QUOTE
Trouble on the trails
A proposal to ban all-terrain vehicles from trails beside the headwaters of the Mississippi is pitting riders against environmental advocates and canoeists, and could shift how Minnesota manages public land for recreation.
As snow swirled at Stumphges Rapids campground in Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, flurries began coating a "No Motorized Vehicles" sign yanked from the ground and lying on its side.
Boulders had been set across a trail to block all-terrain vehicles, but two of the rocks had been pulled away. Meanwhile, across the Mississippi River, a deep gouge in the side of a sandy bluff showed where ATVs had climbed the slope repeatedly to reach the top
Winter is setting in, but the scars of last summer remain.
Alarmed about damage from off-road driving in the cradle of the Mississippi, canoeists and environmental advocates are making an extraordinary request: They want Minnesota officials to close a large state forest to ATVs for the first time.
The Headwaters Forest, which contains most of the Mississippi's first 40 miles beyond its source at Lake Itasca, is a pristine canoe route of national importance, they say. But groups representing the state's nearly 250,000 ATV riders, whose ranks have grown 60 percent in the past four years, oppose a closure. The step would set a precedent for keeping them out of other state forests, they say, adding that riders need more trails, not fewer.
The emerging debate over the Headwaters could be a flashpoint in Minnesota's ongoing effort to balance ATV use and environmental protection in millions of acres of state forest.
"It has been, and will continue to be, the most contentious issue we're facing and one of the most important," Gene Merriam, outgoing commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said Friday.
It's a clash similar to many others on public lands across the country that's pitting recreationists out for motorized thrills in the wild against hikers, canoeists and birdwatchers demanding more quiet.
The state has the daunting task of figuring out how the groups can share the woods they all love.
Infant river
The Headwaters Forest is relatively narrow, following the corridor of the fledgling Mississippi as it riffles across rocks and meanders through boreal woods on its way toward Bemidji. Between patches of forest, the river opens unexpectedly into marshes and bogs, where hundreds of acres of cattails and cane grass and wild rice make it difficult to follow the disappearing channel.
"It's the most pristine section of river you can still find in the state, and maybe along the entire Mississippi," said Barry Babcock, a member of the Headwaters Canoe Club who knows the area well. "It's kind of a hidden jewel."
The area's rich wildlife includes wolves, eagles, osprey, goshawks, songbirds, trumpeter swans, owls and a dozen species of ducks, Babcock said. The 45,290-acre Headwaters Forest also has the distinction of sheltering the upper reaches of the nation's longest and most fabled river.
DNR northwest region manager Mike Carroll said the agency realizes the significance of the headwaters for canoeing and other quiet pursuits, but seeks to provide opportunities for all users.
State law requires the DNR to inventory roads and trails in all 58 state forests by the end of 2008, and to decide which should become part of a trail system and which should not.
In plans finalized so far, the agency has approved 386 miles of trails for ATVs in eight of the state's 58 forests, in addition to more than a thousand miles of dirt roads available in those forests.
The DNR rarely closes entire forests to ATVs; it has closed a few in areas that are inaccessible or too small for driving, and one in north-central Minnesota near Brainerd used for decades by horseback riders. Closure of a forest affects ATVs, dirt bikes and off-road trucks, but not snowmobiles on designated routes, according to DNR rules.
Carroll said the agency won't be ready to announce its recommendations for the Mississippi Headwaters Forest until next spring, but has been soliciting early public advice. More than 50 people have written letters so far, and all but one of them favored closing the area to ATVs.
A proposal to ban all-terrain vehicles from trails beside the headwaters of the Mississippi is pitting riders against environmental advocates and canoeists, and could shift how Minnesota manages public land for recreation.
As snow swirled at Stumphges Rapids campground in Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, flurries began coating a "No Motorized Vehicles" sign yanked from the ground and lying on its side.
Boulders had been set across a trail to block all-terrain vehicles, but two of the rocks had been pulled away. Meanwhile, across the Mississippi River, a deep gouge in the side of a sandy bluff showed where ATVs had climbed the slope repeatedly to reach the top
Winter is setting in, but the scars of last summer remain.
Alarmed about damage from off-road driving in the cradle of the Mississippi, canoeists and environmental advocates are making an extraordinary request: They want Minnesota officials to close a large state forest to ATVs for the first time.
The Headwaters Forest, which contains most of the Mississippi's first 40 miles beyond its source at Lake Itasca, is a pristine canoe route of national importance, they say. But groups representing the state's nearly 250,000 ATV riders, whose ranks have grown 60 percent in the past four years, oppose a closure. The step would set a precedent for keeping them out of other state forests, they say, adding that riders need more trails, not fewer.
The emerging debate over the Headwaters could be a flashpoint in Minnesota's ongoing effort to balance ATV use and environmental protection in millions of acres of state forest.
"It has been, and will continue to be, the most contentious issue we're facing and one of the most important," Gene Merriam, outgoing commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said Friday.
It's a clash similar to many others on public lands across the country that's pitting recreationists out for motorized thrills in the wild against hikers, canoeists and birdwatchers demanding more quiet.
The state has the daunting task of figuring out how the groups can share the woods they all love.
Infant river
The Headwaters Forest is relatively narrow, following the corridor of the fledgling Mississippi as it riffles across rocks and meanders through boreal woods on its way toward Bemidji. Between patches of forest, the river opens unexpectedly into marshes and bogs, where hundreds of acres of cattails and cane grass and wild rice make it difficult to follow the disappearing channel.
"It's the most pristine section of river you can still find in the state, and maybe along the entire Mississippi," said Barry Babcock, a member of the Headwaters Canoe Club who knows the area well. "It's kind of a hidden jewel."
The area's rich wildlife includes wolves, eagles, osprey, goshawks, songbirds, trumpeter swans, owls and a dozen species of ducks, Babcock said. The 45,290-acre Headwaters Forest also has the distinction of sheltering the upper reaches of the nation's longest and most fabled river.
DNR northwest region manager Mike Carroll said the agency realizes the significance of the headwaters for canoeing and other quiet pursuits, but seeks to provide opportunities for all users.
State law requires the DNR to inventory roads and trails in all 58 state forests by the end of 2008, and to decide which should become part of a trail system and which should not.
In plans finalized so far, the agency has approved 386 miles of trails for ATVs in eight of the state's 58 forests, in addition to more than a thousand miles of dirt roads available in those forests.
The DNR rarely closes entire forests to ATVs; it has closed a few in areas that are inaccessible or too small for driving, and one in north-central Minnesota near Brainerd used for decades by horseback riders. Closure of a forest affects ATVs, dirt bikes and off-road trucks, but not snowmobiles on designated routes, according to DNR rules.
Carroll said the agency won't be ready to announce its recommendations for the Mississippi Headwaters Forest until next spring, but has been soliciting early public advice. More than 50 people have written letters so far, and all but one of them favored closing the area to ATVs.
Looks like some letter writing is in order.
