As part of our campaign to reform or abolish public funding of motorized recreation, Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation is conducting citizen audits of publicly funded snowmobile and ATV clubs and their local government sponsors. Minnesotans pay $15 million dollars annually at the gas pump for more, often unwanted, motorized recreation. A 2003 Minnesota Office of the Legisltative Auditor's program evaluation report State Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation, called for by MRR, found that publicly funded clubs are tresspassing on private and public property, damaging forests and wetlands without accountablity. As the state's agency of accountability, MRR is launching citizen audits of publicly funded snowmobile and ATV clubs statewide to expose the myth of volunteerism - club Trail Administrators and members are paid to bulldoze, attend public meetings and fill out forms - and to expose routine abuses of public funds, conflicts of interest and trespass on and damage to public and private property. See MRR's Call to Action for citizen audits statewide to reform or abolish public funding of motorized recreation.
Citizen Audit of Snowmobile and ATV Clubs Sponsored by St. Louis County
MRR has chosen the state's largest county, in fact our nation's largest county east of the Mississippi River, as the focus of our first citizen audit of publicly funded motorized recreation. Look for raw and summary data on this page as we continue to analyze and report data on this page.
Initial Findings: Trespass established county's publicly funded snowmobile routes
St. Louis County provided $223,320 in public funding to ten snowmobile clubs in fiscal year 2006. Summary of pubilcly funded snowmobile clubs in St. Louis County.
All snowmobile and ATV clubs that receive public funds and their local government sponsors are required to have written permission from property owners for all land crossed by their respective routes before any funds are disbursed. Of the thirteen snowmobile routes sponsored and publicly funded by St. Louis Count and audited by MRR, only two routes appear to have any written permission from private property owners. The 2003 legislative audit found that written permission from property owners is most often missing from the files of clubs and local units of government. A veteran land manager with the St. Louis County Land Department noted that most of the county's snowmobile routes were established through trespass. (See MRR's Easement Education to learn how to close unwanted motorized routes on your property.)
Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club
Initial Findings: Club lacks written permission from property owners and is pushing unwanted ATV routes
Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club received $24,000 in fiscal year 2006. The club's Trail Administrator the person who receives and disburses public funds to club members , Greg McDonald, received $7219.92 in your tax-dollars. Note that club-affiliated DeLyle Pankratz, with the Iron Range Resources Board "reviews" many if not all of St. Louis County's proposals for publicly funded motorized recreation. Complete written permission from property owners was not found in county files related to Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club which means public funds are being disbursed to this club- and nine others- in violation of grant-in-aid agreements between St. Louis County and the state. Grant agreements explicitly require written permission, deeds, leases, or easements for all public and private property crossed by publicly funded snowmobile and ATV routes.
Below are links to sample documents related to Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club:
FY 2006 Minnesota Snowmobile Trail Assistance Program Application
Supplemental Program Application and Request for Reimbursement
11/05 - 4/06 Requests for Reimbursement
Snowmobile club pushing unwanted ATV routes in Cloquet Valley State Forest Many snowmobile clubs, like the Pequaywan Area Trailblazers, are also pursuing public funds for ATV routes.
8/23/05 Island Lake Loop ATV Route public funding grant application submitted by Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club
8/24/05 Another North Shore ATV Loop proposal from Ron Sluka and John Knutsen, North Shore ATV Club and Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club officials
North Shore ATV Club officials, Ron Sluka, President, Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers and John Knutsen, Board Member, Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers listed as principals in 70 Mile ATV/Dirt-bike Motorcycle Route Proposal
880 miles of "designated" ATV routes in Cloquet Valley State Forest being pushed by Ron Sluka and John Knutsen, North Shore ATV Club and Pequaywan Area Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club officials opens the flow of public funds to the North Shore ATV Club with not public and environmental review, enforcement, damage repair or accountability.
Help MRR reform or abolish public funding of motorized recreation!
Auditing publicly funded snowmobile and ATV clubs and their local government sponsors begins with Data Practices Requests for public data. St. Louis County recently charged MRR over $500 to obtain documents that should be freely available. While over $5 milliion in public funds flows annually to clubs, whether it snows or not, the public is forced to pay excessively to see what we are not getting.
MRR needs your financial assistance to reform or abolish motorized recreation in Minnesota.
Make a contribution right now to MRR!
Leave a legacy of quiet places & healthy trails & waterways for future generations!
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Volunteer to help conduct MRR'sCitizen Audit of St. Louis County or to initial an audit of local governments and clubs in your area.
Watch this page in the coming days and weeks for more findings from
MRR's Citizen Audits of Public Funding of Motorized Recreation in St. Louis County and around the state.
