from the grand forks herald what do you guys think?




IN THE MAIL : Pressure Pawlenty to set the DNR straight


BAUDETTE, Minn. -The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' trail-closing committee does not answer to the citizens. It appears not to share our values. It demonstrates little regard for our way of life. And it may take its lead from groups who don't have our best interests at heart. From whom? Read on.

DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in January 2003. Afterward, Merriam resigned from the board of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

The center may be best known for stopping all logging in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and for its repeated use of junk science, legal threats and "opinion as fact" in a wide range of environmental issues.

It is very effective at appearing "mainstream," while its agenda is anything but. Examination of its mission reveals a group that consistently is against individual freedom. By any reasonable standard, it is a radical environmental group. It is allied with groups that are even more radical. And alarmingly, one of its former directors is our DNR commissioner.

The governor appoints the commissioner. Therefore, we must bring pressure upon the governor's office to correct this "fox guarding the henhouse" situation. We must let the governor know that we will not tolerate radical environmental policies being practiced in our back yard.

The committee that developed the trail-closing plan answers to the commissioner. If we are to succeed in defeating this outrageous forest-trails plan, we must get their undivided attention. Perhaps having their livelihoods and way of life threatened would be a good place to start.

 

I can't comment on the Governor's selection to be head of teh DNR or his politics on teh matters at hand, but I think the herald may be a little off base on who reports to whom... It is my understanding that the requirement to inventory trails, and draw up a use plan may have come from the Federal side, and the State's DNR is only following orders from above.... I think they still have control of the processes, but the overall program is federally mandated... If I understand it correctly... I might be wrong...

 

you are probably 100 percent right DB i just thought it was kinda weird how the DNR commissioner would be associated with them kind of environmentalists which would be bad for us cause he would be the one who could put lil bugs in the governor's ear about this is what should be done or not or this is what the people want. if he was appointed by our governor and this is all true then i can say he lost a vote during the next election. but if this is true then this could have something to do with them wanting to close down so many trails. hmmmm north dakota is looking more and more tempting all the time.

 

Although I suspect Dakota and Wisconsin would welcome your activity and funds.. don't be so quick to admit defeat. If MN is your home, why throw up your hands and let someone take it from you? One thing that everyone needs to remember is that we need everyone to be involved. that means we need young people as well as the old. After all, this is YOUR future we are fighting for. We had our shot in the bucket.. this is your time. Don't walk away in a whimper. If we end up in defeat, go down swinging. Make your voice count. Work within the "SYSTEM"... it is the only way you can make a positive change.... we all grow up wanting to be different... then we get beat up a few times... get mad... frustrated, and finally, that light bulb comes on and teh system will make sense. It is a two way street.. and the system does not favor either side. You just have to know how to play the game. Right now the other side has a lot of points on the board, but the momentum is swinging to our side, and with your help, who knows what can be accomplished...

 

well 1st point i would never move to wisconsin sadly i am a vikings fan and i would probably get lynched over there. 2nd my sister lives in north dakota and i have seen how atv and snowmobile friendly they are over there. i was actually contemplating moving to south dakota for many reasons the top one i guess is that the winters seem to be getting longer and colder every year. today it was 0 outside and i was just standing outside talking to one of my neighbors with no gloves or hat on and i was warm as can be THIS IS NOT NORMAL a person shouldn't have to tolerate that cold of temperatures so your body thinkins it is warm out when it is 0. another reason is the people in minnesota i am sick of being someone i am not alot of the time alot of people from minnesota are a$$'$ and you basically sometimes have to become one yourself or get walked all over and i am not one unless provoked, yes they are like that everywhere but from what i have seen minnesota is really bad. ok i am off topic but you are correct about having to stand and fight but how can any of us win when there are people like that in higher office against us??????? not trying to start anything but DATY i would like to hear your thoughts about this you are with the DNR is this all true? i would guess it is for muckracking or whatever they call it is basically illegal. wow sorry bout that i was really off topic tonight.

 

weez440 I think I know how you feel about the MN dnr. I had some property problems with them a few years back but you have to get over it. I'm not going to let them a$$holes ruin my life and I hope not yours. I was born and raised in Mn and have been retired for last 8 years. The wife and I spend our winters in AR and summers up at the lake in the Bemidji area. We like AR, but still love MN. You don't realize that some people would gladdy trade places with you to live up in the north woods. It is gods country. As far as people, there is good and bad all over. You just have to pick the good. I hope that you stay in MN, we need more people like you who aren't afraid to stick up for your rights. God bless you.

 

Exactly... I have had the pleasure of living all around the country, and in Europe... For the past 14 years, DC area has been my family's home... you find good and bad everywhere you go. The trick is to learn how to deal with all of them. Some are harder to deal with than others, but all people regardless of which side of the street they are one deserve respect for their opinion. You may not always agree with them... they may not always be right... but they have the right to say it or think it. If they have a problem, you have to realize it is THEIR problem... not yours. You back away, learn from the experience, and move on to the next crisis in life...

Learn the rules of the game, what ever they are.. and plan your strategy.... eventually, even if you can't see it.. progress will be made because you took the time to get involved...

 

thanx for the responses guys after the weekend now i got to settle down a lil bit. i am a leadman where i work and have been since i was about 20 or 21 can't remember and i am just not a natural a$$hole and i got chewed out by my superiors this last week cause i didn't chew out these other people i just tried talking to them which my way worked but i didn't get hard enough on them and i gotta put up with alot of my superiors being that way. lol it seems like the only people i can be mean to are my superiors and people i don't like. i guess i would like to go to college and go for business management and hopefully start up my own lil business somewhere thinking bout a nice lil atv shop somewhere i know i could make a killing right here, but i guess i have talked to alot of people on the interenet from all over the united states and like people from arkansas usually seem to be genuinely nice and i have never liked the people i talk to on here from minnesota (not all of them) but i guess when it comes to something i really believe in like these trail closures in minnesota it really does bring out my bad side.

 

Nah.. don't confuse passion with anger... Each of us has to develop their own style when dealing with people.. whether they are superiors, or under your control. Probably what they are saying is that as a supervisor, you can't always be their friend... Things have to be kept on a more professional level. That is one reason I do not recreate with my people. I am honest, upfront in what I expect.. and they know what the consequences are going to be when they take advantage of that. They have clearly defined policies in place.. and they are enforced. Not out of spite, but out of fairness to everyone, given they are there to do a job.. they should act responsibly. If they don't they are dealt with. If it becomes a problem, or there is a pattern.. they are dismissed.

That isn't being an A-hole... that is acting responsibly, and expecting the employees to do the same. Consistancy is the key. After all, you are there to make money, your people are your tools, if one is broken, you have to replace it. Unless of course you are running an adult day care... then all bets are off.

 

lol thanx DB that is the way i run things i am always professional and won't get upset at them unless it is absolutely necessary and they all do a darn fine job every last one of them. but if something minor happens my superiors want me to be an a$$ and i was always told you can catch more flies with honey then vinegar. so i will talk to them like a human and 99 percent of the time that works and the issue is resolved and life goes on and i don't have a disgruntal employee under me. if they aren't doing there job and that particular area is getting behind cause they wanna stand around and chat like a bunch of schoolgirls then the iron fist comes out but i dunno i wanna buy an island and invite all the people i like to come live on it with me and you are invited DB we can go fishing [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]