Emergency Request regarding Off Roaders

Off Road Vehicles

We are hoping the language for "designated trails" in the House Environment and Natural Resources Omnibus Finance Bill (HF 3911) does not get stripped out of the bill by an amendment on a House Floor vote. The House floor vote could be as soon as 4/29, and MnPLC is working to get alerts out to Representatives before then. 

COPY AND PASTE & If you can, Reword, to send to your REPRESENTATIVE

Subject : Designated Trails Provision in HF 3911

Dear Representative _____, 

As your constituent, I support common-sense provisions and funding in the House Environment and Natural Resources Omnibus Finance Bill (HF 3911) regarding “designated trails”, authored by Rep. Pursell, and I urge you to support it as well. Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) recreation is growing and we need to balance that growth in a way that protects sensitive habitat, wildlife and pristine waters. This provision clarifies that OHVs can only access designated and posted trails in state forests.

It is crucial to have the designated trails language in HF3911. There are over half a million OHV machines in the state, the state continues an extensive multi-million dollar recreational motorized trail systems expansion, and there are three DNR statewide master plan systems being implemented for ATVs, Off Road Vehicles and Off Highway Motorcycles.

The proposed language is good for trail users and it’s good for the environment. All legal trails remain open, no hunter exemptions are affected--including for deer hunting and trapping--and only public lands in state forests are addressed.  It unifies state policy north and south of State Highway 2 for OHV users, helps orient trail users, and better assists DNR conservation officers carry out their duties. Furthermore, by keeping users on trails, this proposal reduces water/habitat degradation and fragmentation, minimizes damage to sensitive areas and prevents the spread of invasive species deep into our forests.

Thank you for your time and consideration for including this provision in the final Environment and Natural Resources Omnibus Finance Bill.

Sincerely,

Zero Waste

From Action Network: “As we enter the final month of the Minnesota legislative session, we need your help advocating for strong zero waste policies.

Join us at 5pm on Tuesday, April 23rd, to learn more about zero waste policies still alive in the Minnesota legislature. This includes efforts to support organics programs for multi-family housing, food waste diversion, and elimination of the state's ban on bag bans. We also need your support to ensure false solutions to our packaging waste crisis are not pushed through the legislature, but rather policies that prioritize reduction.

Hope to see you next Tuesday and please share with your networks!”

Register Here

Help protect the boundary waters

Please attend this event at the White Bear Lake Library at 6:30pm to learn all about our treasured Boundary Waters, and what's being done to preserve this wilderness.

If you can't make it to WBL - please join us via Zoom. You will need to PREREGISTER HERE.

Announcement

More endorsement news is coming soon. Meanwhile, we are sad to announce that Veda Kanitz resigned from the endorsement committee, in order to avoid an sense of conflict of interest since she is now a candidate. We are of course very happy that Veda is a Candidate running for House in House District 57A! Here is her web site.