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| DNR tries to shape ATV guidelines to save forests - ATV | OHV News - Rides | ATV News and Events - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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killswitch_1 Admin 
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Duluth News Tribune article ST. PAUL - Hoping to blunt concerns that northern Minnesota's state forests will become uncontrolled playgrounds for all-terrain vehicles, the state Department of Natural Resources is offering a blueprint for placing limits on where those vehicles can go. DNR officials told their staff members this week that, as they evaluate where forest trails should be allowed, in northern state forests they should identify areas to close to off-road use and trail segments that could be closed for parts of the year. The staff also was instructed to concentrate ATV traffic on corridors and roads that can handle that activity and to add short spur routes where needed. The guidelines, which an influential environmental group considers inadequate, address a new state law splitting the state into two regions with different all-terrain vehicle rules. That law, passed by the Legislature this year and effective Aug. 1, allows riders in state forests north of U.S. Highway 2 to go on any visible trail, even if it's not part of a designated trail system. Critics have argued that the law, favored by motorized interests seeking more recreational opportunities, will lead to widespread abuses, with riders creating new trails and DNR wardens unable to control illegal behavior. Under intense pressure to expand trails but limit environmental damage, the DNR has been seeking a solution. "We clearly recognize the legitimate concerns relating to 'managed' forests, the broad definition of 'forest trail' under current DNR rules and how the two can combine to turn illegal trails into legal trails," wrote Assistant DNR Commissioner Brad Moore in a memorandum. "We will revise our rules and processes to ensure that the universe of legal trails is confined to those that exist on our formal inventory and that the inventory is enforceable." But Matt Norton, forestry and wildlife advocate for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said the guidelines wouldn't rein in bad behavior. "The memo doesn't say the DNR will take the necessary steps to prevent that off-trail riding," Norton said. "But even if they were to say the right thing, saying and making it so are two very different things. "We've got a system that allows, in fact is specifically engineered, to produce the maximum number of motorized, designated trails without any process to ensure the DNR has the staff or money to keep law-and-order and to prevent resource damage," he added. Ray Bohn, a spokesman for off-road groups, said the approach appears to allow for more input from the public. "And I think that's clearly needed," he said. At issue is legislation governing use of all-terrain vehicles and other off-road machines in state forests. A law passed in 2003 required the agency to designate trail systems in each of the state's forests by 2008. Under the law, riders could only go on trails posted open for use. So far, the DNR has evaluated more than 11,000 miles of "unofficial" trails on 5.7 million acres of forestland. The DNR has completed classification and designation orders for four forests. Public meetings have been held for another nine. This year's Legislature, however, changed the rules for state forests north of U.S. Highway 2, a region that contains 74 percent of state forests. There, riders now can go on any trails not posted as closed. Environmental groups have criticized the law, contending it gives riders too much latitude. For example, they said a rider could illegally break a trail through woods, enabling a following rider to use the new route legally. That, they said, could lead to widespread abuses that the 2003 law was intended to address. Moore and deputy DNR commissioner Mark Holsten said the new law gives the DNR some flexibility it didn't have under the old law. For example, they said the old law allowed the DNR to either close or open a forest to ATV use. If it was declared open, vehicles could only go on trails posted as open. The new law, they said, gives the agency authority to close portions of a forest to ATV use, while keeping other portions open. The key, Holsten said, is to properly inventory trails, then allow riders only on corridors that can handle the activity, add short routes where appropriate, and close off the rest so riders cannot legally go off on their own. Some trails, he said, might be open for portions of the year, but closed when conditions, such as soggy soil, warrant. Holsten said the department hasn't projected how many miles of trails would be designated or what portion of the forests north of U.S. Highway 2 would be closed to ATV use. "That will come as the teams evaluate each forest," said Craig Engwall, special assistant to the DNR commissioner. Earlier this year, however, the DNR estimated it could oversee a trail network five times larger than one that exists today. "They are trying to provide this Cadillac-size trail system on a budget big enough for a Geo Metro," Norton said. He said the memo recognizes widespread dissatisfaction within the DNR of past ATV policies, but doesn't offer guidelines for protecting the state's natural resources. As an example, he said trail selection teams don't include representatives from the agency's ecological services, fisheries or wildlife divisions. The DNR also said it intends to provide opportunities for large 4x4 trucks, particularly on minimum maintenance forest roads in the Foot Hills, Paul Bunyan, Nemadji and St. Croix state forests, and pursue a motor-sports area on state forest lands in Crow Wing County. Norton, however, said the DNR has a misguided notion it must provide trails for those trucks. "They are doing this despite consistent opposition to ORV truck trails from the public and repeated judgments from staff on the ground that those trails don't belong in state forests," Norton said.
____________________ If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. - Mark Twain |
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outlandish AWF Admin 
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Critics have argued that the law, favored by motorized interests seeking more recreational opportunities, will lead to widespread abuses, with riders creating new trails and DNR wardens unable to control illegal behavior. SCREW THEM! I get so tired of hearing all this bull  !
____________________ coming soon....the new Aurora Decal site |
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Survey Guy Member 
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Amen to that brother!
____________________ Fourwheeling is not a crime! Neither is backhanding a Liberal! |
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