Letter about OHV trail…
To the Editor,
The recent article in the October 4 Fillmore County Journal about Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) was an unpaid advertisement in favor of OHVs.
In his one-sided screed Keith Nelson from Virginia, Minn., asserted that hikers, bikers, canoeists, bird watchers and hunters are all “aging out of their sports,” and there are no young people taking up those activities. Um, what? Where are the facts to back up this claim? Or does he “feel” it, so it must be true?
Mr. Nelson must never have been on our Root River Trail. Bikers, hikers and canoeists make up the majority of the tourism revenue in the Root River Valley area. Contrary to what Mr. Nelson would have you believe, these folks spend plenty of tourist dollars on food, drink, and entertainment all along the Root River Trail.
They also bring their families. If you bike or hike the trail on any given summer day, you’ll see families and folks of all ages enjoying the beauty and peace and quiet of nature.
Regular physical activity can help protect from serious diseases such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, mental illness diabetes and arthritis. Biking, hiking and canoeing are all excellent ways to keep in shape and appreciate nature.
OHVs (4 wheelers) are loud, do not require any exercise, damage eco systems and burn fossil fuel – which contributes to global warming. These vehicles must be trailered into the area, which burns additional fossil fuel. The people who gravitate toward this activity do not seem to care that the noise might bother the animals or humans that are impacted by their choice.
I am glad that the Houston city council listened to the objections of the people who actually live in the area and would be affected by these activities.
Glenn Thomas
Lanesboro, Minn.
Karla Bloem says
It would have been great if the City Council had indeed listened to the objections of the people who live here, but they did not. A petition with 400 signatures (a minimum of 59% of the city’s voting population) wasn’t even enough to get the City Council to change their minds about going forward with the project (aside from Councilmember Mathers.)