Above: Grand Portage Reservation Tribal Council Vice-Chair, John Morrin, offered a blessing before the re-dedication ceremony at the Stone Bridge on Friday, August 10, 2018. Left: Following the re-dedication ceremony community members take a minute to visit (and pose for a few photos) as they have done for generations. In his remarks during the ceremony, tribal chairman Norman Deschampe (pictured fifth from left) talked about how important the bridge is for the community—both as a social and transportation link, and the importance of preserving this bridge for their kids and grandkids to enjoy as well. From left are LeAnna Deschampe, Rosie Novitsky, Melvin “Bun” Gagnon, Mary Ann Gagnon, Norman Deschampe, Bobby Deschampe, Jennifer Sorenson, Dana Logan, and park ranger Elizabeth Gagnon Drost. Photos courtesy of Grand Portage National Monument
I have been a Cook County resident for almost 40 years and have serious concerns about the B2B.
Let me be clear. I am not against Off Road Vehicles.
I am not some “ fringe lunatic,” or a “radical limousine liberal” or a “fear mongering liberal” as some locals have labeled non-B2B supporters in their petition. I am a plain old concerned citizen and my husband had a body shop in town for years.
All Off Road Vehicles can already access every single road in the B2B proposal in a dispersed way that is sustainable.
I am dismayed that this proposal is bringing unnecessary conflict to our community, when there is absolutely no need for it!
This proposal to promote, advertise and direct interstate OHV traffic to our back roads would bring more negatives to our county than positives. I really doubt it’s just 12-15 extra vehicles per week. Who specifically and more importantly, how did they calculate that number? But whatever the actual number, this would just be the beginning. It is important for locals and for the area that we get this right and really review the pros and cons.
I don’t think many locals even consider what this project would take away from us over time, not to mention the hidden costs of law enforcement search and rescue and litter that no one talks about.
If off roaders want to come up here and tour on their own, these roads are already open to them. There is no need for a specific designated route. It’s only basic logic that this could result in road club packs and car caravans.
I am for the closed loop model that has worked so successfully in the Gilbert and Appleton OHV parks. This gives the riders the challenge they want, keeps them and everyone else safe because it can be monitored and the vehicles can be rinsed down at the end, helping prevent the spread of invasives.
I don’t think a lot of locals realize what the impacts of this route proposal would be for us. If you have a favorite fishing hole or a favorite berrying spot, you could find the roads to them chewed up sooner rather than later. This is exactly what happened in Sturgeon Lake.
We know the side roads are of great interest to the off roaders because that is the experience they are looking for, rough, unmaintained terrain. These are the exact roads that locals use for partridge hunting, deer hunting and berry picking.
The DNR consultants’ mention of actual spurs and challenge loops to be created in a few years as Phase Two of this route proposal was reported in an MPR news article at the very beginning of this roll out process.
Neither the DNR nor the MN4WDA has spelled out exactly how much money they have to put towards road repair.
The finances are all vague.
They just say the MN4WDA has funds to repair the roads, which of course acknowledges there will be damage. How much do they have for the entire route and what portion will be allocated to our county annually? How will they monitor, maintain and repair roads along the 900-mile border to-border route? They say they would not add any extra personnel to any of the county agencies.
There is one thing we definitely do know and that is that our own county and U.S. Forest Service organizations do not have enough funds to currently maintain our roads. Some U.S. Forest Service roads on this very proposal have needed repair for years. Funds are so stretched even significant damage hasn’t been able to be repaired.
My own County Road 44 needs to be sprayed with calcium chloride to keep down the dust. We can’t keep our windows open because there is so much dust from the gravel road. If we do, we get a layer of grime on all the furniture by the end of the day. I called our commissioner about the spraying and was told they ran out of money to do our road this year.
So if we can’t keep up the roads for the locals and our regular daily use, how are we going to handle any additional road repair work due to a targeted increase in interstate recreational OHV use?
I am hoping the people of Cook County will realize they would be losing much more than they would be gaining if this proposal goes through. Please continue to encourage our commissioners with calls and emails to think carefully about the people who live here and how we can continue to use our back roads for the business of our daily lives and also enjoy them as we do now.
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