Even if you aren't a ditch rider i'd urge you to write your senator and house member and plead with them to not support SF850. Aside from making ditch riding illegal state-wide, the bill takes money to build trails and uses it to fund a hotline to report enforcement issues. There are many other heineous parts of the bill but i'd suggest you read for yourself. Here's alink to the actual bill. http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/c...3&number=sf850

Below you'll find a letter which would assist you in creating your own based on the points below.

ATVAM Mailing List:

Ray Bohn, our lobbyist, informed ATVAM that the capitol is being flooded by emails, letters and phone calls by the Anti-Access Groups IN SUPPORT OF ALL PROVISIONS in SF 850! This legislation will do exactly what we have been saying all along the anti-access crowd wants - a defacto ban of OHV riding in state forest lands. By depleting our trail funds, our ability to build any real designated trail system in Minnesota will be gone, along with our dreams of a statewide designated trail system.

You can help by attending the hearing on Tuesday, 4-22-03 at 12:30 pm, RM 107 at the capitol AND by writing, emailing and calling your own Senators and House Representatives to let them know we do not support all of the provisions/amendments of SF850.

We have been asked by members to come up with a generic "ghost" letter. You will need to fill in the blanks. If the Senators start receiving a "form" letter they will disregard them. We think this should work since you will be filling in your own personal info in the beginning. Also, if you are going to forward it to a bunch of friends have them rearrange the wording of the last paragraph. And any comments you add personally will make it appear less a "form" letter. Make sure to put your name, address and phone # on it or they will discard the communication.

FOCUS ON THREE OR FOUR OF THE LISTED POINTS BELOW
----------
Dave Kryzer
ATVAM 1st Vice President
-------------------------------


Dear Senator or Representative ___:

I am ______. I live in (city). I am married with # of kids or single. I/we enjoy ATV riding (list areas and experiences, how long you've been riding, why you enjoy it, etc).

Please give serious thought to the proposed legislation in SF 850. This Bill was NOT a compromise as portrayed in some of the newspapers. It has many provisions I cannot support. SF 850 will dramatically change the way ATV's can operate on public lands if it were to pass intact.

SF 850's major provisions include a closed unless posted open policy for all state lands. Which will further delay or stop trail designation. The Marty-Ruud will move up the "closed unless posted open" restriction from Oct. 2005 to Oct. 2004.

Banning ditch riding state wide to ATVs, but allowing the local counties to open them back
up if they so desire. Which will prohibit me from visiting my neighbors,riding to the local community, and accessing the state forests from my home/cabin.

Does not allow any new construction of grant-in-aid trails. Which will discourage club start ups and an opportunity to encourage responsible riders.

Establishes an "OHV Damage Surcharge". The initial cash for this account comes from the OHV dedicated trail accounts and is a raid on our accounts. The Marty-Ruud amendment is asking for $1.2 million dollars from our dedicated trail accounts to fund this so-called "damage". We still don't know what they will be asking for as a "surcharge" on our registration fees (Tax) for this "damage account".

DNR is asking for another 8 conservation officers if this legislation passes. That amounts to $958,000 the first year and $841,700 every year thereafter. This additional expense even before we have an additional mile of trail designated. Another unwarranted claim on our accounts.

Other burdensome provisions in the bill that offer no value call for: a toll free hot-line to be available 24 hours a day to report ATV damage and violations which will cost the accounts $196,000 the first year and $120,000 annual operating cost.

An OHV training certificate program requiring posting of rules decal in addition to the dozen or more decals already on the ATV. You're required to mount 6" x 12" automotive size plates on front and rear of ATV which could interfere with brake lights, head lights, suspension, drive train or tires.
Imagine the potential safety issues with mounting a larger steel plate.Certification (licensing) &Rules Decal &plates- Total cost of $2,021,000 the first year &a $406,000 cost per year after that. This is an expense that is totally unwarranted and a waste of our funds. The Marty-Ruud
Amendment calls for an additional $15 registration fee (TAX) to pay for this new licensing requirement.

Civil Citation authority; this provision will cost our dedicated accounts $532,000 per year, another unwarranted cost. These issues can be handled just fine under the current trespass statutes without the need for wasting these critical funds from our accounts. Just enforce the law as it stands today!

The Marty-Ruud amendment calls for an additional $5.8 million in funds from our dedicated account to pay for their bill. That is $4.5 million from the ATV account, $1 million from the ORV account, and $300,000 in the OHM Account. It does not designate one mile of trail.

This legislation will do exactly what we have been saying all along the anti-access crowd wants - a defacto ban of OHV riding in state forest lands. By depleting our trail funds, our ability to build any real designated trail system in Minnesota will be gone, along with our dreams of a statewide
designated trail system.

Respectfully,

Your Name
Address
City, State Zip
Phone # Senate File 850

 

Not sure who your Senator and House member is? Here's a link to help you out.

Who are my legislators?

 

Well, what was the vote?
Did the bone-heads wreaking destruction, damage and mayhem finally push the legislature over the edge?
Did we loose more privileges because the un-parented juvenile boys whose drivers license will be their greatest achievement ruin it for the rest of us? The off-trail defoliation morons should be extremely happy with themselves by now.

Pop-Quiz guy's - how far are you willing to trailer?

 

Who-Dat,

Thank you for speaking in the 'no-b.s.' terms that our fellow ridership needs to be cracked over the head with. I have observed (on these forums) the attitude of the average forum poster, for about 3 years now.

To say that I am not impressed with the vast majority who won't speak up or act on these issues.......would be an understatement.

There are virtually NO local programs in place (that I know of) which are reaching out to these juveniles (and their old-enough-to-know-better 'adult' counterparts) and admonishing them IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that they are nothing less than criminal in their actions.

If we don't have the stomach to support 'loud and large' I.D.'s on orvs or fine/impound the few that law enforcement 'do' catch.......................................who is really to blame, but ourselves?

The time for 'baby-steps' in preventing all of this, has long since passed.

John

 

Here's an update I got from www.atvnation.com

posted April 22, 2003 04:16 PM
I attended today’s hearing in the capital and found Senator Marty to be a bit misguided to say the least. Some of his comments about how "passing this measure would be a great way of celebrating Earth Day" was off the mark in my opinion. A vote was held to send Marty’s bill on, but was shot down mostly due to the fact that they didn't have a finance note from the DNR that showed the fiscal soundness of the proposal. As it was currently interpreted, his proposal shows a 1.7 million dollar deficit. Senator Bakk offered a reasonable counter-amendment that was defeated by a vote. That defeat then put the committee's focus back on Marty's original proposal. Another hearing will be held Thursday when Marty brings the financial note for review from the DNR. I asked Senator Bakk after the hearing if he intended on proposing his bill on the Senate floor. He smiled and said "yes". His proposal is much more in line with the House File 1077 authored by Representative Hackbarth. If Marty wins out, the existing 6,000+ miles of un-designated permissible trails on public lands will be off-limits to ATV riding. The 3 year registration fees for ATV's will increase to $63.00 from the current $18.00 cost. Hotlines will be established at a cost to ATV riders for reporting violators, and all ditch riding will cease.
Senators on the committee who seemed reasonable and held concern and support for ATV enthusiasts were: Sen. Bakk, Sen. Murphy, Sen. Bachmann, Sen. Sams, and Sen. Pariseau.

2002 Arctic Cat 500 Auto - Warn 2500A winch - 26" 589 M/T's on ITP chrome Delta's - Tamarack WrapAround Trunk
2002 Suzuki Vinson - Superwinch ATV2000 - 26" Mud Lites - Race-ready Chest Cooler
2003 Floe ATV Hauler
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"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space"



If you've not done so, please e-mail your senator and house member. While your at it e-mail senator Marty as well. Even those of you out of state should have a voice and let them know how this affects Minnesota tourism I'll try a link below.

sen.john.marty@senate.mn

Send John Marty an e-mail

 

Here'a another update from ATVAM

ATVAM Mailing List

The Senate Finance Committee met on 4/22/03 at around 12:45 PM. Senate File
850 was presented to the committee, for the second time, by Senator Marty.
Senator Fredrickson introduced an Amendment which readdressed the licensing
and license plate issues. The committee voted it down.

Senator Bakk brought an amendment to the committee as well. It included
allowing the DNR to take current trails that are being used by OHVs and turn
them into designated trails, along with the authority to close them
temporarily if needed. The bill was voted on by a roll call vote, 6 senators
were for and 6 were against, therefore it did not pass. You may see
variations of the amendments being brought forward in the near future. The
meeting was adjourned at this, with the bill being tabled. It will be
discussed again after the fiscal note is finalized.

If you are interested in finding out how the committee voted, etc, please
access this information at this web address:
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/perl/billinf6.pl

We had great representation by the motorized groups! We packed the meeting
room so it was STANDING ROOM ONLY! Unfortunately allot of our supporters had
to stand in the Hallway. They would not allow anymore people into the room.
But your presence was noticed by every Senator that walked into the meeting
which was extremely important. THANK YOU for being in attendance!
Motorized supporters were allowed to testify, including representatives from
ATVAM, ARMCA, 4x4 Club, and ATV Manufactures. Our presence was noticed and
definitely helpful.

On a serious note, for those that did attend and for those of you in the
future, these hearings are very formal. Please do not clap or speak out
during proceedings. This can and will be detrimental to our cause.

Please share this with everyone.

Dave Kryzer
ATVAM 1st Vice President


ATVAM's website www.atvam.org

NOTE: If you would like to be removed from this mailing list please

 

Additional information for you hunters out there......

ATVAM Mailing List

Important message from our lobbyist.

------
After picking up on some of the "hidden" aspects of SF850 (Marty-Ruud ATV Bill), I reviewed it last night and discovered that this legislation would eliminate all travel off of designated trails by ATVs and other OHVs by anyone, including hunters, unless they get a special permit from the commissioners. See section 7 and section 25 in the bill.

We need to alert our ATV hunters that this provision is in the bill and they need to act quickly or they will be out of luck.

Ray Bohn
-----
The Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the DNR agrees with our interpretation of the Marty/Ruud Bill -- Hunters, trappers, etc. will lose their opportunity to use ATV's for these activities. This bill will allow for that exemption only on a case by case basis.

Dave Kryzer
ATVAM 1st Vice President

 

A few weeks old, but thought it was interesting still.....

Cass supports Senate bill to regulate, manage OHVs on public lands
Gail DeBoer, Staff writer
The Pilot-Independent
Last Updated: Thursday, April 10th, 2003 01:13:36 PM


A bill making its way through the Minnesota Legislature that would give counties a role in regulating use of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) received the full support of the Cass County Board April 1.

Senate File (SF) 850, the "Responsible Rider Bill," is the result of efforts of numerous citizens, groups and legislators with views on all sides the OHV issue, including many from north-central Minnesota, according to Matt Norton of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

State Sen. John Marty is SF 850's lead author. Dist. 4 Sen. Carrie Ruud, Breezy Point, is a co-author. House File 941, a companion bill, is co-authored by Dist. 4-B Rep. Larry Howes,Walker.

The bill is described as "an act for enforcement and management of OHVs on public lands," that would "protect wildlife, wetlands and natural resources from the relatively small number of ATV, dirt bike and four-wheelers who ride recreationally through public lands."

With growing numbers of OHVs riding in road right-of-ways, some road shoulders, ditches, backslopes and driveways have been severely damaged by rutting, erosion, wash-outs, plus damage to trees, shrubs, grass and wildlife habitat. Presently north of the state's ag zone, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) may operate year-round within road right-of-ways.

Until now, counties had no power to control OHV use on road right-of-ways, but often ended up paying to repair damage.

Although the first responsibility lies with the OHV operator, often that person is not caught or cannot be identified.

One of SF 850's key provisions would allow counties to manage OHV use on public road right-of-ways. The bill would forbid OHV use on right-of-ways unless the local unit of government and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) commissioner approve it.

If the Senate bill became law, the effective date of the ditch riding law change would be June 1, 2004. This would give counties more than a year to decide which road right-of-ways would still be open for OHV riding, Norton said.

The bill also would allow local units of government access to OHV-dedicated funds to repair damaged property. It would give DNR conservation and local enforcement officers the ability to issue citations and fines and would let local enforcement keep the fines it collects.

It would require a "Responsible Rider Certificate" in order to ride on public lands, which could be revoked for one year if the rider violates laws. It also would set up a toll-free trail information and complaint number. Damage to property and terroristic threat laws now on the books would apply to OHV misuse

Special use permits would be issued in situations where people need to operate OHVs on closed trails for traditional occupations like beaver-trapping, bait-trapping, bough-cutting, berry harvesting, etc.

Cass County Land Commissioner Norm Moody said this is how his department already operates.

"The people who are using those trails are concerned about maintaining the integrity of the road base. They need it to do their business," he explained.

Last year, more than $8.5 million was left unspent in the state's dedicated ATV, 4X4 and OHM accounts, funded by the gas tax. Rider groups have worried that those funds could be depleted if all areas damaged by OHVs were to be fixed — a "significant admission," Norton commented.

Because of this, the Senate agreed to create a separate account for enforcement and damage (funded by monies transferred from existing accounts), while leaving the balance for trail maintenance. According to Norton, a increase of 1,500 miles of new dedicated OHV trails is expected in the next three years. Presently there are 953 dedicated OHV trail miles.

A day earlier, the bill had its third hearing in the Senate, where Norton and others spent seven hours hammering out many of the above-mentioned changes and compromises.

"We feel comfortable it's a balanced bill with something for everybody," he stated.

Barry Babcock, representing the Jackpine Coalition, a citizen group that has worked on OHV issues, stressed that the bill contains nothing that would ban OHVs on public lands, and that it dovetails with recommendations in the Cass County Comprehensive Plan.

HF 941 has not yet had a hearing before the House Environmental Policy Committee. Norton did not know Gov. Pawlenty's position on the bill.

Cass County will send letters of support for SF 850 to the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and to Dist. 4 Sen. Ruud, Dist. 4-A Rep. Douglas Fuller and Dist. 4-B Rep. Howes.