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Tread lightly. Sounds great. But an oxymoron. One only has to look at these vehicles on the road. Either factory optioned or after-market conversions: aggressive stances, clearances, snorkels, and mean treads, they send one signal. Domination.
Many decades ago, (some approaching a century ago), these roads and trails were built for timber harvest and/or fire protection. Many of these are single lane. Unless you keep up with maintenance, many quickly fall into disrepair. And back when they were built, they skirted wetlands and crossed pristine streams with no regard for drainage and buffer zones. These are the same routes ORVS like because they are challenging. The DNR and the route finder they hired, Ron Potter, who is project manager for the National Off Highway Conservation Council (another oxymoron, conservation) and a Polaris consultant, knew exactly what they were doing by using existing roads to get around environmental scrutiny. A route using existing roads, no matter how primitive or impactful, requires no permits and is therefore exempt from mandatory environmental review.
These roads and trails were never built for a nationally advertised, designated route for high impact traffic. They have historically low volume traffic in low density population areas. This would be a total change of use and means more soil erosion, rutting, sedimentation, and dust pollution to waters, and spreading of invasive species.
The B2B would cross 27 trout streams 61 times. What will the impacts be in 2, 3, 5, 10 years out? An environmental review would examine this. And that’s just one impact risk of many.
The MN4WDA has a lobbyist as well, to no one’s surprise. It’s how business is done. What their president, Mr. Langness, doesn’t say is that the promise of money turns heads. Including the DNR’s. The motorized groups have far more representation in the DNR than the DNR’s own field staff, the folks seeing the damages on the ground that the mid-level and St Paul staff (the decision makers) don’t see. TLOC wants to pick up trash. Great! Now who tries to clean up the damage after their machines and them?
It’s no secret that the motorized recreation advocates will always want more and more places in our natural world that challenge man and his machine. So how does one really experience nature from such a vehicle? I have no idea. My own experiences have been hiking, canoeing, photography, hunting, fishing. Grouse hunting, on a brilliant fall day, enjoying crisp air, mingled with the scent of rotting leaves, fragrant balsams, enjoying the sounds of the natural world, taking a nap on a sunny afternoon under a deep blue sky. And soaking it all in.
Of course, we’re concerned and offended. Life is more than instant gratification and destroying everything that matters in the process. Anyone who truly loves and appreciates our natural world should want an environmental review of this project and its impacts, and to look at alternatives where needed.
Dan Wilm, Pequot Lakes, Retired DNR Forester of 34 years
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