Two potentially contentious issues are on the county board’s July 28 meeting agenda—the proposed land exchange between Cook County and the U.S. Forest Service and possible changes to the county’s ATV ordinance. Both public hearings are scheduled for 10 a.m., so there may be some waiting in the commissioners’ room.
The land exchange has been in the works for over a decade. In 2011, the county prioritized a list of properties that the U.S. Forest Service was willing to exchange for county-owned land in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). At that time the county requested properties that could be used for communication towers, for septage disposal or for fire hall expansions, or as gravel pits. When the prioritization was made, it was believed that the property exchanges would take place in the summer of 2013.
However working with the federal government took longer than anticipated. The Forest Service issued its draft decision on the proposed exchange on March 2, 2015 explaining that the Forest Service would benefit from the land exchange because “there are tremendous public recreational, ecological, aesthetic, scientific, cultural and historic values in the lands we will acquire.”
The Forest Service also stated that it would achieve cost savings in special use administration, which would in turn result in “more logical and efficient management.”
The latest rendition of the land exchange sees the county trading 1,910 acres of county-owned property within the BWCAW boundaries for 1,261.89 acres of Forest Service land outside the BWCAW. A list of the lands to be exchanged is available for review at the County Assessor’s Office.
At the June 23, 2015 board meeting, commissioners set a date to accept public comment on the land exchange on Tuesday, July 28 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ room.
Public comments sought at ATV ordinance hearing
On Tuesday, July 14, the county board heard a recommendation for changes to the Cook County all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ordinance. Commissioners Frank Moe and Garry Gamble gave the report on the process undertaken by a Cook County All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Ordinance committee which recommended opening the shoulder and the far right side of the road to ATVs on the Gunflint Trail in two sections.
The two sections under consideration are from the Pine Mountain Road to the South Brule Road (about two miles) and from Lima Grade Road to the Old Gunflint Trail (about two miles).
The recommendation comes with several stipulations, such as additional signage, additional efforts to inform Gunflint Trail motorists to expect ATV traffic, and to review the impact of change in one year. In addition, the Sheriff ’s Office agreed to assist with safety training efforts and include those efforts in that department’s annual report to the county board.
The Cook County ATV Club, several Gunflint Trail business owners and some residents made the request to open the road shoulder/far right side of the road in these two sections to allow ATVers to connect with services at Mid-Gunflint Trail businesses.
Some citizens have expressed concerns about the safety of ATVs on pavement and mixed traffic speeds. The environmental, aesthetic and economic impact of allowing ATVs for this additional four miles is also a concern for some.
As ATV ordinance committee member John Bottger pointed out during the public comment period at the July 21 county board meeting, the committee recommendation was not unanimous, but rather a majority opinion.
Committee members were Commissioners Gamble and Moe, Sheriff Pat Eliasen, 1854 Treaty Authority Conservation Officer Clay Rumph and citizens John Bottger and Rhonda Silence, with input from County Attorney Molly Hicken, County Engineer David Betts, and Land Commissioner Betty Schultz.
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