregard of real needs or of the will of the majority of Minnesotans. Whether statewide or just Cook County, most of us do not want our roads endangered, woods trashed and streams ruined, or our peace and quiet lost to what is perhaps the most selfish of outdoor activities (Don’t call ATVing a sport; it just ain’t). But, opposition is given short, if any shrift at all.

Another ATV goal is opening the Willard Munger Trail to ATV’s, thus connecting the whole Arrowhead to lower Minnesota for wide-open ATV travel. Though pushed during this legislature by the DNR, the clubs, and the ATV industry, it lost; rest assured it will be back. The intent is to link the Twin Cities to the North Shore Trail to Cook County. The benefit to our county will be an unlimited summertime supply of Metro ATV riders.

The reality is that the ATV club, with the support of the ATV industry and the DNR, is hell bent on making your county a destination for ATVs. The club tells us it is not just their inalienable right to do so; it is for our own good because it will boost business in our county. Yet business in our county was built and is sustained by a balance of quiet sports and sightseeing in the summer, and a healthy mix of the same, with an addition of snowmobiling, in the winter. What will wide-open ATV travel in the summer mean to our visitors who are here to enjoy the quiet? I think they will say “don’t call us, we’ll call you”. But, I’m sure the lodges will be overwhelmed with requests for ATV trailside accommodations so that guests can be lulled to sleep by the whine and roar of ATVs.

Will the county board listen to a vocal minority with a history of disrespect for the values of the community, and a disregard for integrity based civil discourse? Or, will the board show concern for the rights of the rest of us and our guests to quietly and peacefully enjoy our homes and community? It is hard to say.

Local governments across the state have a poor record of standing up to ATVer bullying and intimidation. However, reports are there weren’t any smiles on the faces of the commissioners at the last meeting as the club’s leaders and supporters displayed their usual standards of reason and civility. Maybe county officials are now as fed up as the rest of us over the ill will this climate of threats, bullying, and mendacity has brought to our community; maybe not. Club members we all know are getting ready to say “Metro riders, start your engines and rideupnorth(.com)”.

John Haluska
Grand Marais