One Moment, Please… Conditions of the Root River State Bike Trail

On Thursday, August 6, I published a video on the Fillmore County Journal Facebook page addressing the conditions of trail maintenance for the Root River State Bike Trail.  I presented this as a public service announcement relating to the overgrown noxious weeds, specifically wild parsnip that can be dangerous to those who may not realize they should avoid making contact.

Since then, my phone has been ringing off the hook. I’ve been communicating with representatives from the Department of Natural Resources. Many people in our community have expressed their disappointment with trail maintenance as well, stopping to chat at the post office, bank, gas station, grocery store and on the street.

Farmers Aren’t Allowed

One local farmer commented on our Facebook post saying, “when we have contacted the DNR about trees down along the trail near our farm they told us that if we mowed the edge along the trail or trimmed trees we would be trespassing, even though we were volunteering to help with maintenance. And a lot of these overgrown box elder trees are falling on our pasture fences.”  I ran into another farmer who owns land along the trail and he shared the same dilemma he faced with the DNR.  He was willing to help with maintenance, but the DNR was not very welcoming. 

Farmers are willing to help maintain the trail alongside their property and the DNR won’t allow them to help with trail maintenance.  Interesting. 

Volunteers?

Some people have suggested that we should organize groups of volunteers to help maintain the trail system.  This has been compared to the Adopt-A-Highway program that exists throughout Minnesota’s highway system.

If we have an Adopt-A-Trail program, there’s quite a bit more involved than an Adopt-A-Highway program. With Adopt-A-Highway, volunteers pick up trash and clean ditches along the road.  Asking the public to get out and deal with noxious weeds and clear the trail of down trees is quite a bit different and could be quite dangerous. Not really comparable to picking up trash in the ditches.

As one caller pointed out to me, the reality is that taxpayers are already paying the DNR to maintain the trails. They have the lawn mowers, chainsaws and heavy duty equipment to maintain the trail.  And, they have the training as full-time employees of the DNR to get the job done.

Not a Budget Issue

While some social media commenters speculate that diminished trail maintenance could be the result of budget cuts or DNR staff fighting wildfires up in northern Minnesota, I have connected with a lot of people on these points.

From what I was told, none of the DNR Parks and Trails staff in our area were sent up to northern Minnesota to fight wildfires.

Regarding the DNR budget with respect to Parks and Trails, the numbers have only increased for each biennial budget dating back over the past decade. 

Here are the Park and Trails biennial budget figures from 2018 to 2027 – spanning 10 years.

• 2018-2019: $250.4 million, 560 FTEs

• 2020-2021: $278.7 million, 578 FTEs

• 2022-2023: $275.0 million, 511 FTEs

• 2024-2025: $427 million (additional funding bump from $17 billion state surplus), 578 FTEs

• 2026-2027: $347.6 million, 612 FTEs

So, we’ve had an increase of nearly $100 million from 2018 to 2027 and 52 more employees from 560 to 612 FTEs.

This is not a budget issue.

What’s Good For the Goose …

… is good for the gander – as they say.

Every year, as we approach spring, every city, township and county government publishes notices in this newspaper to notify property owners of expectations relating to noxious weeds.  Allowing noxious weeds to get out of control is a continuous concern throughout our region, and our communities take this responsibility very seriously.

So, why isn’t the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails division held to the same standard?

The DNR’s Response

In an email response, Minnesota DNR Parks and Trails Region 3 Manager Laurel Quill shared the following:

“It’s always our goal to provide a positive experience for everyone who uses the trails. Due to multiple priorities and limited staffing, users may have seen some changes to mowing on the Root River State Trail this season.

The trail and river were heavily impacted by July’s flooding, and our staff devoted a significant amount of time to cleanup work on both the trail and the river itself. This pulled them away from regular work for several weeks.

  For additional context, the DNR team that maintains the Root River State Bike Trail is understaffed, and we’re working to fill critical vacancies. This team is responsible for six counties in southeast Minnesota, which includes state trails, public water accesses, forest recreation areas, state water trails, and more. Our staff works incredibly hard, and they’re doing their best to keep these sites safe, accessible, and well maintained while responding to changing conditions and needs.

While the public can expect to see future mowing on the Root River State Trail, it’s likely to be less often than in the past as we work to cover needs across all six counties.”

Maintaining Our Assets

My wife and I have lived in Fountain, Minnesota, since May 2009.

We live one block from the start of the Root River State Bike Trail in Fountain. We have used the trail on a regular basis over the past 17 years, biking, walking and running with our family and friends.

Over the years, I have interacted with Craig Blommer (DNR Parks and Trails supervisor, now retired) for this region while he was in that supervisory role. He was outstanding with communication whenever we needed to reach him. The trail maintenance was incredible.

We, as taxpayers, have increased funding and staffing over the past decade. No budget cuts. Something doesn’t make sense.

I know when Craig Blommer was running the show, the Root River State Bike Trail was never like this regardless of weather events. And, we’ve had our share of weather events over the years, as many residents can attest.

If we don’t take this seriously, our trail system will become more of a liability than an asset.