WebEvent: Show Single Event
This link gives you all the skinny on that hoped-for world-record-breaking parade of ATVers gathered in Silver Bay today. That's right folks, today. They're expecting 2,500 people from all over the country, loud and proud, to ride some 50 miles of trails and play lots of fun games and churn up some topsoil and spew some fumes into the air.
It's the 25th anniversary of the All-Terrain Vehicle Association of Minnesota. Reason enough to bring out the storm troopers, last gathered two years ago in Harlan County, Kentucky, that bastion of coal mining greed where moutaintops are getting cut off and thrown down. A little ATV erosion seems but a small thing next to that, n'est-ce pas?
Here's where the rest of the world discovers the newest ATV destination: the North Shore!
Showing posts with label ATV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ATV. Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Don't trust DNR on ATVs
Dear True,
If you are one of those who still trusts the DNR to do the right thing for the environment this webpage should completely eliminate that thought.Anonymous
Hay Creek ATV damage
The Hay Creek ATV damage site is on an 80 acre parcel of our state land within thousands of acres of Cass County land. Cass County controls the access and refuses to restrict ATV riders access.
On April 4, 2005 I was hiking my favorite trail and photo documenting the massive amount of ATV damage that is taking place on our public lands because of the do-nothing MN legislature and the MN DNR.
I came across severe ongoing erosion caused by ATV riders. The trail is a winter logging trail and is designed to be used only during winter when the ground is frozen. Beavers had dammed a flowage and caused the water to run down the trail as they had done in the past only this time the deep ATV ruts concentrated the flow. Without the root matt to hold the soil it was rapidly eroding into Hay Creek during fish spawning season.
This first series was taken as I walked towards Hay Creek on 4-4-05. It shows only a very small portion of the rutted trail. I have only used a few of the photos in order to speed loading. This spring I took hundreds of similar photos of ATV damage to our forest trails in Cass and Crow Wing County forests. Gross negligence on the part of Cass and Crow Wing County officials and the MN DNR has allowed the creation of literally miles of ruts just like those shown in these photos.
Here's the beginning of the washout next to Hay Creek. The photo was taken looking backwards. It was taken on 4-4-05.
On 4-5-05 I notified the MN DNR and Cass County of the ongoing damage and emailed photos of the site.
Here is what the same site looked like on 4-12-05 seven days after I notified the MN DNR and Cass County.
Still no action from the MN DNR or Cass County was taken to stop the erosion into Hay Creek.
Here is what the same site looked like on 4-21-05 sixteen days after I notified the MN DNR and Cass County..
Still no action from the MN DNR or Cass County was taken to stop the erosion into Hay Creek.
Here is what the same site looked like on 5-4-05 one month later. I brought the MN DNR and Cass County staff to look at the site on that day.
Still no action from the MN DNR or Cass County was taken to stop the erosion into Hay Creek.
Here is what the same site looked like on 7-3-05. Vegetation covers most of the site so the 4 foot deep gully is barely visible.
Still no action from the MN DNR or Cass County was taken to stop the erosion into Hay Creek.
As of January 16, 2006 despite numerous group hugs and agency visits to the site nothing has been done to restore or stabilize this trail from continuing to erode into Hay Creek. I expect that spring runoff and spring rains will continue the process of erosion.
Even though $475,000 sits in the ATV damage account for just this sort of restoration the MN DNR still refuses to use that money. I believe it it so that pro-ATV legislators (Bakk, Dill, Penas, Hackbarth, Saxhaug and Irv Anderson) and certain DNR staff can claim it isn't needed. In 1999 when our very own MN DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten was Representative Holsten he teamed up with then Representative Tom Bakk to push an 11th hour amendment that allowed ATV riders to leave the trail and ride randomly through our forests. That helped create a No Boundaries attitude that can be seen in the ATV trails around closed signs to this day. It's no wonder that ATV riders are destroying our forest trails and wetlands with a so-what leadership like that at the very top of the MN DNR.
I was able to email a question to DNR Commissioner Holsten on MPR Midday. The host asked DNR Commissioner if he regretted pushing the 1999 amendment that allowed ATV riders to ride randomly off trail through out forests. You can hear him tapdance around the question here http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/02/05/midday2/ . Click on the listen button to the left of the image. Then scroll to 11:36 minutes to hear the question and his evasive answer. I doubt that he regrets it and only regrets that people know what he did.
You can add Senator Satveer Chaudhary's name to the Hall of Shame when it comes to supporting irresponsible and destructive OHV use in MN state forests. He is the chair of the Environment and Natural Resource Committee in the MN Senate. His actions and the bill he passed out of his committee puts him in the same league as the scoundrels above.
The MN DNR finally "restored" the Hay Creek ATV damage site. You will see what I mean by "restored" in the following photos. It is PATHETIC. Now they will refer to this site as a success story about how they, the great protectors of the environment rushed to the rescue and made everything right despite great obstacles. The MN DNR and irresponsible legislators like those named above are the obstacles to protecting our state forest from irresponsible ATV riders.
Here are before and after restoration photos of the site.
Before After
The "before" photo was taken well before the erosion was complete. The final gully was 4' deep and up to 11' wide.
Before After
I don't have any good before photos of this part of the trail shown below but as you can see it doesn't matter because the DNR didn't make any attempt to restore this portion of the trail. The majority (90%) of the trail was not touched in the "restoration".
It's no doubt that the DNR was more concerned about saving ATV damage account dollars than restoring the trail.
Cass County has refused to control access to this site even going so far as to place the gate at the east entrance to the area in such a way that ATVs and mudder trucks can go around the gate.
Cass County also refuses to close the west access point even though ATVs are riding in Pistol Lake. These photos represent only a tiny portion of the ATV ruts along the shoreline of Pistol Lake. They are clearly visible from the air and Cass County is well aware of the ongoing damage. The water from Pistol Lake flows into Hay Creek and then to Daggett Brook and finally into the Whitefish Chain before joining the Pine River on it's way to the Mississippi River. Without the cooperation of Cass County Commissioners there is little chance of enforcing any ATV regulations or protecting this site from further ATV damage. They seem to have embraced a slash-and-burn economic development philosophy when it comes to ATV regulation with their stated goal of leaving 90% of Cass County land open to ATV riders.
Unfortunately Crow Wing County has adopted the same reckless position of allowing ATV riders to destroy our trails. It is evident in that we have NO county ordinances that would allow any realistic regulation of these machines despite the fact that Crow Wing County commissioners have had years to write those ordinances.. I have photographed literally miles of deep ATV ruts in Crow Wing County.
Some of those images can be seen at http://www.crowwingcountymn.org
MN legislature stealing our gas tax dollars to give to ATV riders
Each time you buy gas the ATV riders illegally siphon off 0.27% of the Constitutionally dedicated gas tax that you paid. Each year ATV riders are stealing nearly $2 million from our badly needed transportation fund. It's called a "refund" because supposedly ATV riders cannot use our highway system but ATV riders ARE using our highway system ditches. It also violates the MN Constitution to divert money from our highways and bridges.
The ATV lobby pushed legislation that requires all ATV owners to license their vehicles even if they never leave private property. Then they steal that license money to build ATV trails. It also inflates the numbers of ATVs so that the ATV lobby now uses that massively inflated figure to justify building more trails and prevent any reasonable ATV regulations.
A study was commissioned to find out how much gas tax ATV riders pay and where they ride. After spending our tax dollars to fund the study and collecting all the data the MN DNR looked the other way when 1/2 of the study was left undone. The half that was left undone with the DNR's permission would have drastically reduced the amount of our gas tax funneled into the MN DNR Trails and Waterways. The missing part of the study showed that only 15% of riders use trails on public lands.
In a nutshell the gas tax "refund" is based on the false premise that ATV riders aren't riding in our ditches, massively inflated numbers of ATVs and that 100% of ATV riders ride on public land instead of only 15%.
Gene Larimore from the Jack Pine Coalition finished the second half of the study. Here are the results of his analysis. Gas tax His analysis has never been contested by the MN DNR or the ATV lobby.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The ATV song: Ride roughshod over the rivers and through the woods
Oh, here we go again!
Not content with inviting all the ATVers in the world to their June parade in Silver Bay, the local ATV crowd is demanding that the North Shore State Trail be opened to their noisy and destructive vehicles.
As for the old slogan that "We just want a place for locals to ride," the latest demand is to eliminate the 90-mile limit on trails in Cook County. So, how many miles do you locals want permission to destroy fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitat on?
The US Forest Service process started last year with mucho public input to try to keep everybody happy has tanked. How thankless to try to find a way to preserve the environment by limiting the damage done by ATV rough riders, not to mention protecting quiet spaces. It isn't only the people who need peace and silence, it is the wild creatures who are terrified by the noise and smells and speedy depradations of the clueless folks who bring their joyless and lawless midget psyches blundering into the ancient forest.
It looks to be a long summer. Lovers of peace and quiet, beware!
Not content with inviting all the ATVers in the world to their June parade in Silver Bay, the local ATV crowd is demanding that the North Shore State Trail be opened to their noisy and destructive vehicles.
As for the old slogan that "We just want a place for locals to ride," the latest demand is to eliminate the 90-mile limit on trails in Cook County. So, how many miles do you locals want permission to destroy fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitat on?
The US Forest Service process started last year with mucho public input to try to keep everybody happy has tanked. How thankless to try to find a way to preserve the environment by limiting the damage done by ATV rough riders, not to mention protecting quiet spaces. It isn't only the people who need peace and silence, it is the wild creatures who are terrified by the noise and smells and speedy depradations of the clueless folks who bring their joyless and lawless midget psyches blundering into the ancient forest.
It looks to be a long summer. Lovers of peace and quiet, beware!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Ta da! Here comes the world's biggest ATV parade
The Cook County Star has announced that our ATV club is "recruiting ATV enthusiasts" to attend a hopefully record-breaking ATV parade in Silver Bay on June 14th. So much for "just wanting a place for locals to ride their ATVs around."
ATV clubs from around the state will be trying to make the North Shore the premier destination for the nation (and the world?). You can trust this info, it came from the horse's (I mean the ATV's) mouth.
True
ATV clubs from around the state will be trying to make the North Shore the premier destination for the nation (and the world?). You can trust this info, it came from the horse's (I mean the ATV's) mouth.
True
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Only you can save the Mississippi Headwaters
By Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Here is the text version of this important story. Click on the link above to see the website.
The quiet wilderness of the Mississippi River Headwaters may soon become an ATV destination.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and three counties have a plan for roads and trails for all-terrain vehicles, motorbikes, and 4x4 “mudder” trucks in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest and the river’s designated “wild corridor.”
The proposed network of routes will destroy or damage the headwaters’ wild character, valuable wildlife habitat, a cultural & historic landscape, and an ancient canoe route. But it’s not over yet! You can help save the Mississippi ...
Minnesota Center for Environmental... - http://www.mncenter.org/minnesota_center_for_envi/
January 02, 2008
You have the power to prevent it. The state is taking comments until Jan. 22. Please send your email comment on the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest Draft Plan to:
• DNR planner Bill Johnson at bill.johnson@dnr.state.mn.us;
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us;
• Superintendent Paul Labovitz, Mississippi National River and Recreation area at paul_labovitz@nps.gov
You can mail the comments to Bill Johnson, DNR Division of Trails & Waterways, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, Mn. 55155.
Tell them this is a National River! Tell them to keep ATVs out! Tell them to keep the Headwaters wild!
AT STAKE: a national treasure, historic canoe route, the last wilderness on the Mississippi River.
The 2,552 mile long Mississippi River begins as a trickle at Lake Itasca, in northern Minnesota. The first 47 miles – the “wild headwaters” – are designated a “Wild River” under Minnesota law, and have qualified for designation as wild under National Wild & Scenic Rivers Act since 1977.
The Mississippi Headwaters is a recreational gem - a designated canoe route offering silence, remoteness, and solitude. The river here is narrow and it is home to wolf packs, pine marten, fisher, black bear, river otter, mink, bald eagles, and the occasional cougar.
The Mississippi Headwaters has deep historic and cultural significance. For millennia it was a major travel and settlement corridor for Native Americans. Explorers sought to find it, and vast fortunes were floated down it during the fur trade era.
THE THREAT: planned Off-Highway Vehicle routes would damage the Mississippi Headwaters’ wildness.
Rather than close old logging roads and skid trails to off-highway vehicles, appointees at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources want to designate dozens of miles open to these vehicles in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, which encompasses much of the wild headwaters. Off-highway vehicles on roads and trails would run into the Wild Corridor, along and even over the river. The department’s own ecological, fish & wildlife, and enforcement staff opposed designating these off-road routes. The proposed network of routes will destroy or damage the headwaters’ wild character, valuable wildlife habitat, a cultural & historic landscape, and an ancient canoe route.
But it’s not over yet! You can help save the Mississippi Headwaters. Will you please try?
Here is the text version of this important story. Click on the link above to see the website.
The quiet wilderness of the Mississippi River Headwaters may soon become an ATV destination.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and three counties have a plan for roads and trails for all-terrain vehicles, motorbikes, and 4x4 “mudder” trucks in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest and the river’s designated “wild corridor.”
The proposed network of routes will destroy or damage the headwaters’ wild character, valuable wildlife habitat, a cultural & historic landscape, and an ancient canoe route. But it’s not over yet! You can help save the Mississippi ...
Minnesota Center for Environmental... - http://www.mncenter.org/minnesota_center_for_envi/
January 02, 2008
You have the power to prevent it. The state is taking comments until Jan. 22. Please send your email comment on the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest Draft Plan to:
• DNR planner Bill Johnson at bill.johnson@dnr.state.mn.us;
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us;
• Superintendent Paul Labovitz, Mississippi National River and Recreation area at paul_labovitz@nps.gov
You can mail the comments to Bill Johnson, DNR Division of Trails & Waterways, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, Mn. 55155.
Tell them this is a National River! Tell them to keep ATVs out! Tell them to keep the Headwaters wild!
AT STAKE: a national treasure, historic canoe route, the last wilderness on the Mississippi River.
The 2,552 mile long Mississippi River begins as a trickle at Lake Itasca, in northern Minnesota. The first 47 miles – the “wild headwaters” – are designated a “Wild River” under Minnesota law, and have qualified for designation as wild under National Wild & Scenic Rivers Act since 1977.
The Mississippi Headwaters is a recreational gem - a designated canoe route offering silence, remoteness, and solitude. The river here is narrow and it is home to wolf packs, pine marten, fisher, black bear, river otter, mink, bald eagles, and the occasional cougar.
The Mississippi Headwaters has deep historic and cultural significance. For millennia it was a major travel and settlement corridor for Native Americans. Explorers sought to find it, and vast fortunes were floated down it during the fur trade era.
THE THREAT: planned Off-Highway Vehicle routes would damage the Mississippi Headwaters’ wildness.
Rather than close old logging roads and skid trails to off-highway vehicles, appointees at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources want to designate dozens of miles open to these vehicles in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, which encompasses much of the wild headwaters. Off-highway vehicles on roads and trails would run into the Wild Corridor, along and even over the river. The department’s own ecological, fish & wildlife, and enforcement staff opposed designating these off-road routes. The proposed network of routes will destroy or damage the headwaters’ wild character, valuable wildlife habitat, a cultural & historic landscape, and an ancient canoe route.
But it’s not over yet! You can help save the Mississippi Headwaters. Will you please try?
Monday, December 31, 2007
New SRC blog about ATVs available
The Sustainable Recreation Coalition, a grass roots group of Cook County folks working to protect the North Shore from the depredations of ATV’s, has started a blog called ATV Report - at www.atvreport.blogspot.com
True
True
Friday, June 22, 2007
Mea culpa
Dear True,
I don’t know what came over me. How could I be so presumptuous as to not only have an opinion on the ATV issue, but to actually express it? I ignored the rule that those who own ATVs can arrogate the right of freedom of speech, excluding it from us unwashed villains. We can never forget that they receive a special certificate in the owner’s packet when they buy their ATV; it elevates them well above us pedestrian U. S. citizens. I should have anticipated the hang-up phone calls, the threatening silent stares, and the letters of public personal attack from the county’s new nobility, those entitled ladies and gentlemen of the local ATV leadership, our new world order!
However, in the long tradition of uppity peasants everywhere, and with absolute certainty of bringing on more of the same for daring to again offend our ATV overlords, I proffer that it is clear the local ATV leadership, and their hangers on, flout the law regarding riding ATVs on roadways, while flaunting disdain for normal standards of decent behavior, civil discourse, and public argument. This shows how far local ATV leaders have fallen from the “speak-your-peace” wagon in their pursuit of happiness – theirs alone, that is.
I, for one, want everyone to be happy. If your nirvana is riding your ATV around your place and not infringing on your neighbor’s right to enjoy their own property, have at it. Slap on your grin and let ‘er rip. Flip it, roll it, or slam it into your tree, or your rock, or your ditch. It’s your life to give on the altar of whatever stupidity you may care to worship. Most would agree that is your right. But, to ride elsewhere than your own property is a privilege. It is a privilege that can only be carved from the rights of a majority who do not want to hear your noise or smell your fumes, and do not share your delusions, happy or otherwise.
Is there anything inherently wrong with ATVs? No, the problem is not the ATV, but the ATVer. ATVs don’t kill, but, though most ATVers don’t either, way too many of them do. Ready evidence, statistics, and accident records prove it.
ATVers kill wetlands, waterways, and watersheds. They kill the quiet of the woods and of the byways. They kill the peace of the trails and of the community, whether audible or civil. They kill flora and fauna. They kill drivers of, and passengers in, other vehicles. They kill pedestrians. They kill themselves. Often they kill their passengers, and too often those passengers are their own children.
Sometimes they kill due to ignorance, sometimes due to inebriation, sometimes due to recklessness and carelessness, and sometimes due to inanity. And, why do ATVers so often turn their ATVs loose in the hands of children who have neither the wisdom, strength, or experience to handle an ATV rationally or safely, risking both the child driver and whoever that child may encounter, on or off the road?
Most of this damage, death, and tragedy results from the violation of reasonable regulations, or from lack of common sense, yet the local ATV leaders want still more, boasting that their goal is to be able to freely ride ATVs on every roadway in the county. The incredible part of this is that they make their demands amidst evidence and admissions of their own criminal ATV riding. I guess grinning scofflaws have immunity, since not one that I know of has been charged for this behavior, or for that matter, for any of the other, all too common, ATV violations we are all aware of. Where is our law enforcement? And, where is the common sense of the broader ATV community and of those officials considering giving in to these bullies for more, more, and more?
There are good, civil, law abiding folks riding ATVs in Cook County, and I believe they are likely in a majority, but they have leaders who boast of their own illegal acts, and that makes you wonder what the future will bring should the county and state grant them any further privileges. It certainly won’t be civility, quiet, and peace.
It is now clear that the “speak-your-peace” wagon has been dragged out of town by an ATV, with the driver grinning and waving, and likely down the center of the road. If we know what’s good for us, all us uppity peasants better keep to the ditches, be quiet, and humbly eat our cake.
John Haluska
Grand Marais
I don’t know what came over me. How could I be so presumptuous as to not only have an opinion on the ATV issue, but to actually express it? I ignored the rule that those who own ATVs can arrogate the right of freedom of speech, excluding it from us unwashed villains. We can never forget that they receive a special certificate in the owner’s packet when they buy their ATV; it elevates them well above us pedestrian U. S. citizens. I should have anticipated the hang-up phone calls, the threatening silent stares, and the letters of public personal attack from the county’s new nobility, those entitled ladies and gentlemen of the local ATV leadership, our new world order!
However, in the long tradition of uppity peasants everywhere, and with absolute certainty of bringing on more of the same for daring to again offend our ATV overlords, I proffer that it is clear the local ATV leadership, and their hangers on, flout the law regarding riding ATVs on roadways, while flaunting disdain for normal standards of decent behavior, civil discourse, and public argument. This shows how far local ATV leaders have fallen from the “speak-your-peace” wagon in their pursuit of happiness – theirs alone, that is.
I, for one, want everyone to be happy. If your nirvana is riding your ATV around your place and not infringing on your neighbor’s right to enjoy their own property, have at it. Slap on your grin and let ‘er rip. Flip it, roll it, or slam it into your tree, or your rock, or your ditch. It’s your life to give on the altar of whatever stupidity you may care to worship. Most would agree that is your right. But, to ride elsewhere than your own property is a privilege. It is a privilege that can only be carved from the rights of a majority who do not want to hear your noise or smell your fumes, and do not share your delusions, happy or otherwise.
Is there anything inherently wrong with ATVs? No, the problem is not the ATV, but the ATVer. ATVs don’t kill, but, though most ATVers don’t either, way too many of them do. Ready evidence, statistics, and accident records prove it.
ATVers kill wetlands, waterways, and watersheds. They kill the quiet of the woods and of the byways. They kill the peace of the trails and of the community, whether audible or civil. They kill flora and fauna. They kill drivers of, and passengers in, other vehicles. They kill pedestrians. They kill themselves. Often they kill their passengers, and too often those passengers are their own children.
Sometimes they kill due to ignorance, sometimes due to inebriation, sometimes due to recklessness and carelessness, and sometimes due to inanity. And, why do ATVers so often turn their ATVs loose in the hands of children who have neither the wisdom, strength, or experience to handle an ATV rationally or safely, risking both the child driver and whoever that child may encounter, on or off the road?
Most of this damage, death, and tragedy results from the violation of reasonable regulations, or from lack of common sense, yet the local ATV leaders want still more, boasting that their goal is to be able to freely ride ATVs on every roadway in the county. The incredible part of this is that they make their demands amidst evidence and admissions of their own criminal ATV riding. I guess grinning scofflaws have immunity, since not one that I know of has been charged for this behavior, or for that matter, for any of the other, all too common, ATV violations we are all aware of. Where is our law enforcement? And, where is the common sense of the broader ATV community and of those officials considering giving in to these bullies for more, more, and more?
There are good, civil, law abiding folks riding ATVs in Cook County, and I believe they are likely in a majority, but they have leaders who boast of their own illegal acts, and that makes you wonder what the future will bring should the county and state grant them any further privileges. It certainly won’t be civility, quiet, and peace.
It is now clear that the “speak-your-peace” wagon has been dragged out of town by an ATV, with the driver grinning and waving, and likely down the center of the road. If we know what’s good for us, all us uppity peasants better keep to the ditches, be quiet, and humbly eat our cake.
John Haluska
Grand Marais
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Piping a different tune
Dear True,
It’s always fun, if not outright amusing, to see what “The Issue of the Day” happens to be in Grand Marais. There’s always one per summer and this year, clearly, the issue involves ATV usage. What makes it all amusing is when the normally restrained nature of the Scandinavian population suddenly becomes violently polarized, firmly entrenched, and almost hysterically vehement as the citizenry weighs in on one side or the other of The Issue.
This summer I’ve noticed a growing groundswell of otherwise mild-mannered acquaintances rising up against the “pushiness” of the ATV group and their seeming arrogance in demanding an ordinance for their hobby, a hobby which ultimately infringes on the rights of their neighbors to peace and quiet and uncluttered roads.
I myself have friends who are addicted to the ATV past time, an addiction to which I cannot relate, but that doesn’t mean I begrudge them their brightly-colored, fat-tired doodlebugs zooming noisily over hill and dale, as they grin like bears in a honey tree. As my mother often said: “It’s always fun until someone puts out an eye.” Their joy reminds me of my own passion for the bagpipes and bagpipers in general, an addiction not shared by everyone. In fact, the ATV issue has made me rethink the role of bagpipers in the life of Grand Marais.
Like the doodlebugs, bagpipers are noisy and colorful and, I feel, should be encouraged to practice, march, and parade on any and all streets they so desire. I feel the pure, quiet northern air should be pierced regularly with the singular drone and subsequent squawk of an awakening pipe before it launches into an emotionally stirring high-pitched tune, a tune which will invariably raise the hair on the back of my neck and bring tears to my eyes. I love the pipes -- so much so I’d probably follow a piper into Hell, as so many brave Scots have done before me.
So what I’m asking is this: if the ATVers have the right to lobby for an ordinance allowing them to do as they please with THEIR hobby, without regard to the opinions of their neighbors, do I not also have the right to lobby for a bag piping ordinance? Perhaps Grand Marais could become “The Piping Capital of the Midwest,” a veritable Mecca for pipers, with pipers on all corners (not ignoring the habit of many pipers for solo piping in Nature), ensuring the glimpse of “a bit of plaid” in the peripheral vision of each and every resident of Cook County?
If it works for one special interest group, why not ALL of them? Perhaps we could elect a special Sub-Council that only hears ordinance requests from various hobby groups. Or, failing that, perhaps keep things as they are and merely find an isolated piece of land in Cook County where doodlebuggers and bagpipers alike can indulge their passion without annoying others.
Pam Dorris
Lutsen
It’s always fun, if not outright amusing, to see what “The Issue of the Day” happens to be in Grand Marais. There’s always one per summer and this year, clearly, the issue involves ATV usage. What makes it all amusing is when the normally restrained nature of the Scandinavian population suddenly becomes violently polarized, firmly entrenched, and almost hysterically vehement as the citizenry weighs in on one side or the other of The Issue.
This summer I’ve noticed a growing groundswell of otherwise mild-mannered acquaintances rising up against the “pushiness” of the ATV group and their seeming arrogance in demanding an ordinance for their hobby, a hobby which ultimately infringes on the rights of their neighbors to peace and quiet and uncluttered roads.
I myself have friends who are addicted to the ATV past time, an addiction to which I cannot relate, but that doesn’t mean I begrudge them their brightly-colored, fat-tired doodlebugs zooming noisily over hill and dale, as they grin like bears in a honey tree. As my mother often said: “It’s always fun until someone puts out an eye.” Their joy reminds me of my own passion for the bagpipes and bagpipers in general, an addiction not shared by everyone. In fact, the ATV issue has made me rethink the role of bagpipers in the life of Grand Marais.
Like the doodlebugs, bagpipers are noisy and colorful and, I feel, should be encouraged to practice, march, and parade on any and all streets they so desire. I feel the pure, quiet northern air should be pierced regularly with the singular drone and subsequent squawk of an awakening pipe before it launches into an emotionally stirring high-pitched tune, a tune which will invariably raise the hair on the back of my neck and bring tears to my eyes. I love the pipes -- so much so I’d probably follow a piper into Hell, as so many brave Scots have done before me.
So what I’m asking is this: if the ATVers have the right to lobby for an ordinance allowing them to do as they please with THEIR hobby, without regard to the opinions of their neighbors, do I not also have the right to lobby for a bag piping ordinance? Perhaps Grand Marais could become “The Piping Capital of the Midwest,” a veritable Mecca for pipers, with pipers on all corners (not ignoring the habit of many pipers for solo piping in Nature), ensuring the glimpse of “a bit of plaid” in the peripheral vision of each and every resident of Cook County?
If it works for one special interest group, why not ALL of them? Perhaps we could elect a special Sub-Council that only hears ordinance requests from various hobby groups. Or, failing that, perhaps keep things as they are and merely find an isolated piece of land in Cook County where doodlebuggers and bagpipers alike can indulge their passion without annoying others.
Pam Dorris
Lutsen
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Hey, True!
Dear True,
According to Elizabeth Perry in the NEWS-HERALD editorial this week, your blog is detrimental to the welfare of Cook County, no doubt because it often presents an accurate point of view in opposition to the current voices championing their own self-interests.
In addition, this blog is probably detrimental because it says what others in the silent majority are too intimidated to say because they fear economic and social reprisals if they voice their truths.
And worse of all, this blog is detrimental because it exposes wrong thinking and wrong action on the part of community sacred cows who desire to hide their less-than-noble behaviors.
To the charge that this blog is detrimental I reply: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That's the funniest thing I've read in a long time!!
A Long-time Fan in Your Corner
According to Elizabeth Perry in the NEWS-HERALD editorial this week, your blog is detrimental to the welfare of Cook County, no doubt because it often presents an accurate point of view in opposition to the current voices championing their own self-interests.
In addition, this blog is probably detrimental because it says what others in the silent majority are too intimidated to say because they fear economic and social reprisals if they voice their truths.
And worse of all, this blog is detrimental because it exposes wrong thinking and wrong action on the part of community sacred cows who desire to hide their less-than-noble behaviors.
To the charge that this blog is detrimental I reply: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That's the funniest thing I've read in a long time!!
A Long-time Fan in Your Corner
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Reader is shocked by ATV rudeness
Dear True,
I am writing in response to the startlingly rude letters printed this week in the Cook County News Herald, bashing the views of my friend and mentor John Haluska. He is described as delusional, deceitful, disrespectful, false and “close to slanderous” for his opinion piece challenging the rights of ATV owners to unlimited access of ATVs in Cook County.
Ms. Elizabeth Perry also challenges him as not being a fifth-generation immigrant to Cook County. I wonder what the native Anishinabe population thinks about this.
As a 20th generation immigrant to the United States during the reign of Elizabeth I, I don’t feel very proud of my ancestors: they were thieves and murderers unless they were killed by the Indian natives. I have interviewed dozens of descendants of Cook County immigrants and none of them has said that ATVs represent a way of life in their families. In fact, looking to Wikipedia, I find that ATVs first appeared in the 1980s.
Sometimes dialogue is difficult if not impossible. True himself, along with my friend John Haluska and various other readers, attempted a dialogue with Rhonda Silence and after many attempts at communication there was an irretrievable breakdown, just as is now happening with the county ATV committee in which two members have resigned (Sheriff Mark Falk and County Attorney Tim Scannell).
The truth is that the ATV Club and its adherents are the minority. Their rude accusations in public venues will perhaps mobilize their own supporters, but most people in Cook County, “locals” and newcomers alike, value the peace and silence of the woods, understand that the tourist base that sustains them comes here for that peace, and respect the fragile ecology that sustains our bedrock-based ecology.
I and most of my friends and allies support a limited access for ATV riders to designated trails. The county, the US Forest Service and the DNR are struggling to open trails but also to avoid becoming a national destination for riders who think big noise and sensitive environmental depredation are their God-given rights.
Nancye Belding
Grand Marais
I am writing in response to the startlingly rude letters printed this week in the Cook County News Herald, bashing the views of my friend and mentor John Haluska. He is described as delusional, deceitful, disrespectful, false and “close to slanderous” for his opinion piece challenging the rights of ATV owners to unlimited access of ATVs in Cook County.
Ms. Elizabeth Perry also challenges him as not being a fifth-generation immigrant to Cook County. I wonder what the native Anishinabe population thinks about this.
As a 20th generation immigrant to the United States during the reign of Elizabeth I, I don’t feel very proud of my ancestors: they were thieves and murderers unless they were killed by the Indian natives. I have interviewed dozens of descendants of Cook County immigrants and none of them has said that ATVs represent a way of life in their families. In fact, looking to Wikipedia, I find that ATVs first appeared in the 1980s.
Sometimes dialogue is difficult if not impossible. True himself, along with my friend John Haluska and various other readers, attempted a dialogue with Rhonda Silence and after many attempts at communication there was an irretrievable breakdown, just as is now happening with the county ATV committee in which two members have resigned (Sheriff Mark Falk and County Attorney Tim Scannell).
The truth is that the ATV Club and its adherents are the minority. Their rude accusations in public venues will perhaps mobilize their own supporters, but most people in Cook County, “locals” and newcomers alike, value the peace and silence of the woods, understand that the tourist base that sustains them comes here for that peace, and respect the fragile ecology that sustains our bedrock-based ecology.
I and most of my friends and allies support a limited access for ATV riders to designated trails. The county, the US Forest Service and the DNR are struggling to open trails but also to avoid becoming a national destination for riders who think big noise and sensitive environmental depredation are their God-given rights.
Nancye Belding
Grand Marais
Friday, June 01, 2007
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
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
Thursday, April 26, 2007
ATV Reprise: USFS and Cook County Roads
True's mailbox includes a packet from the U.S. Forest Service about their proposed OHV (ATV) trails and asking for public comment. With chagrin, he notes that the public comment period ended today.
Still, True has read and studied the USFS scoping document as well as their maps and he thanks our Tofte and Gunflint ranger staff for making this process very open, for coming to town and county meetings, for mailing out information to interested parties such as Yours Truly. He is impressed at the effort to close dead-end trails, reclassify roads, and create trails to move from the lower to the upper forest. Okay, he (I) don't like or want ATVs over-running our county but if they must and will come here let them come to designated trails. As Tofte district ranger John Wytanis put it, "We are not going to allow everything, and we are not going to allow nothing."
But, unfortunately, on the ATV issue most all of the comments come from the ATVers themselves. Notably, a four-page document was submitted by the local ATV club recommending additional trails to be opened. Ugga bugga boo.
For most of us, the USFS plan is a compromise we can reluctantly live with, but not for the hard-core folks who like to enjoy the environment by destroying it. This puts me in mind of nasty little boys who tear the wings off of butterflies because they just don't SEE anything outside their personal ego demands for instant gratification.
Metaphors aside, a more serious ATV issue looms on the horizon, that being permission to ride on virtually all county roads. Last time the county had a public hearing at least two-thirds of those attending were strongly pro-ATV. Next time, who knows? We have a statewide lobby that would just love to devour Cook County as an ATV destination.
Commissioner Jim Johnson has promised to vote against the Open Season ATV Plan (because his constituents are adamantly opposed) but most of them, like politicos everywhere, are just watching to see which way the wind blows. Commissioner Bruce Martinson, at least, has been vocal in his reports to his West End constituency about all of the issues in play here; his personal concern is safety.
True (aka yours truly) admits that there will be an increased ATV presence here in Cook County and hopes that if enough folks who love the peace and quiet of the woods, or even enough folks who understand that the economy will suffer if the ATVers take over the woods, will speak out in time to make a difference, in time to set limits we can live with.
Still, True has read and studied the USFS scoping document as well as their maps and he thanks our Tofte and Gunflint ranger staff for making this process very open, for coming to town and county meetings, for mailing out information to interested parties such as Yours Truly. He is impressed at the effort to close dead-end trails, reclassify roads, and create trails to move from the lower to the upper forest. Okay, he (I) don't like or want ATVs over-running our county but if they must and will come here let them come to designated trails. As Tofte district ranger John Wytanis put it, "We are not going to allow everything, and we are not going to allow nothing."
But, unfortunately, on the ATV issue most all of the comments come from the ATVers themselves. Notably, a four-page document was submitted by the local ATV club recommending additional trails to be opened. Ugga bugga boo.
For most of us, the USFS plan is a compromise we can reluctantly live with, but not for the hard-core folks who like to enjoy the environment by destroying it. This puts me in mind of nasty little boys who tear the wings off of butterflies because they just don't SEE anything outside their personal ego demands for instant gratification.
Metaphors aside, a more serious ATV issue looms on the horizon, that being permission to ride on virtually all county roads. Last time the county had a public hearing at least two-thirds of those attending were strongly pro-ATV. Next time, who knows? We have a statewide lobby that would just love to devour Cook County as an ATV destination.
Commissioner Jim Johnson has promised to vote against the Open Season ATV Plan (because his constituents are adamantly opposed) but most of them, like politicos everywhere, are just watching to see which way the wind blows. Commissioner Bruce Martinson, at least, has been vocal in his reports to his West End constituency about all of the issues in play here; his personal concern is safety.
True (aka yours truly) admits that there will be an increased ATV presence here in Cook County and hopes that if enough folks who love the peace and quiet of the woods, or even enough folks who understand that the economy will suffer if the ATVers take over the woods, will speak out in time to make a difference, in time to set limits we can live with.
Monday, April 02, 2007
ATVers Steal the Peace
True,
If the CCStar would once display some objectivity, some balance in their reporting and choice of letters I wouldn't write this weekly digression but , here we go again: if there are no letters that disagree with the pro ATV view of the paper it is either 1) anyone disagreeing is not likely to be published, or 2) those in disagreement don't bother writing to the CCStar because it is a waste of time.
Thomas Bernier writes that Cascade Beach Rd is noisy because of semis on 61 so we should put up with the additional noise of ATVs. Really. If you are having difficulty with the existing noise level it is OK to add to it because you are already disturbed? Really! I live a mile and a half back from 61 and the trucks don't make as much noise as the ATVs. I suppose I should invite the truckers to drive closer to me because the ATVs are already disturbing my peace! Sorry Tom, that analogy doesn't cut it. But you did ask if I ever "read the safety warnings in your motor vehicle"? Well, yes, Tom, I have and if ATVs met 10% of my motor vehicles safety standards I might be more accepting of them sharing road space with me. But, Tom, ATVs are exempt from almost every safety standard applied to road vehicles because they are not designed for road use, so, no, I am not willing to share the road with them.
Brian Silence suggests that since fatalities on the ski hill have been greater than fatalities illegally riding ATVs on the road we should allow ATVs the opportunity to challenge those casualties by permitting them to legally compete! Yes, Brian, there are risks in every activity, but the usual response is to try to REDUCE that risk, not increase it. And, Brian, I am glad you can laugh, and I hope you can laugh at yourself as Clyde's comments are at least statistically defensible, looking at who was at the meeting only tells you who was at the meeting, not how bright or how financially secure they are.
I think a quick and thorough search of economic data will support the thought that silent sports in general contribute far more to the area than the noisy sports and with less negative impact, and that birders are on the high end of that scale. But this isn't a laughing matter, Brian, it has serious impacts on a lot of lives up here, not just for the convenience of a few but for the impact the noise, added pollution, and added damage to the landscape has on all of us. The reason many of us have chosen Grand Marais is that it was a peaceful haven, an outpost of wilderness, a community of arts. If you like the noise, if you like the interaction of motorheads, if you like the cacophony of a mechanized society: live in the TC metro area. Me, I love big cities with their hustle and bustle, but only for short periods, for relief I live in Grand Marais, don't try to steal that from me.
fastjerry
If the CCStar would once display some objectivity, some balance in their reporting and choice of letters I wouldn't write this weekly digression but , here we go again: if there are no letters that disagree with the pro ATV view of the paper it is either 1) anyone disagreeing is not likely to be published, or 2) those in disagreement don't bother writing to the CCStar because it is a waste of time.
Thomas Bernier writes that Cascade Beach Rd is noisy because of semis on 61 so we should put up with the additional noise of ATVs. Really. If you are having difficulty with the existing noise level it is OK to add to it because you are already disturbed? Really! I live a mile and a half back from 61 and the trucks don't make as much noise as the ATVs. I suppose I should invite the truckers to drive closer to me because the ATVs are already disturbing my peace! Sorry Tom, that analogy doesn't cut it. But you did ask if I ever "read the safety warnings in your motor vehicle"? Well, yes, Tom, I have and if ATVs met 10% of my motor vehicles safety standards I might be more accepting of them sharing road space with me. But, Tom, ATVs are exempt from almost every safety standard applied to road vehicles because they are not designed for road use, so, no, I am not willing to share the road with them.
Brian Silence suggests that since fatalities on the ski hill have been greater than fatalities illegally riding ATVs on the road we should allow ATVs the opportunity to challenge those casualties by permitting them to legally compete! Yes, Brian, there are risks in every activity, but the usual response is to try to REDUCE that risk, not increase it. And, Brian, I am glad you can laugh, and I hope you can laugh at yourself as Clyde's comments are at least statistically defensible, looking at who was at the meeting only tells you who was at the meeting, not how bright or how financially secure they are.
I think a quick and thorough search of economic data will support the thought that silent sports in general contribute far more to the area than the noisy sports and with less negative impact, and that birders are on the high end of that scale. But this isn't a laughing matter, Brian, it has serious impacts on a lot of lives up here, not just for the convenience of a few but for the impact the noise, added pollution, and added damage to the landscape has on all of us. The reason many of us have chosen Grand Marais is that it was a peaceful haven, an outpost of wilderness, a community of arts. If you like the noise, if you like the interaction of motorheads, if you like the cacophony of a mechanized society: live in the TC metro area. Me, I love big cities with their hustle and bustle, but only for short periods, for relief I live in Grand Marais, don't try to steal that from me.
fastjerry
Monday, March 26, 2007
An Alternate ATV Strategy
ATV use on county roads could be bad news for some residents and I have a couple of proposals to eliminate the problem.
I think a few of us might be in for some unpleasant surprises in the future if the county ATV ordinance comes to pass. Imagine a young family living out near Pike Lake, or up the Caribou Trail or Sawbill trail, or any of the county roads for that matter.
Families might have two people working different schedules, both driving to a town or work. The children will be taking the school bus twice a day during the school year, but there are still after school things that require extra trips. When school isn't in session, extra trips are required to get the kids to friends, the pool, special events, etc.
My point is that most of us who live out of town spend a lot of time driving to and from town. It is unfortunately part of our lifestyle. Now imagine that this ATV ordinance goes through. We will be facing groups of ATV riders on our county roads traveling at no more that 30 MPH. There could be a lot of groups and they could travel in packs of up to a dozen machines. Passing these groups could be a dangerous proposition due to lack of visibility on many of our roads, or oncoming traffic.
Think of this over and over as you go about your busy life driving to work or hauling your children. Most county gravel roads can accommodate vehicle traffic at up to 50 MPH safely and the black top sections 55 or 60 MPH. Now we will all be forced to slow to 30 MPH, perhaps more than anybody realizes. (I know the ATV clubs says this is just for the locals but they want this to pass for their own selfish reasons and don't want to explore the consequences.)
Of course this bodes well for some of the business community who will love the extra business that these out of town ATV riders will bring. Other businesses that cater to a different type of outdoor enthusiasts will see business decline due to the turn off factor of seeing these machines buzzing around which destroys the esthetics of the region.
Imagine if you live on a county road that becomes a connection to a larger trail system up over the hill. The ATV traffic on these stretches is hard to predict. The business people in Tofte want the Sawbill Trail to provide this connection. Prepare to waste a lot of time following ATV dust and plan a little extra time to get to town.
Now I have an answer on how to accommodate the ATV community. Why not build hard surface trails along side the roads like they are doing for bicycles along highway 61. The only reason I can think that this can't be done is that the majority of the Minnesota population support bike riders and don't support ATV use.
Another solution would be for ATV users to learn how to balance and take up riding motorcycles.
This ordinance is a bad idea and has wasted a lot of time and energy and I can't believe the county is even entertaining the idea. It is going to detract from the quality of life for many of us, and we vote.
Pike Lake Jake
I think a few of us might be in for some unpleasant surprises in the future if the county ATV ordinance comes to pass. Imagine a young family living out near Pike Lake, or up the Caribou Trail or Sawbill trail, or any of the county roads for that matter.
Families might have two people working different schedules, both driving to a town or work. The children will be taking the school bus twice a day during the school year, but there are still after school things that require extra trips. When school isn't in session, extra trips are required to get the kids to friends, the pool, special events, etc.
My point is that most of us who live out of town spend a lot of time driving to and from town. It is unfortunately part of our lifestyle. Now imagine that this ATV ordinance goes through. We will be facing groups of ATV riders on our county roads traveling at no more that 30 MPH. There could be a lot of groups and they could travel in packs of up to a dozen machines. Passing these groups could be a dangerous proposition due to lack of visibility on many of our roads, or oncoming traffic.
Think of this over and over as you go about your busy life driving to work or hauling your children. Most county gravel roads can accommodate vehicle traffic at up to 50 MPH safely and the black top sections 55 or 60 MPH. Now we will all be forced to slow to 30 MPH, perhaps more than anybody realizes. (I know the ATV clubs says this is just for the locals but they want this to pass for their own selfish reasons and don't want to explore the consequences.)
Of course this bodes well for some of the business community who will love the extra business that these out of town ATV riders will bring. Other businesses that cater to a different type of outdoor enthusiasts will see business decline due to the turn off factor of seeing these machines buzzing around which destroys the esthetics of the region.
Imagine if you live on a county road that becomes a connection to a larger trail system up over the hill. The ATV traffic on these stretches is hard to predict. The business people in Tofte want the Sawbill Trail to provide this connection. Prepare to waste a lot of time following ATV dust and plan a little extra time to get to town.
Now I have an answer on how to accommodate the ATV community. Why not build hard surface trails along side the roads like they are doing for bicycles along highway 61. The only reason I can think that this can't be done is that the majority of the Minnesota population support bike riders and don't support ATV use.
Another solution would be for ATV users to learn how to balance and take up riding motorcycles.
This ordinance is a bad idea and has wasted a lot of time and energy and I can't believe the county is even entertaining the idea. It is going to detract from the quality of life for many of us, and we vote.
Pike Lake Jake
Sunday, March 25, 2007
C C Star Keeps Pushing ATVs, Sacrificing Credibility
The CC Star does it again. And again and again and again. This weeks edition contains a lead story about the ATV meeting at the county board: one certainly could came away thinking this was an event of millennial proportions, that we are on the cusp of a whole new era in transportation comparable to the dawn of the automobile society and perhaps on par with the invention of the wheel itself.
In fact one might get the impression that the wheel was invented FOR the ATV. One also might believe (if you weren't there) that the ATV crowd was overly generous in their hospitality to the tiny bunch of oddballs that just can't accept the inevitable progress of the "infernal" compression engine, and, oh yeah, we'll let "one" anti ATVer sit on the committee especially since it is otherwise so stacked with pro ATVers they couldn't possibly come up with even a compromise proposal.
If you believe THAT report, you probably could be convinced that the National Enquirer is a solid scientific journal, or that the world is flat.
Simply put, that article is one of the worst (or best?) examples of yellow journalism I've come across outside the National Review. It is advocacy journalism at its most stellar: the CC Star is not really a newspaper; rather it is the newsletter of the ATV club that happens to occasionally carry some news.
The paper's fact finding, use of made up statistics, and pseudo science are a monumental testimony to the misinformed, and yet they get to stuff it, wanted or not, into our mailboxes every week. Bill O'Reilly would cringe at calling it fair and balanced reporting; I'd need to get a caged bird to make appropriate use of it, or maybe I could go fishing.
Fastjerry
In fact one might get the impression that the wheel was invented FOR the ATV. One also might believe (if you weren't there) that the ATV crowd was overly generous in their hospitality to the tiny bunch of oddballs that just can't accept the inevitable progress of the "infernal" compression engine, and, oh yeah, we'll let "one" anti ATVer sit on the committee especially since it is otherwise so stacked with pro ATVers they couldn't possibly come up with even a compromise proposal.
If you believe THAT report, you probably could be convinced that the National Enquirer is a solid scientific journal, or that the world is flat.
Simply put, that article is one of the worst (or best?) examples of yellow journalism I've come across outside the National Review. It is advocacy journalism at its most stellar: the CC Star is not really a newspaper; rather it is the newsletter of the ATV club that happens to occasionally carry some news.
The paper's fact finding, use of made up statistics, and pseudo science are a monumental testimony to the misinformed, and yet they get to stuff it, wanted or not, into our mailboxes every week. Bill O'Reilly would cringe at calling it fair and balanced reporting; I'd need to get a caged bird to make appropriate use of it, or maybe I could go fishing.
Fastjerry
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Open Letter to Rhonda and CC Star
Benjamin Disraeli claimed that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damnedlies, and statistics. Someone else unknown said that 78% of all statistics are made up on the spot. The letter in this weeks Star from Steve and MaryKay Fleace attempts to prove both statements.
First, on the question on madeup statistics, a review of the sources cited does not substantially support the numbers provided in their letter: in the case of bicycle pedestrian accidents they report “47 fatalities and 1,948 total accidents among bicyclists and pedestrians.”, yet the source shows for bicycles alone 11,335 crashes from 1996 - 2005 with 81 deaths and 9,915 injuries in the same period. In a report by the MNDOT (The Benefits of Bicycling in Minnesota 2004-50) there are 110,000 to 130,000 people riding bikes on a typical spring/summer day (low), suggesting an accident rate far lower than for other forms of transportation including ATVs. Conveniently left out is the number of ATV fatalities over a similar period: 114 killed (1995 thru 2004); considering that ATVs make up only a tiny fraction of the number of bicycles, the ATV rate of accident/death is appalling.
Second, concerning the third kind of lie, the use of an averaged 10 year period for ATV accidents is extremely misleading considering that the number of annual registrations in the first five years is less than half the number in the latter 5 years. Using that approach I can statistically claim that the fatalities in 2004 (24) compared to 1996 show a 6 fold increase and more than doubled the 2002 figure: ATVing doesn’t look quite as safe. Add in that the state effectively banned ATVs from the roads in 1985 and one should expect ATV accident numbers to drop dramatically.
When looking at the school bus figures the number of buses is said to be about 14,000 but left out of the equation is the fact that those 14,000 buses carried 843,083 kids (1999), the presence of which certainly needs to be factored into the fatality/injury figures.
Third, the authors make much of the application of the state statistics to the Cook County population base, simply overlooking the fact that the accident rate for motor vehicles is more than three times higher in rural counties than their urban counterparts.
Lastly, Rhonda, is your own impassioned plea for open use on the roads. You apparently have not been inconvenienced by the current status, having been able to drive to and from work and around town without restraint. In fact, if it was only for you or a couple of others that might claim some medical disabilities for not walking or bicycling, I might support granting a special permit allowing such use, but the truth is that the proposed county ordinance applies to everyone, yes everyone of the 223,714 (2004) recreational machines out there, and while not all of them are coming to Grand Marais, enough of them will come to make life less pleasant for the silent sports visitors that contribute much, much more to our local economy.
fastjerry
First, on the question on madeup statistics, a review of the sources cited does not substantially support the numbers provided in their letter: in the case of bicycle pedestrian accidents they report “47 fatalities and 1,948 total accidents among bicyclists and pedestrians.”, yet the source shows for bicycles alone 11,335 crashes from 1996 - 2005 with 81 deaths and 9,915 injuries in the same period. In a report by the MNDOT (The Benefits of Bicycling in Minnesota 2004-50) there are 110,000 to 130,000 people riding bikes on a typical spring/summer day (low), suggesting an accident rate far lower than for other forms of transportation including ATVs. Conveniently left out is the number of ATV fatalities over a similar period: 114 killed (1995 thru 2004); considering that ATVs make up only a tiny fraction of the number of bicycles, the ATV rate of accident/death is appalling.
Second, concerning the third kind of lie, the use of an averaged 10 year period for ATV accidents is extremely misleading considering that the number of annual registrations in the first five years is less than half the number in the latter 5 years. Using that approach I can statistically claim that the fatalities in 2004 (24) compared to 1996 show a 6 fold increase and more than doubled the 2002 figure: ATVing doesn’t look quite as safe. Add in that the state effectively banned ATVs from the roads in 1985 and one should expect ATV accident numbers to drop dramatically.
When looking at the school bus figures the number of buses is said to be about 14,000 but left out of the equation is the fact that those 14,000 buses carried 843,083 kids (1999), the presence of which certainly needs to be factored into the fatality/injury figures.
Third, the authors make much of the application of the state statistics to the Cook County population base, simply overlooking the fact that the accident rate for motor vehicles is more than three times higher in rural counties than their urban counterparts.
Lastly, Rhonda, is your own impassioned plea for open use on the roads. You apparently have not been inconvenienced by the current status, having been able to drive to and from work and around town without restraint. In fact, if it was only for you or a couple of others that might claim some medical disabilities for not walking or bicycling, I might support granting a special permit allowing such use, but the truth is that the proposed county ordinance applies to everyone, yes everyone of the 223,714 (2004) recreational machines out there, and while not all of them are coming to Grand Marais, enough of them will come to make life less pleasant for the silent sports visitors that contribute much, much more to our local economy.
fastjerry
What a week in Cook County!
Dear True,
Snowbirds, beware. You may leave for the winter and return to find your scenic highway decimated of trees, your quiet roads invaded by ATVs, your family pets killed by trappers on your very doorstep, your property tax values doubled, and your taxes on lodging, recreation and just general stuff all increased to support the touts of the tourism industry. WHO say they need money to promote events, while they save thousands by laying off locals and hiring low-paid international workers in the short summer season.
Oh, look out, because nobody, nobody, is minded to preserve the fragile and beautiful ecosystem here, to keep our history alive for the many who would love to come visit and learn of it, or to promote eco-friendly, small scale economic ventures and affordable housing solutions for our young families and seniors.
Well... maybe not NOBODY, but nobody who votes with their dollars.
ALSO this week, the two county papers gave the most ink to the contractors protesting Sawtooth Cottages at the Grand Marais City Council meeting...
What does THAT mean? First of all, none of their facts were checked... second, over the last year and a half, many a person has braved the cameras to speak to the Council, but nary a one has achieved front-page coverage.
And last but not least, we meet the new Bidness Council, who declare their intention to "work with" the city in a "political" manner.... Who are these guys? They are not affiliated with GMATA. They are truly not representing anybody except themselves, themselves apparently being downtown bidness owners. Those same ones who don't want any restrictions on development of the properties that they own.
We have also seen new attacks on Harbor Friends for asking for a wetlands study of the harbor based on good historical records.
It's not enough to read the two papers. Or even to attend all the county, city, township, school, zoning, hospital, etc. meetings.... It's what is NOT said at the meetings that matters.
As dear Bill Moyers pointed out in a major speech this week, our so-called democratic elections are funded 95 percent by the richest five percent. Think about it. And don't believe everything, or maybe anything, you read in print.
An ordinary voter in Cook County
Snowbirds, beware. You may leave for the winter and return to find your scenic highway decimated of trees, your quiet roads invaded by ATVs, your family pets killed by trappers on your very doorstep, your property tax values doubled, and your taxes on lodging, recreation and just general stuff all increased to support the touts of the tourism industry. WHO say they need money to promote events, while they save thousands by laying off locals and hiring low-paid international workers in the short summer season.
Oh, look out, because nobody, nobody, is minded to preserve the fragile and beautiful ecosystem here, to keep our history alive for the many who would love to come visit and learn of it, or to promote eco-friendly, small scale economic ventures and affordable housing solutions for our young families and seniors.
Well... maybe not NOBODY, but nobody who votes with their dollars.
ALSO this week, the two county papers gave the most ink to the contractors protesting Sawtooth Cottages at the Grand Marais City Council meeting...
What does THAT mean? First of all, none of their facts were checked... second, over the last year and a half, many a person has braved the cameras to speak to the Council, but nary a one has achieved front-page coverage.
And last but not least, we meet the new Bidness Council, who declare their intention to "work with" the city in a "political" manner.... Who are these guys? They are not affiliated with GMATA. They are truly not representing anybody except themselves, themselves apparently being downtown bidness owners. Those same ones who don't want any restrictions on development of the properties that they own.
We have also seen new attacks on Harbor Friends for asking for a wetlands study of the harbor based on good historical records.
It's not enough to read the two papers. Or even to attend all the county, city, township, school, zoning, hospital, etc. meetings.... It's what is NOT said at the meetings that matters.
As dear Bill Moyers pointed out in a major speech this week, our so-called democratic elections are funded 95 percent by the richest five percent. Think about it. And don't believe everything, or maybe anything, you read in print.
An ordinary voter in Cook County
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
ATV Hearing Reviewed
The ATV hearing last night at the Cook County court house was well attended with a full house and about 80% being pro ATV. A proposed ordinance is set to be considered at the May 8 county board meeting with two other ordinance committee meetings to be scheduled prior to that. Mr. Harris Mills, a retired DNR ATV safety instructor was added to the ordinance committee.
Mr. Mills, during last nights session, spoke against the present ordinance, against opening roads because, he contends, ATVs are unsafe at high speeds.
Commissioner Jim Johnson reported that had received 128 messages against the proposed changes and 27 in favor.
Of note was the rudeness exhibited by the pro ATV crowd at last night's meeting. Out of character for what the Speak Your Peace folks had hoped to take root in our community, but fully consistent with the general attitude of ATV owners and consistent with the very idea of ATVs.
By the way Rhonda, who's truck was parked in the handicap only parking spot, without the required permit? Certainly not an ATVer's!
Keep in mind that this ordinance is only part of the picture. The DNR and the U. S. Forest Service, working with the ATV riders and the ATV industry are looking to add 257 miles of trails. All of this is intended to provide this vocal minority with a state wide network of interconnected trails.
True will try to pass on all relevant information coming this way regarding this issue. In the meantime, here is a recent news item from the State of Washington. It is an email from a sate senator decrying ATVs, dirt bikes, etc. and the damage they do in the name of "sport".
True
Read on:
Sen. Adam Kline (D-Seattle) became the focus of attention from all sides this week, with a blunt e-mail he sent to a constituent laying out his dislike of off-road vehicles. Here's a copy of Kline's e-mail:
Dear Mr. Helgeson,
I signed on because I have been annoyed, endangered, and angered one too many times by people riding motorized dirt-bikes and other off-road vehiclesthat have no damn business anywhere. To me, this bill is narrow — it doesn't include those "personal watercraft," seemingly jet-powered little missiles whose only apparent purpose is to risk death and dismemberment for boatersand swimmers, for the amusement of spoiled drunk teenagers.
Yes, I am sure there is the occasional responsible person who rides one of these machines on land or water. And yes, like every human being I have been pleasantly surprised to find my stereotypes broken. But why, why, why, do folks insist on motorized "sports"? Those two words are an oxymoron.
There is nothing sporting — athletic, physically demanding — about riding any machine anywhere. And it's a damned annoyance to folks who see the outdoors as a place to go for quiet and solitude and self-exploration. I would be happy to ban the use of the internal combustion engine off-road, by anyone without a handicapped sticker, subject to a stiff fine. Maybe we could call this an anti-obesity measure.
Please circulate this to all motorized sports enthusiasts, so they can remember never to vote for me.
Adam Kline
Mr. Mills, during last nights session, spoke against the present ordinance, against opening roads because, he contends, ATVs are unsafe at high speeds.
Commissioner Jim Johnson reported that had received 128 messages against the proposed changes and 27 in favor.
Of note was the rudeness exhibited by the pro ATV crowd at last night's meeting. Out of character for what the Speak Your Peace folks had hoped to take root in our community, but fully consistent with the general attitude of ATV owners and consistent with the very idea of ATVs.
By the way Rhonda, who's truck was parked in the handicap only parking spot, without the required permit? Certainly not an ATVer's!
Keep in mind that this ordinance is only part of the picture. The DNR and the U. S. Forest Service, working with the ATV riders and the ATV industry are looking to add 257 miles of trails. All of this is intended to provide this vocal minority with a state wide network of interconnected trails.
True will try to pass on all relevant information coming this way regarding this issue. In the meantime, here is a recent news item from the State of Washington. It is an email from a sate senator decrying ATVs, dirt bikes, etc. and the damage they do in the name of "sport".
True
Read on:
Sen. Adam Kline (D-Seattle) became the focus of attention from all sides this week, with a blunt e-mail he sent to a constituent laying out his dislike of off-road vehicles. Here's a copy of Kline's e-mail:
Dear Mr. Helgeson,
I signed on because I have been annoyed, endangered, and angered one too many times by people riding motorized dirt-bikes and other off-road vehiclesthat have no damn business anywhere. To me, this bill is narrow — it doesn't include those "personal watercraft," seemingly jet-powered little missiles whose only apparent purpose is to risk death and dismemberment for boatersand swimmers, for the amusement of spoiled drunk teenagers.
Yes, I am sure there is the occasional responsible person who rides one of these machines on land or water. And yes, like every human being I have been pleasantly surprised to find my stereotypes broken. But why, why, why, do folks insist on motorized "sports"? Those two words are an oxymoron.
There is nothing sporting — athletic, physically demanding — about riding any machine anywhere. And it's a damned annoyance to folks who see the outdoors as a place to go for quiet and solitude and self-exploration. I would be happy to ban the use of the internal combustion engine off-road, by anyone without a handicapped sticker, subject to a stiff fine. Maybe we could call this an anti-obesity measure.
Please circulate this to all motorized sports enthusiasts, so they can remember never to vote for me.
Adam Kline
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
ATV Hearing Tonight
There is a hearing on the controversial issue of allowing ATVs to travel on Cook County roads scheduled for 7 PM tonight at the Cook County court house.
Also, to follow True North's coverage of the ATV issue click here.
True
Also, to follow True North's coverage of the ATV issue click here.
True
Monday, March 19, 2007
DNR Cook County Forest Lands Being Reclassified
From True:
This is part of the MN DNR's push to open the state's forests to more unrestricted ATV and OHV travel.
_________________________________________________________________
From MN DNR:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Notice of Proposed Classification of State Forest LandsIn Cook County, Minnesota with Respect to Motor Vehicle Use
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to classify all State Forest Lands within Cook County, except for a 1,861-acre portion of the Finland State Forest in SW Cook County, with respect to motor vehicle operation.
The proposal is to assign all state lands lands under the authority of the Commissioner, to one of the following classes: (pursuant to MN Rules Chapter 6100.1950).1.
"Managed", in which forest roads and forest trails are open for motor vehicle use unless posted closed;2.
"Limited", in which forest roads are open to motor vehicle use unless posted closed and forest trails are closed to motor vehicle use unless posted open, or3.
"Closed", in which forest roads are open only to motor vehicles licensed for highway use. No OHVs are permitted, except for operation on frozen public waters. Snowmobiles may operate on designated trails only in closed forests.
This proposal covers the Pat Bayle and Grand Portage State Forests, and scattered forest lands under the authority of the Commissioner located outside of State Forest boundaries in Cook County.
In total, just over 100,000 acres of state forest land, and 175 miles of roads, trails and non-designated routes were evaluated with respect to motor vehicle use. In conjunction with the proposed classification, the DNR has developed a road and trail designation proposal that identifies roads and trails on state forest lands which will remain open to motorized vehicle use.
The DNR will hold a public meetings on the proposed forest classification and road and trail use designations at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 51 West 5th Street, Grand Marais, MN on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. The department will present information and receive comments on the proposal at this public meeting.
Superior National Forest and Cook County officials will also be present to respond to questions and to offer their views on access planning for public lands in Cook County.
The DNR's Forest Classification & Route Designation Proposal, supporting maps and other materials, are available at www.dnr.state.mn.us. Copies of the documents may also be viewed at the DNR's Grand Marais Area Forestry Office located at 1356 East Highway 61, Grand Marais, MN, or are available upon request from:
Brian McCann, PlannerMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
Box 52, 500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-4052
Phone: (651) 259-5627
E-mail: brian.mccann@dnr.state.mn.us
Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to the above address until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday May 31, 2007.
Laurie H. Martinson, Deputy CommissionerMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
Published March 19, 2007
This is part of the MN DNR's push to open the state's forests to more unrestricted ATV and OHV travel.
_________________________________________________________________
From MN DNR:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Notice of Proposed Classification of State Forest LandsIn Cook County, Minnesota with Respect to Motor Vehicle Use
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to classify all State Forest Lands within Cook County, except for a 1,861-acre portion of the Finland State Forest in SW Cook County, with respect to motor vehicle operation.
The proposal is to assign all state lands lands under the authority of the Commissioner, to one of the following classes: (pursuant to MN Rules Chapter 6100.1950).1.
"Managed", in which forest roads and forest trails are open for motor vehicle use unless posted closed;2.
"Limited", in which forest roads are open to motor vehicle use unless posted closed and forest trails are closed to motor vehicle use unless posted open, or3.
"Closed", in which forest roads are open only to motor vehicles licensed for highway use. No OHVs are permitted, except for operation on frozen public waters. Snowmobiles may operate on designated trails only in closed forests.
This proposal covers the Pat Bayle and Grand Portage State Forests, and scattered forest lands under the authority of the Commissioner located outside of State Forest boundaries in Cook County.
In total, just over 100,000 acres of state forest land, and 175 miles of roads, trails and non-designated routes were evaluated with respect to motor vehicle use. In conjunction with the proposed classification, the DNR has developed a road and trail designation proposal that identifies roads and trails on state forest lands which will remain open to motorized vehicle use.
The DNR will hold a public meetings on the proposed forest classification and road and trail use designations at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 51 West 5th Street, Grand Marais, MN on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. The department will present information and receive comments on the proposal at this public meeting.
Superior National Forest and Cook County officials will also be present to respond to questions and to offer their views on access planning for public lands in Cook County.
The DNR's Forest Classification & Route Designation Proposal, supporting maps and other materials, are available at www.dnr.state.mn.us. Copies of the documents may also be viewed at the DNR's Grand Marais Area Forestry Office located at 1356 East Highway 61, Grand Marais, MN, or are available upon request from:
Brian McCann, PlannerMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
Box 52, 500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-4052
Phone: (651) 259-5627
E-mail: brian.mccann@dnr.state.mn.us
Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to the above address until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday May 31, 2007.
Laurie H. Martinson, Deputy CommissionerMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
Published March 19, 2007
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