Letter of the day: ATV enthusiasts are dictating DNR policy

ATV enthusiasts are dictating DNR policy The "Renegade Riders" series has performed a public service, updating how all-terrain vehicles are abusing state lands. I am aghast at the way the Department of Natural Resources is turning over state forests to the ATV crowd. We need an education program for anyone given a citation for misuse of state land, and we need stronger penalties for those found to be abusing state property. The sheer ignorance of regulations on the part of those few ATV users who are stopped by DNR officers is appalling. The Sept. 16 article makes it clear that Minnesota is going too far to accommodate a single style of recreation at the expense of all other forms of outdoor recreation. Something is wrong when Wisconsin allows ATVs to use only 180 miles of trails on DNR lands, while Minnesota may end up with 7,700 miles of trails. And much of the enforcement and education is being handed over to ATV clubs. Commissioner Mark Holsten has completely reordered the DNR's priorities away from habitat conservation and silent sports and is allowing noisy, polluting machines to become the predominant form of recreation in every season of the year (ATVs and snowmobiles). We need the Legislature to put a brake on the DNR's reckless ATV policy in the coming session. If something is not done soon, many of our beautiful state forests and wetlands will be ruined for decades to come, and many simply will never recover. VAL CUNNINGHAM, ST. PAUL; NATURE WRITER AND EDITOR