Case Studies of the Unwanted Effects of Public Funding of Motorized Recreation

There is a well documented history of publicly funded snowmobile and ATV clubs causing significant and irreparable damage to our environment and quality of life. Following is just a sampling of cases in which public gas-tax revenue was used to damage wetlands, streams and forests, trespass on private property and threaten adjacent recreational facilities.

2006 ---- Public Funds Routinely Disbursed in Violation of Grant Agreements: Responding to the March 20, 2006 revelation in the Duluth News Tribune that "a publicly funded motorcycle group cut miles of trails through a state forest without permits...", Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation’s Executive Director Jeff Brown says “DNR and local government fiscal agents routinely disburse public funds for motorized recreation without wetland, water-crossing and private property permits.  On March 22, 2004 Laurie Martinson, DNR Trails and Waterways Director, quoted above, personally signed off on a $53,100 grant for an illegal dirt-bike motorcycle track adjacent to the Mesabi Bikeway already under construction and without easements in violation of requirements in the state’s publicly funded motorized recreation grant-in-aid program, contradicting Martinson’s claims that the illegal trail funding in the Paul Bunyan State Forest is isolated or unique. After MRR submitted a petition for completion of an Environmental Assessment Worksheet on the illegal project St. Louis County violated Minnesota Environmental Quality Board Rules by granting easement during the public review process.  St. Louis County, which also routinely disburses public funds for motorized recreation without required wetland, water-crossing and property owner permits, knowingly violated these rules after Minnesota Quality Board officials made a warning phone call to the St. Louis County attorney’s office.

2004 ---- Public trail funds pay $40,000 salary and gambling debts:  Publicly Funded Voyageur Trail Society, Inc. Snowmobile Club, a conglomerate of several publicly funded clubs combined by club Trail Administrator Rep. David Dill, was discovered by MRR and the Minnesota State Auditor to be using snowmobile grooming funds to pay off the local American Legion in a pull-tab gambling turf war in the region.  Rep. David Dill, was found to be receiving up to $40,000 salary as club’s Trail Administrator, though the club reported having no employees.  His family was receiving $440 in monthly Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance paid for by the publicly funded club. (Trail Administrators of publicly funded clubs often not volunteers and take a significant cut from public trail funds to complete forms and attend meetings.  Other club members also are paid to bulldoze and chainsaw motorized routes.)  While Rep. Dill’s snowmobile club was taking $80,000 annually in public funds to groom trails, only $8,370 was used for this intended purpose, according to the club’s 2001 IRS 990.  $40,000 in public funds annually was being diverted to the Crane Lake Snowmobile club, referred to club documents as “CS Snow”, without accounting.  Despite the above findings, Voyageur Trail Society continues to receive public funding.  MRR complaints to Minnesota State Auditor, letter to DNR Commissioner and evidence (large document may require a minute or two to download).  As a result of MRR’s fact finding, the City of Orr fired its city clerk in retaliation for providing requested data, as required by law, about the Voyageur Trail Society.  In March, 2006 the City of Orr settled a whistleblower lawsuit with the x-city clerk for $98,000.

2004 ---- Publicly Funded Gilbert Off-Highway Vehicle Scramble Area - A Failed Experiment at Containment:  Attached find photos of damage in City of Gilbert and along “designated” ATV and dirt-bike motorcycle track that connects the City of Gilbert campground and the Gilbert Scramble Area.  Note that operators have denuded land, damaged wetlands, vandalized barrier posts and trespassed on private land the entire length of this “designated route”.

2004 ----- Publicly Funded Dirt-bike Motorcycle Track Proposed and illegal construction begun 20” from Mesabi Bikeway.  Despite a telephone call from the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board to the St. Louis County Attorney, St. Louis Co. violated Minnesota Environmental Quality Board rules by granting funds for the dirt-bike motorcycle track after a citizen petition initiated public and environmental review process.  Rules prohibit any “final government action” (includes “funding”) on projects undergoing public review.  Construction of the dirt-bike motorcycle track was begun on St. Louis County land without easements before MRR intervened with a petition for environmental review to successfully stop the project. The Mesabi Bikeway is the nation’s longest bikeway for which over $7 million has been spent.  150,000 visitors seeking peace and quiet and fresh air enjoyed the trail in 2203.  Public funding for additional ATV and dirt-bike motorcycle use next to the Mesabi Trail in other locations continues to threaten the integrity of the trail. 

2004 ---- Public Funds Disbursed In Violation Of Grant Agreements, Largest County Witholds Public Data :  Despite repeated requests by MRR for public data, St. Louis County refused to provide access to easements and land owner lists required in the county’s grant agreements with the DNR.   After inspecting one motorized recreation grant agreement itemizing the county’s responsibilities, as fiscal agent to motorized clubs, to obtain such permission and documents, a high level official exclaimed “We don’t do any of this!”.  MRR data requests and St. Louis County refusals attached.

2003 ---- Publicly Funded Snowmobile Club Submits False Data To Obtain Funds, Trespass:  Publicly Funded Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club, refusing to accept growing public opposition to a proposed permanent cross-town state snowmobile trail on private property submits erroneous  “Property Owner List” to its fiscal agent, St. Louis County.  Written permission from and lists of all property owners who have granted easements for a motorized route to cross their land are explicitly required before snowmobile and ATV clubs can receive public funding.  (See attached DNR grant agreement with local government fiscal agents.  Also, according to the 2003 Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor’s Program Evaluation Report:  State Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation (large document), written permission from property owners was most often missing from the files of fiscal agents who are disbursing public funds in violation of explicit grant agreements.)  The Nightrider’s list was discovered by MRR to contain significant false information, including the names of residents who never gave permission, many who long ago withdrew their permission and several who are deceased.   .  Attached is a photo of unauthorized use of City of Hermantown front-end loader by publicly funded Nightriders Snowmobile Club bulldozing new trail in wetlands without written permission from property owner near Hermantown and Ugstad Roads, Hermantown, December 2, 2003.  Nightriders Snowmobile Club, suffering no consequences for the above grant violations and trespass, continues to receive public funding.

2003 ---- Taxation without representation.  Despite the Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s #1 Recommendation that Environmental Assessment Worksheets be completed for proposed ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck  routes, a 2003 law suspended citizen’s one and only legal right to environmental review of such publicly funded routes in state forests, .  While Minnesotans pay $15 million annually for motorized recreation, they have been disenfranchised from key decisions regarding the use of those public funds.

2003 ---- Secrecy, Backroom Deals And More Taxation Without Representation:  After six months of documented private conversations with the North Shore ATV Club and without public notification or discussion, the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution, off the agenda, to convert the North Shore State Trail to ATV use.  The publicly funded DNR study calls for $875,000 for 279 culverts (p. 19),190 "treadway alterations", 11.9 miles of fill (p. 20) and the flattening of over 100 hills (pp. 26-63). DNR "ATV Use on North Shore State Trail Feasibility Study" (large document). Outdoor writer Sam Cook:  “State Trail Should Remain Closed to ATVs”

2003 ---- Conflicts Of Interest   Publicly Funded Forest Riders ATV Club Treasurer discovered to be Town Clerk of Clover Township, the club’s fiscal agent, a conflict of interest.  From the above linked 2003 Legislative Audit (p. 117): “...We are highlighting the questionable relationship between the township and the club.  The town clerk who signs off on the clubs’ financial records as part of the grant process is also the ATV club’s secretary/bookkeeper.  She has been overseeing and signing off on her own work.  However, generally accepted criteria for auditing a program’s internal controls call for one person to prepare the books and another person to review and sign off on them.  In addition, we came across records showing that the Forest Riders ATV club was receiving compensation from the grant-in-aid program for the secretary/bookkeeper to attend Clover Township board meetings on behalf of the club while she was also being paid by the township to be at the same meetings as town clerk..  On top of all this, an official with the ATV club told us that three of the township’s four other officers were at one time members of the club but have since left the blue because of conflict of interest complaints.”  No consequences have occurred.  At last review the town clerk and several members of her family continue to be on the payroll of the publicly funded Forest Riders ATV club and related snowmobile club.

2003 ---- Publicly Funded Destruction Of Wetlands And Forests:  Publicly Funded Silver Trail Riders Snowmobile and ATV Club bulldozes North Shore State Trail 50” wide, leaving “spoil piles” in riparian zones of adjacent trout streams and a road through a wetland killing surrounding forest.  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds 30 “unauthorized impacts” on DNR’s Moosewalk/Mooserun ATV Route, Lake County. In violation of Minnesota environmental review rules, club continued to bulldoze additional routes after MRR submitted petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet.  Silver Trail Riders Club, suffering no consequences for the above grant, environmental review and wetlands violations, continues to receive public funding.   In fact, the club was funded to fill an additional 6.3 acres wetlands for the Moosewalk/Mooserun ATV route.  Photos of damage to Finland State Forest.

2001 ---- Publicly Funded DNR proposed ATV route through wetlands and beaver pond, Taft Trail, S. St. Louis Co..  Five minute video  (not yet, but soon to be available along with other video in MRR’s Wreckreation Hall of Shame) shows DNR proposed Taft Trail ATV route in south St. Louis County, almost entirely under water and concludes with ATVers fording the Cloquet River rather than use adjacent snowmobile bridge.  The same publicly funded DNR planning process that proposed this route also recommended a scramble area on the Superior Hiking Trail and four-wheel drive truck challenge area adjacent to the Boundary Waters Wilderness.  Because of MRR’s work, the later proposals, in Cook County, were withdrawn. Proposed DNR Taft ATV Trail through beaver pond.

2001 ---- Publicly Funded Reservoir Riders Bulldozes Illegal Road on County Land, Jacob’s Lake Grant-in-aid Snowmobile Trail, St. Louis Co:  The Reservoir Riders snowmobile club has a history of using grant-in-aid funds to perform trail work without and/or in violation of county permits that continues unchecked to result in extensive damage to forests and wetlands on county land.  Without consequence, illegal trail work performed by the club and funded by the DNR’s Snowmobile Trails Assistance Program, continued to occur.  In attached “before and after” photos one can see the original grant-in-aid snowmobile trail and the bulldozed trail exceeding the permitted 20” width.

Last edit: 3/20/06

© 2006, Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation,

218-740-3175, info@MnResponsibleRec.org www.MnResponsibleRec.org,

Expect mitigation not promotion of the unwanted effects of motorized recreation.

Expect peace and quiet...