Jeff Brown, Executive Director of Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation, co-founded MRR in Duluth in 1996 with neighbors working together to protect the city's Lakewalk - the most-used walking and bicycling trail in Northeast Minnesota, Canal Park and backyards from a proposed crosstown state snowmobile.
Brown grew up roaming the Southwest Michigan sand dunes of Lake Michigan where he witnessed the accumulating damage being caused by four-wheel drive vehicles, which would converge on the dunes from around the region. On weekly walks in the Grande Marais dunes with his father (who was both an avid fisherman and auto racing enthusiast) Brown learned that there is a place for everything when everything is in its place. As a teenager Brown was active in two local organizations that have since protected this stretch of Michigan dunes. “Today there are trees growing in those trails and peace and quiet has long been restored to this special place” says Brown. “This early experience taught me that each one of us must and can protect the special places in our lives.”
Brown holds a M.A. in Education from San Francisco State Universit and a B.S. in Sociology from Michigan State University. He is a lifelong backpacker, birdwatcher, and cross-country bicyclist, canoeist, kayaker, musician, photographer, educator and organizer.
In his volunteer time Brown has served on numerous transportation commiittees including; Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Bikeways Plan, Duluth Pedestrian Plan, Twenty-year Duluth-Superior Transportation Plan, Trunk Highway 61 Corridor Management Plan, Northeast Area Transportation Partnership. Brown continues to date as one of the founding members of the Northeast Minnesota Enhancement Task Force.
