DNR releases off-road plan for Cloquet Valley State Forest

DULUTH - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources today announced its final rules on where off-highway vehicles can ride in the Cloquet Valley State Forest near Duluth. The plan will allow OHVs on all routes unless they are posted closed, the agency's so-called managed designation.

The decision is a victory for OHV enthusiasts who wanted continued open access to the forest. But it's a blow to many residents and environmental groups who wanted tighter controls on ATVs and other off-roaders.

Members of the Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest had hoped for a DNR plan that would have required specific trails to be marked as open before they could be used by ATVs and other OHVs, the DNR's so-called limited designation. DNR officials said they picked the managed plan because the agency controls only about 15 percent of the land within the forest and that it matched the rules expected to be adopted by St. Louis County, which manages 85 percent of the land within the forest boundaries.

The debate spurred heated public hearings and hundreds of letters to the DNR.

"We've worked closely with St. Louis County to create a plan that provides consistent, careful management of resources while still allowing important recreational access," said DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten in a statement. "Consistency is critical to public understanding, compliance and enforcement of the new route designations."

Bob Krepps, St. Louis County land commissioner, said the county hasn't yet made any official classification for the tax-forfeited county lands that are within the state forest but likely now will adopt the DNR plan.

"We've worked closely with the state and have a coordinated effort and, unless the county board votes otherwise, we will adopt the state's managed classification for the county lands in that area," Krepps said.

Krepps defended the classification as a balance between those who oppose ATVs and those that want to ride anywhere.

"Before now, we really had no control over where they [OHVs] rode. This brings us to a point on a line. I'm not sure if it's a halfway point or where the user groups want it, but it's a point to work from," Krepps said. "It may take adjustments down the road. But it brings us toward some management of this use, which right now is a free-for-all."

The new plan will take effect on or before the end of 2009. But Krepps said it will be difficult to develop mapping and management plans and then pay for enforcement of the new rules considering state and county budget shortfalls.

The DNR Tuesday said the plan will:

- Allow continued use of motor vehicles on some 350 miles of designated state and county forest roads and on more than 400 miles of nondesignated access routes (open to all motor uses) located within managed portions of the forest.

-Close approximately 188 miles of current trails that the agency feels are environmentally unsustainable for OHVs.

-Reclassify nearly 19,000 acres as closed to off-highway vehicles and develop those areas for walking hunters and other non-motorized forest users not using motorized vehicles.

-Protect the Cloquet River through various means including closing routes that have lead to illegal river crossings.

-Designate about 30 miles of hunter walking and ski trails within the state forest -Designate about seven miles of OHV trails outside of the forest on scattered state lands in St. Louis County, but will not include new OHV trials inside the state forest.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/36905174.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUbP:P:Q_V_MPQLa7PYDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

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