DNR NEWS - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 14, 2005
Media contacts: Forrest Boe, DNR Northwest Trails and
Waterways
manager, (218) 755-3969; Helen Cozzetto, DNR Northwest
natural resources
planner, (218) 755-3954.

DNR changes location of Beltrami Island public meeting to
Warroad
hockey arena

Anticipating a large public turnout, the Minnesota
Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) is changing the location of the
public meeting
to discuss proposals for Beltrami Island State Forest. The
meeting will
now be held at The Gardens Arena, 707 Elk Street NW,
Warroad, on
Thursday, Feb. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m.

DNR Deputy Commissioner Mark Holsten and Assistant
Commissioner Brad
Moore will be among the DNR representatives in attendance
to listen to
the public input.

Following 2003 legislation, the proposal recommends
changing Beltrami
Island's forest classification from "Managed" to "Limited"
and
designating some 530 miles of forest roads and trails open
to various
types of motorized uses. Leaving the forest classified as
"Managed" was
not a legal option.

The new designation would mean that forest trails in
Beltrami Island
would be closed to motor vehicle use unless posted open.
Forest roads
(both maintained system roads and minimum maintenance
roads) would be
open to both highway-licensed vehicles and all three types
of
off-highway vehicles (OHVs) unless they are specifically
posted closed.
OHVs include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), off-highway
motorcycles (OHMs)
and off-road vehicles (ORVs), such as four-wheel-drive
Jeeps and
trucks.

DNR staff are urging the public to take a look at maps of
its proposed
changes before the public meeting, as comments that are
specific will be
most helpful to plan development.

Maps of the proposed motorized route designations are
available for
public viewing on the DNR's Web site at
www.dnr.state.mn.us, at public
libraries and area DNR offices in Baudette, Bemidji,
Crookston, East
Grand Forks, Grygla, Roseau, Thief River Falls, Wannaska
and Warroad.
DNR offices in Wannaska and Thief River Falls will also
provide
electronic copies of the maps on CDs for interested
citizens.





"Ride as if everyone is watching; Talk as if everyone is
listening . . ."

 

i will be there with bells on i think it is gonna be kinda interesting what is all gonna be said.

 

Many thanks to those who went, you speak for alot of us.


http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/10930163.htm

Posted on Fri, Feb. 18, 2005
Grand Forks Herald

DNR plan shot down
Agency holds largest ever public input meeting on ATV
access
By Brad Dokken
Herald Staff Writer
WARROAD, Minn. - Opponents of a proposal to limit motorized
vehicle use in Beltrami Island State Forest turned out in
force here Thursday night to express their views to the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
An estimated 2,200 people filled The Gardens arena to learn
more about the controversial plan, which results from 2003
legislation requiring the DNR to change the way it manages
motorized vehicles in all of Minnesota's state forests.
Despite the full house, there wasn't a hockey player in
sight. Not in uniform, at least.
DNR officials said it was the largest public input meeting
the agency ever had hosted.
"There's a saying that government works best when people
are involved," said DNR assistant commissioner Brad Moore.
"We're here because we wanted to listen to you tonight,
hear what you have to say."
In the case of Beltrami, the DNR is proposing to allow
motorized vehicles on 590 miles of roads and trails within
the forest's boundary. Meanwhile, 593 miles would be
off-limits because they're on federal lands, wetlands or in
areas with little history of public use.
A team of DNR staff developed the proposal after compiling
an inventory of all the roads and trails, a total of 1,135
miles, within the boundaries of Beltrami forest. With more
than 738,000 acres, Beltrami is one of the largest state
forests in Minnesota. One of the plan's main goals is to
protect environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands;
about 70 percent of Beltrami forest is classified as
wetlands, where trails for motorized use are prohibited.
Based on public outcry to the proposal, DNR officials said
Thursday night they're going to extend the comment period
from Feb. 28 until sometime this summer.
"We'll go back this summer and step up the inventory, try
to make the corrections and try to respond," said Mike
Carroll, director of the DNR's Division of Forestry, who
served as moderator for the meeting. "I'm delighted this
many people care about their recreational heritage. I think
that's a good thing."
Testimony
Thursday night's turnout came as no surprise. The Beltrami
forest plan has ignited fierce controversy among many in
northwest Minnesota, who see the proposal as a further
attempt by the DNR to restrict access to public land.
Beltrami forest has a long history of use by everyone from
bear hunters to berry pickers, and Thursday night, many of
those users stepped up to the microphone to tell DNR brass
they oppose anything that limits those opportunities.
George Swentik, a Lake of the Woods County commissioner,
offered one of the most emotional statements of the night
when he asked the DNR to more closely involve northwest
Minnesota residents in the planning process.
"This isn't about locking up a few trails, this is about
locking up Beltrami State Forest," Swentik said. "This is
the beginning of a bad ending.
"Can we correct this? Yes, if we go back to common sense
cooperation. Are we willing to come to the table together?
Yes we are. We'll come to the table with the DNR. Let's air
our differences, but let's do right for our people. I ask
one thing. Put a stop to where we are right now. Put the
maps away. Let's go to the table and start new."
Swentik drew a standing ovation for his words.
Petition
Before the meeting, Dennis Battles, 30, who lives south of
Warroad, was on hand circulating a petition, its purpose
simply stated by the white and red sticker adorning his
Chevy racing cap: "Save Our Trails." With the help of his
brother, Jeff, and friends Randy and Lynn Ward, Battles
said he had gathered more than 5,200 certified signatures
in the past month asking the DNR to back off of its trail
proposal. The Battles and Randy Ward presented the petition
to Deputy DNR commissioner Mark Holsten on Thursday night.
"Nobody wants to see any access closed," Battles said.
"Getting 5,200 signatures in less than four weeks says a
lot about what the public opinion is."

The reduced opportunities for ATV use were especially
significant among those who commented Thursday night.
That's no surprise, perhaps, because Polaris in Roseau,
Minn., and Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls manufacture
ATVs, and the vehicles are a popular source of recreation
in northwest Minnesota. Polaris and Arctic Cat each sent
buses to Warroad for the meeting, and Polaris canceled its
second shift, so employees could attend.
While the plan allows ATVs on 321 miles of forest roads,
only 54 miles are specifically set aside for ATVs and
off-highway motorcycles.
Bennett Morgan, vice president and general manager of
Polaris' ATV division, was one of three company officials
to comment on the plan. Morgan said the 2003 legislation
initially was designed to support riding opportunities; in
reality, just the opposite is happening.
"It's Polaris' position the DNR needs to stop its current
process now," Morgan said. "Not just here in Beltrami, but
in all 54 state forests. Develop a plan that meets the
objectives of more ATV trails, not less."
Despite the emotion surrounding the Beltrami proposal,
Thursday night's meeting mostly proceeded without incident,
aside from an occasional boo for DNR staff and applause for
those who opposed the proposal. The enforcement presence
was significant, with DNR conservation officers, county
sheriff's deputies and local police officers on hand to
keep the crowd in line and the emotions in check.
The most noticeable outburst occurred when a Twin Cities
environmentalist stepped up to support the proposal. Matt
Norton of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
drew jeers from the audience for his comments, prompting
one legislator attending the meeting to step up and quiet
down the crowd.



"Please be quiet until Matt is done," said Rep. Tom
Hackbarth, R-Cedar. "He wants you to get mad. That's what
he's playing you for."



Other legislators attending Thursday night were Sen. LeRoy
Stumpf, DFL-Thief River Falls, Sen. Tom Saxhaug, DFL-Grand
Rapid, and Rep. Maxine Penas, R-Badger. In an interview
before the meeting, Stumpf said part of the problem with
the Beltrami proposal is the Legislature mandated a
"one-size-fits-all" management approach to state forests.
That might make sense in more populated areas, he said, but
not in northwest Minnesota. Stumpf said he's drafted
legislation that would allow the DNR to manage forests in
northern Minnesota north of U.S. Highway 2 differently than
those farther south.
"The Legislature sometimes is like a gun that can't shoot
straight," Stumpf said. "I think on this point, the
legislation was a misfire.

"None of the public is asking to run roughshod
cross-country with ATVs," Stumpf said. "They just want to
use the trails. What the public wants if very realistic and
reasonable."

With the comment period extended until next summer,
Holsten, the deputy DNR commissioner, said it's important
for the public to realize the process for Beltrami forest
is just beginning.


"Your comments are important, and we are listening,"
Holsten said.



Send written comments on the plan to Helen Cozzetto, DNR
natural resources planner, 6603 Bemidji Ave. N., Bemidji MN
56601; e-mail to helen.cozzetto@dnr.state.mn.us; or fax to
(218) 755-4063.

 

actually i heard there was alot more people there then 2200 and i guess i am glad to be from where i am the people that night asked alot of good questions even thought we didn't get many answers maybe they will see that we the people have banded together for something we believe in and will work with us and honda did you ask a ? by any chance?

 

I couldnt make it, but Im glad there was such a good urn out. Sounds like the locals up there have a better handle on the situation than the guys like me down south. This could stop the so called progress in the other state forest areas.
As I was following the story in the news, I heard there were two dnr supervisior/managers who lost their jobs last week. I gotta believe it has to do with the issues in the news.

 

Damn it is good to see that ordinary people like you and me can make a difference. The system works folks.... now get out there and make it work in your area!

 

Actaully, if you deducted the number of participants who were there because of Minnesota ATVAM mobilizing members through club and email communications, and deducted the people bussed in from Polaris and Arctic Cat, there wasn't that much of a showing.

If you live in MN you need to be supporting ATVAM. That organization is the key to winning the many battles on the horizon where the enviromentalists are doing everything they can to shut down ATV access to public property.

In other threads we have touched on issues where the DNR was not being fair (or honest) with the public. I understand that two DNR staff members have lost their jobs over the missinformation and otherwise poor job they did on the Beltrami trails program.

My point is that if more of the owners of the 300,000 ATV's registered in the state participated in the trail planning process - there would not be a problem.

 

who were you there? there wasn't just a few busses in the parking lot we had to park about 2 blocks away and walk to the arena. and the gardens hockey arena is huge. i heard there was somewhere around 2800 people there and i believe it cause every seat was filled and there was alot of people standing by the lobbey. the people that arctic cat and polaris bussed in were not made to go nobody put a gun to their head they went cause they wanted to. before they started they said the average size meeting was between 100 and 200 people so that gives ya a good idea how big this was. if anyone in here had the honor of going to this meeting i know that you felt the same way i did when i left that this was a good day for atvers in minnesota and maybe opened up the dnr's eyes to maybe they should start working with the people from now on casue if not we will work against them and the dnr isn't exactly popular up here to begin with.

 

Does anyone have the correct e-mail address for helen cozzetto? On the paul bunyan forest issue I try 5 times to get letters through to her and each time I was rejected. I guess on the first address that I got off of this forum the dots were in the wrong place, they made a correction and that was wrong too. Please send the correct address and I encourage everyone that atvs in the state of MN. to write and let their feelings known.

 

this address worked for me nubbin,helen.cozzetto@dnr.state.mn.us