ATV'S IN MISSISSIPPI HEADWATERS

The Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing tonight on new rules that would better outline where all terrain vehicle riders could go in Minnesota state forests. Part of the discussion at Wednesday night's meeting will be about forest land around the first 40 miles of the Mississippi River. Sierra Club spokeswoman Lois Norrgard thinks its a bad idea. She said its inappropriate to have motorized recreational trails in the Mississippi Headwaters Forest, that they would be very damaging to soils and wetlands. The DNR plan would allow ATVs on 85 miles of roads and trails in the Headwaters. Norgaard said the area is an amazingly rich ecosystem that should be a treasure the state protects. The meeting in the Hobson Memorial Union at Bemidji State University starts at 6pm. The DNR is accepting written public comments until Wednesday, January 23rd.