Got this email today, and looks like another area is in need of pro-atv people to respond to the political process, of getting a new trail put in.
The antis outnumber the pros, in MN, and unfortunetly they are a vocal group.
We all need the help...if you want to ride here, or think sometime in the future youd like to, or you just want to respond in a positive tone, to show your support, ...its needed now.


We have been informed that the Becker County Commissioners
are receiving a lot of negative comments regarding the
proposed 70 mile ATV trail. They have stated that if they
do not receive positive comments from the ATV community
they will vote NO for the proposed trail system.

Please contact them and tell them that YES, ATVer’s do want
the 70 mile ATV trail in Becker County. Details of the
proposed trail and county commissioner contact information
are listed below.

Thank you!

www.atvam.org

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

http://www.co.becker.mn.us/electedofficials.asp

Becker County Commissioners:
Larry Knutson
District 1
laknuts@co.becker.mn.us

Harry Salminen
District 2
hlsalmi@co.becker.mn.us

Karen Mulari
District 3
klmular@co.becker.mn.us

Bob Bristlin
District 4
rdbrist@co.becker.mn.us

Barry Nelson
District 5
bknelso@co.becker.mn.us


Details about the 70 mile loop:

----- Original Message -----
From: cybernews
To: trail_news@listserv.dnr.state.mn.us
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 2:05 PM
Subject: DNR Cybernews Update (08-25-05) - Becker County to
host70-mile ATV trail

Becker County to host 70-mile ATV trail (2005-08-23)

Becker County has been selected to host a new 70-mile
all-terrain vehicle/off-highway motorcycle (ATV/OHM) trail.


Becker was one of several counties that submitted proposals
in response to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
request for help in siting a new ATV/OHM trail pursuant to
a 2003 Legislative directive. The new trail will be
planned, designed and constructed on a mix of state and
county-administered forest lands located in north and south
Round Lake Townships in north-central Becker County. The
trail should be completed and ready to ride by summer 2007.

The Becker County ATV/OHM trail system will provide a mix
of easy, intermediate and more difficult trails for riders
of various skill levels. Four rest areas with parking,
vehicle off-loading ramps, rest rooms and picnic facilities
are planned for various locations along the trail. This
trail system will be located approximately 20 miles from
Park Rapids, 25 miles from Detroit Lakes and about 250
miles from the Twin Cities metro area. A myriad of public
and private campgrounds and resorts are located within a
half-hour drive.

Counties play an important role in providing for
off-highway vehicle recreation according to Ron Potter, the
DNR's Off-Highway Vehicle Program supervisor.

He believes this ATV/OHM trail project provides "an
excellent opportunity for DNR and county land managers to
work together to provide a much needed recreational riding
opportunity for Minnesota's fast-growing population of ATV
and motorcycle trail riders."

Communities located along the trail are also expected to
benefit from increased tourism and added local economic
activity. For more information or for a copy of the Becker
County trail proposal, contact Tim Browning at (218)
755-3969 or by e-mail at tim.browning@dnr.state.mn.us.

 

Thanks once again for the heads up!

Guys, here is the letter I sent. If you want to steal from it, modify it, or whatever, feel free....

-----

Hello!

My name is Brian Klier, and I'm from Faribault, Minnesota, about 50 miles south of Minneapolis. One of the things I enjoy doing when the weather gets warmer is to go four-wheeling with my friends. I have taken advantage of the Spider Lake Trails and Foothills State Forest near your area twice last summer, and have found the experience to be very positive.

ATV use has skyrocketed the last 5 years, now bypassing snowmobile registrations in the state. I believe responsible trail creation in cooperation with the DNR will benefit both ATVers and those people that discourage ATV use. Unfortunately the tendency of some ATV riders (thankfully none whom I associate with) is to ride wherever they want if there is no place to go. Proper trail creation with DNR assistance gives ATVers specific places to go to ride, and takes into account the goal of minimal environmental impact, erosion areas, and animal habitat damage.

I urge you to consider approving the proposed ATV trail in your county. Thank you for your time!

Brian Klier
xxxxxx
Faribault, MN 55021
507-xxx-xxxx
xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx

 

i SENT A note off for rider support .

 

I sent one off also. I make it up that way several times per summer. Now I would have another excuse to go other than the great walleye fishing.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Hey Brian that was a very nice letter to all who have ears to listen to and read to, very good indeed,Wish I could get up there,but hard to do,visiting friends in Ok. around Ok.city and alot of open riding,what is it with Minn. don't people know what kind of money this state could bring in,just from ATV. Riders.nothing really down here,go to alot of other states and they have their heads on.

Take care riding

 

Thanks everyone for sending letters to support this initiative!

Has anybody heard how the fight is going?

 

Sorry about not getting back to this sooner...its not going well.
This was the story in the park rapids paper.



ATV trail on hold in Becker County
Nathan Bowe
Forum Communications Co. - 03/07/2006

Bogged down in internal dissent and external opposition, a county committee charged with mapping out a 70-mile trail for all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes has temporarily given up the job.

The two county commissioners who sit on the committee - Karen Mulari and Larry Knutson - pushed for the break because they said the deeply divided committee was just spinning its wheels.

The proposed ATV trail would be located in North and South Round Lake Townships, with the northern half within the boundaries of the White Earth Indian Reservation.

Tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor sent the county a letter of opposition to the trail. The tribe is concerned about possible conflicts with tribal hunting season and damage to native plants and herbs, among other things, commissioners said.

Commissioner Harry Salminen said he would hate to jeopardize the county’s close working relationship with the tribe on issues like law enforcement and public health by forcing through the ATV trail.

Commissioner Bob Bristlin suggested locating the trail elsewhere.

“You’re going to have the same opposition wherever you go, whether or not you’re on the reservation,” Salminen said.

Township officials are also opposed to the pilot project, which is to be built on county tax-forfeited land and funded with $300,000 in state money.

They are concerned about the ATV trail crossing a township road - busy on weekends - that is used to access Many Point Boy Scout Camp.

And they are concerned about environmental damage.

The ATV trail would be engineered to shed water and avoid ruts, and designed to force drivers to use moderate speed.

But township officials are skeptical that the trail will keep its shape and stay dry - they’d like to see the county first fix up existing, rutted ATV trails, such as those in the Two Inlets area, and see how those trails hold up.

To protect itself from accident liability, the township will likely pass an ordinance banning ATVs from township roads if the 70-mile trail is approved by the county board. That would mean the trail would have to tunnel under township roads.

ATV riders need a place to ride, and it makes sense to create a designated trail and then act to keep them out of sensitive areas, Mulari said in an interview.

If the designated trail is shot down, area residents will regret it several years from now when ATV use on non-maintained trails and other areas of tax-forfeited land becomes a big problem, she predicted.

Some residents in the area worry that ATV riders would stray off the designated trail and damage sensitive forest land and wetlands.

The ironic thing, noted Bristlin, is that county tax- forfeited land is now open to ATV use. Many ATV riders already use logging roads and other trails in Round Lake Township.

Mulari said those undesignated trails have no money attached for maintenance, which is part of the reason they end up in such bad shape.

A designated trail would carry state money for maintenance, much like designated snowmobile trails, so they wouldn’t turn into rutted sinkholes.

Commissioner Barry Nelson spoke in favor of the trail.

“ATVs do have a big economic impact on the area, I’d like us to go forward with it - we should meet with the tribe and township to try to alleviate their concerns.”

Nelson believes the committee should not be allowed to hijack a county board decision.

“The committee’s charge is to present the best possible trail to the board,” he said. “We have to decide the trail will exist until this board decides otherwise.”

Bristlin agreed, adding that it might make sense to designate smaller lengths of ATV trail around the county, rather than putting it all in one township.

The 2003 legislation that funded the pilot project requires a continuous 70-mile looped trail, said Chip Lohmeier, natural resources management director for the county.

The legislation also requires the project to be completed by April 2007.

“If we don’t get it (the state funding) somebody else will,” Lohmeier said. “This is supposed to be a trial balloon to see if ATV trails in the state are sustainable and maintainable.”

Lohmeier will meet with Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials and the legislator who penned the law, Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) to see if the law can be amended to allow for a shorter trail or several trails in different parts of the county. He will also ask about extending the timeline.

The committee, which has held several contentious meetings, will get together again as soon as possible after county officials meet with tribal and township leaders to address their concerns.

Regardless of what happens with the 70-mile trail, Lohmeier said next year Becker County will begin working with the DNR to designate ATV trails on state forest land. The county has three state forests within its boundaries: Two Inlets, White Earth and Smoky Hills.

“We’ll have to decide which trails should remain open to ATVs,” he said. “Everything else will be considered closed.”