DNR Commissioner Holsten gives nod to Mississippi Headwaters road and trail plan (February 14, 2008)
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner Mark Holsten will classify DNR-managed state forest lands within the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest as in Commissioner’s Orders to be published Feb. 25. The“limited” to motorized vehicles Orders, which designate forest roads and trails for specific types of uses, will also classify scattered DNR-managed lands within Southwest Beltrami
County as “limited.”
“The final plan charts a new course for this state forest,” said Holsten. “Thoughtful consideration was given to all of the public comments received regarding the draft plan. Specific route designations will be more restrictive.”
Under the “limited” classification framework, the general rule is that forest roads are open to all highway-licensed and off-highway vehicles, which include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), off-highwaymotorcycles (OHMs) and off-road vehicles (ORVs) such as Jeeps and four-wheel drive trucks.
Forest trails, however, are closed to all motorized uses, unless posted open for specified types of motorized travel. The classification does not affect the use of snowmobiles in the area.
Other notable elements of the Mississippi Headwaters plan:
· almost 15,000 acres of land adjacent to the Mississippi River will be designated as an
Area with Limitations where the hunting and trapping exemptions for ATV use do not apply
· all Motor vehicles must use only designated and signed roads and trails in the Area with Limitations on DNR and Hubbard County lands
· approximately 3.8 miles are designated hunter walking trails
· a proposed ATV/OHM trail crossing of the Mississippi River at Coffee Pot Landing was removed.
The Commissioner’s Orders mark the culmination of 1½ years of cooperative planning among the natural resource management departments from DNR and Beltrami, Clearwater and Hubbard counties. The Commissioner’s Orders will take effect on Dec. 31, 2008, after field teams have had an opportunity to erect the necessary signs.
“We worked with the counties and were able to make changes in response to public comments,” said Mike Carroll, DNR Northwest Region director. “We believe the plan strikes a balance between quality motorized and non-motorized opportunities while protecting the Mississippi River.”
Field teams will begin signing trails this spring, according to Carroll. “Of course, the hard work of monitoring and enforcement will continue,” Carroll said. “This will require the ongoing cooperation and support of our partners. We will have to adapt our management practices to deal with changing recreational use patterns and their
increasing demands on our forests.”
The Commissioner’s Orders, planning documents and maps of designated forest roads will be available on the DNR Web site at
www.dnr.gov on Feb. 25.
