Both Sides Now: Another side of the OHV story
By Mary Lou Aurell
The off highway vehicle (OHV) story continues. As OHVers ravaging Minnesota’s state forests have drawn public and media attention, environmentalists and conservationists are trying to stop this degradation.
A northern Minnesota grassroots groups called JackPine Coalition formed in January 2002 to create a united front against the “invasion” of OHVs in their lives and on public lands. The category of OHV includes ATVs, 4x4 “mudder” trucks and dirt bikes.
Minnesota had become a major battleground in the fight against OHV recreation on public lands. This has become one of the most contentious issues in state politics,” said coalition member Barry Babcock.
The coalition has struggled against special interest groups and with northern legislators to pass laws to curb the OHV free-for-all in Minnesota forests.
Currently about 200,000 ATVs are registered in the state. Many others are not.
Opinions vary as to the percentage of OHVers who damage forests; some say 10%, others 75%.
They ride in Minnesota’s 58 state forests that encompass 4.5 million acres. “About 75% of these lie north of U.S. Highway 2,” Babcock said. Most are open to OHVs.
Among these who echo the JackPine Coalition’s concerns are members of the Society of American Foresters, Minnesota Chapter, and DNR Conservation officers.
A Minnesota Conservation officer, writing to a state senator in April, 2003, said that a “fair amount of Minnesota has been turned into a scene that looks like Hell."
“I have seen wetlands turned into black bowls of mud soup, no longer able to filter or purify the water that runs through them,” he wrote. He also talked about the “horrendous damage occurring in road ditches.” Even though recent legislation allows ATV drivers to ride on the shoulders of roads when ditches are particularly “sensitive” in the spring, the law does not forbid ditch riding during these times nor suggests penalties if it happens.
The Minnesota Legislature’s efforts to protect forest lands and the DNR’s plans to manage OHV use in them have a long, convoluted and complicated history. Forest lands have been in constant flux of being opened and closed, then opened again.
On the last day of the 1999 legislative session, two northern legislators added an amendment to the DNR Omnibus Bill that opened up all forest lands to ATV travel, with some exceptions. “The go anywhere, do anything mentality again prevailed,” Babcock said. Many forests were badly damaged within three years.
Those who wanted to protect them were losing the battle.
In an attempt at damage control, the 2002 Legislature established a grant-in-aid program to assist counties and OHV clubs to construct new trails that might curtail off-trail riding.
However, a year later the Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report that found that the DNR and local governments provided little oversight for the grant-in-aid program. In addition, the report said that the DNR’s efforts to plan an OHV trail system were inadequate; and that the state had consistently devoted relatively less enforcement time to OHVs than to snowmobiles even though OHVs have a greater impact on the environment.
Babcock said that none of the recommendations in this report have been addressed.
The report’s reference to trail plans might relate to trails in the Pine River State Forest and Spider Lake Recreational Area where millions of dollars in damage occurred and the state spent hundreds of thousands to restore forest land. Also, the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest that the federal government suggested become a wild scenic area is now crossed with trails in areas that were once closed.
In 2005 Sens. John Marty and Carrie Ruud introduced a bill that called for stiffer penalties for OHV users who damaged public and private lands. Among these were increased fines, placing violations on driving records and seizure of the vehicles of repeat offenders.
A coalition of environmental groups worked for passage of this bill.
According to a League of Women Voters Minnesota’s (LWVM) Capitol Letter, legislative leaders called the bill “too punitive” and said that ATVs were not a threat to Minnesota forests, lakes, wetlands and trout streams. One offered a bill that would give more money to OHV clubs to educate and to police themselves. They already receive a percentage of the state’s gas tax for education, trail maintenance and other needs. The Office of the Legislative Auditor said they may get too much.
The Marty/Ruud Bill passed, but was significantly altered.
However, the damage accounts in the bill remained, allowing money to be taken from the dedicated OHV gas accounts to repair damage caused by OHVs.
Also, civil suits could be brought against OHVers who severely damage wetlands.
LWVM applauded the efforts of Sen. Satveer Chaudhary and a 2008 StarTribune series showing that OHVs continued to damage public lands that led the 2009 Legislature to increase penalties for those who intentionally damage wetlands to gross misdemeanors and the seizure of repeat offenders’ vehicles.
However, the penalties do not cover damage that occurs in other parts of state forests.
“There is a place for ATV trails on our public lands, but we are at present incapable of providing adequate enforcement and maintenance for this sport,” Babcock said.
“Our right to use is not a right to abuse,” he emphasized.
READER COMMENTS:
"Great article, Mary Lou, about a serious problem." -Margaret Haapoja
"The one thing that no one mentioned in this article is the Noise! Trying
to canoe down a river with ATV traffic on both sides is not going to be
a enjoyable experience. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean
you can't hear them. It is time to say, "No" to unlimited ATV travel." -Rob Bullis
The off highway vehicle (OHV) story continues. As OHVers ravaging Minnesota’s state forests have drawn public and media attention, environmentalists and conservationists are trying to stop this degradation.A northern Minnesota grassroots groups called JackPine Coalition formed in January 2002 to create a united front against the “invasion” of OHVs in their lives and on public lands. The category of OHV includes ATVs, 4x4 “mudder” trucks and dirt bikes.
Minnesota had become a major battleground in the fight against OHV recreation on public lands. This has become one of the most contentious issues in state politics,” said coalition member Barry Babcock.
The coalition has struggled against special interest groups and with northern legislators to pass laws to curb the OHV free-for-all in Minnesota forests.
Currently about 200,000 ATVs are registered in the state. Many others are not.
Opinions vary as to the percentage of OHVers who damage forests; some say 10%, others 75%.
They ride in Minnesota’s 58 state forests that encompass 4.5 million acres. “About 75% of these lie north of U.S. Highway 2,” Babcock said. Most are open to OHVs.
Among these who echo the JackPine Coalition’s concerns are members of the Society of American Foresters, Minnesota Chapter, and DNR Conservation officers.
A Minnesota Conservation officer, writing to a state senator in April, 2003, said that a “fair amount of Minnesota has been turned into a scene that looks like Hell."
“I have seen wetlands turned into black bowls of mud soup, no longer able to filter or purify the water that runs through them,” he wrote. He also talked about the “horrendous damage occurring in road ditches.” Even though recent legislation allows ATV drivers to ride on the shoulders of roads when ditches are particularly “sensitive” in the spring, the law does not forbid ditch riding during these times nor suggests penalties if it happens.
The Minnesota Legislature’s efforts to protect forest lands and the DNR’s plans to manage OHV use in them have a long, convoluted and complicated history. Forest lands have been in constant flux of being opened and closed, then opened again.
On the last day of the 1999 legislative session, two northern legislators added an amendment to the DNR Omnibus Bill that opened up all forest lands to ATV travel, with some exceptions. “The go anywhere, do anything mentality again prevailed,” Babcock said. Many forests were badly damaged within three years.
Those who wanted to protect them were losing the battle.
In an attempt at damage control, the 2002 Legislature established a grant-in-aid program to assist counties and OHV clubs to construct new trails that might curtail off-trail riding.
However, a year later the Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report that found that the DNR and local governments provided little oversight for the grant-in-aid program. In addition, the report said that the DNR’s efforts to plan an OHV trail system were inadequate; and that the state had consistently devoted relatively less enforcement time to OHVs than to snowmobiles even though OHVs have a greater impact on the environment.
Babcock said that none of the recommendations in this report have been addressed.
The report’s reference to trail plans might relate to trails in the Pine River State Forest and Spider Lake Recreational Area where millions of dollars in damage occurred and the state spent hundreds of thousands to restore forest land. Also, the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest that the federal government suggested become a wild scenic area is now crossed with trails in areas that were once closed.
In 2005 Sens. John Marty and Carrie Ruud introduced a bill that called for stiffer penalties for OHV users who damaged public and private lands. Among these were increased fines, placing violations on driving records and seizure of the vehicles of repeat offenders.
A coalition of environmental groups worked for passage of this bill.
According to a League of Women Voters Minnesota’s (LWVM) Capitol Letter, legislative leaders called the bill “too punitive” and said that ATVs were not a threat to Minnesota forests, lakes, wetlands and trout streams. One offered a bill that would give more money to OHV clubs to educate and to police themselves. They already receive a percentage of the state’s gas tax for education, trail maintenance and other needs. The Office of the Legislative Auditor said they may get too much.
The Marty/Ruud Bill passed, but was significantly altered.
However, the damage accounts in the bill remained, allowing money to be taken from the dedicated OHV gas accounts to repair damage caused by OHVs.
Also, civil suits could be brought against OHVers who severely damage wetlands.
LWVM applauded the efforts of Sen. Satveer Chaudhary and a 2008 StarTribune series showing that OHVs continued to damage public lands that led the 2009 Legislature to increase penalties for those who intentionally damage wetlands to gross misdemeanors and the seizure of repeat offenders’ vehicles.
However, the penalties do not cover damage that occurs in other parts of state forests.
“There is a place for ATV trails on our public lands, but we are at present incapable of providing adequate enforcement and maintenance for this sport,” Babcock said.
“Our right to use is not a right to abuse,” he emphasized.
READER COMMENTS:
"Great article, Mary Lou, about a serious problem." -Margaret Haapoja
"The one thing that no one mentioned in this article is the Noise! Trying
to canoe down a river with ATV traffic on both sides is not going to be
a enjoyable experience. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean
you can't hear them. It is time to say, "No" to unlimited ATV travel." -Rob Bullis
posted by Katie Carter at
6:36 AM
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