Minnesota State Forests:
DNR working to designate 20,000 miles of
GAs-tax funded ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and
four-wheel Drive truck Routes without Standards

MRR WORKS TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS,
DNR WORKS TO SUSPEND THEM

In 1999 MRR released a landmark, evidentiary report Off-Highway Vehicles in Minnesota documenting the unwanted effects of ATVs, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive trucks and the policies and practices that that increase these effects. In 2003 an equally landmark Office of the Legisaltive Auditors Report: State Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation, corroborated the recommendations in MRR's 1999 report. Recommendations from these two landmark report have established what we now refer to as Five Standards for Protecting Minnesota from the Unwanted Effects of Motorized Recreation. These standards: completion of Environmental Assessment Worksheets to select acceptable routes, a"designated routes" only policy requiring operators to stay on selected routes, adequate enforcement to keep them there, funds to repair the accumulating damage and oversight and accountability make sure these objectives are accomplished. Sadly, because our DNR has been unable to meet these standards, some established in law, the DNR recommened and the legislature agreed, to "suspend" them.

As directed by the 2003 Minnesota legislature, the Minnestoa Department of Natural Resources is in the process of inventorying all existing, user-made and other motorized routes among the state's 57 state forests. The DNR, everyone expected, was to determine where ATVs, dirt-bike motorcycles and four-wheel drive trucks can and can not go using signage to "open" or "close" routes.

MRR opposes gas-tax funded routes currently being "designated" in Minnesota's state forests wihout standards . Most Minnesotans will be surprized to hear that these ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle, and four-wheel drive truck routes are being "designated" by the DNR without public and environmental review, enforcement budgets and will be bulldozed and "maintained" by publicly funded clubs without oversight or accountability. While ostensibly, there appears a struggle over access to land, what ATV clubs really want is access to public gas-tax funds.

LOOK WHATS' MISSING FROM THE DNR'S GAS-TAX FUNDED PLAN FOR MN STATE FORESTS

NO PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
While requiring machines to stay on "designated routes" is one of Five MRR Standards for Protecting Minnesota, the #1 step in selecting such routes is completion of Environmental Assessment Worksheets to determine what routes might be acceptable. The Environmental Assessment Worksheet process gives citizens real power in the courts should citizens choose to oppose one of the DNR's poorly planned proposals. Despite the #1 recommedation of a 2003 legislative audit that Environmental Assessment Worksheets be completed, the Minnesota legislature, on the DNR's recommendation, "suspended" this one and only right of the people of Minnesota to intervene in the designation of ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck routes in our state forests.

NO ENFORCEMENT
The basis of any legitimate plan to restrict ATVs, dirt-bike motorcycles and four-wheel dirve trucks to "designated routes", even if routes are environmentally and publicly acceptable, is enforcement. Yet motorized recreation enforcement is a non-priority. While the state maintains over 600 state troopers to patrol our highways, we have fewer than 150 Conservation Officers (who work out of their homes, 24/7) to patrol the entire state of Minnesota. The 2003 legislative audit of the DNR's motorized rec program found the agency does an "inadequate" job of providing for ATV enforcement. In the Cloquet Valley State Forest, where 880 miles of routes are proposed, no enforcement budget exists.

NO Damage Inventory or Restoration Plan
Despite several years of DNR work in the Cloquet Valley State Forest and repeated data requests from MRR, the DNR does no have an inventory of accumulated ATV damage to the Cloquet Valley State Forest or a plan for restoring damaged land. A major finding of the 2003 legislative audit of the DNR's ATV program is that the agency has done an inadequate job of assessing costs associated with its plans for a statewide system of routes and scramble areas. In Duluth, MRR recently completed a two-year study with the Natural Resource Research Institutute, University of Minnesota, City of Duluth and restoration firm, Prairie Restorations finding significant costs of restoration. The DNR has not produced any such data for the Cloquet Valley State Forest in which it proposes 800 of ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck routes.

NO OVERSIGHT OR ACCOUNTABILITY
"Construction" - bulldozing and "maintenance" of "designated" ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck routes in Minnsota's state forests will be funded by the public through local motorized clubs. The public pays $15 million at the pump annually to promote motorized recreation through a "grant-in-aid" system to local clubs. The 2003 legislative audit finds that grant violations, conflicts of interest, lack of permission from landowners, damage to public and private property without accountability are routine among publicly funded snowmobile and ATV clubs. Sadly, instead of implementing legislative audit recommendations, the DNR has created a new system that requires even less accountability from gas-tax funded clubs and local units of government. Turning Minnesota's state forests over to ATV, dirt-bike motorycle, and four-wheel drive truck clubs is simply a bad idea.

"DESIGNATION" PROVIDES ATV CLUBS ACCESS TO GAS-TAX FUNDS
In the Minnesota DNR's own words: The actual effect of designation will be to make [gas-tax] funds from the DNR... to local club[s]... 2001 Moosewalk/Mooserun EAW, MNDNR

On January 1, 2000 the Minnesota DNR made over 95% of Minnesota's state forest land "open" to ATVs, dirt-bike motorycles and four-wheel drive trucks. Today Minnesota operators of these machine continue to enjoy open access not found in any surrounding state. While off-road vehicle riders enjoy absolute freedom without responsiblity, the $15 million question is "Why are local ATV clubs now saying they want "designated routes"? The answer is in the DNR's own words above.

MRR is Minnesota's Agency of Accountability

To hold publicly funded clubs and their local government fiscal agents accountable MRR is launching a campaign ofCitizen Audits to reform or abolish public funding of motorized recreation. Becuase the ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck routes in your local state forest will soon be funded by you through your local unit of government, you still do have an opportunity to intervene on your forest's behalf, despite the DNR and legislature's attempts to lock you out.

Learn more about abuse of gas-tax funding for motorized recreation: MRR Case Studies for Reform