A two-year study of the effects of illegal ATV, dirt-bike motorcycle and four-wheel drive truck use on Duluth city land was presented to Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson and staff on Thursday. Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation, Natural Resource Research Institute, University of Minnesota – Duluth Environmental Studies Interns and the Superior Hiking Trail Association have been documenting the effects of illegal off-road vehicle use on Duluth’s parks, trails and streams. The cost of restoring damaged trails was also analyzed and an “earned media” model for publicizing enforcement actions to gain better compliance was recommended. In 2004 the Duluth City Council passed and the mayor signed into law, a new ordinance, City Code 45-6.3, making all city land off-limits to ATVs, off-road motorcycles and trucks. (Links to presentation below and news article regarding the City of Duluth's response below.)
Two study areas, Lester Park and Kingsbury Creek were selected for examination. A Cost of Restoration Analysis was performed at eleven sites in the two study areas. Jeff Brown, Executive Director, Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation says “the study found extensive damage to trails in the form of vegetation loss, soil compaction, rutting and erosion of sediment into Duluth streams.” Dan Breneman, coordinator of the Weber Stream Restoration Initiative with Natural Resources Research Institute, one of the collaborators in the two-year study, states “Excessive sediments in trout steams fill in the rock substrates critical for fish spawning beds and as living spaces for aquatic insects. Compliance with existing ordinances that would potentially reduce sediment inputs is clearly important for stream and water quality protection”. Lester River and Amity Creek, both in the Lester Park Study Area, were recently placed on a list of North Shore Streams endangered by sedimentation.
Judy Gibbs, Volunteer Coordinator with the Superior Hiking Trail Association, says “While illegal off-road vehicle use is impairing Duluth streams it is also making trails used for hiking unsafe and impassable and leaving a legacy of accumulating restoration costs for future Duluthians.” Estimated cost to stop erosion and restore safe walking access to ten sites examined is $81,000. Participants involved in the study found pervasive illegal off-road vehicle use city-wide and note that this estimate at selected sites represents a small fraction of accumulating city-wide costs of restoration.
To improve compliance with Duluth’s ordinance prohibiting off-road vehicle use on city land, the collaborative of groups recommends that the city better publicize enforcement actions. Gibbs notes that “seventeen tickets were issued one weekend in West Duluth but nobody knew about it”. “Reporting these actions in the media would provide a warning to violators that consequences for illegal use are likely”, says Gibbs. Violators can receive fines up to $1000. Barriers and signage at damage sites have been ineffective in preventing illegal use and damage.
Off-Road Vehicle Damage in Duluth (low resolution version of slide presentation) : MRR, Natural Resource Research Institute, University of Minnesota - Duluth Interns and Superior Hiking Trail Association present results of two-year study to Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson and Staff 6/29/06
Duluth to beef up ATV enforcement, Duluth News Tribune 6/30/06
Off-road Vehicle Effects Checklist
Cost of Restoration Analysis form
To receive a copy of MRR's two-year study and power point presentation; join MRR's citizen trail watch patrol of Duluth's parks and trails and receive training from Duluth police; or to replicate the Duluth study of unwanted off-road vehicle effects in your community contact MRR.
