A short section of ATV trail was given another fiveyear permit by a unanimous vote of the St. Louis County Board on Tuesday.
Prospector ATV Club members filled the Duluth board room with people wearing orange hats to support the permit.
St. Louis County land director Jason Meyer explained the issue to the board. He said the current permit had expired after five years and that Prospector ATV Club had asked to have it renewed.
The trail connects two county roads, Bear Head State Park Road and Trygg Road. The short cut-across trail uses a section of former state highway managed by the county.
Meyer said Eagles Nest Township had voiced opposition to the permit.
“The two parties have met but an alternative route hasn’t been agreed upon,” said Meyer.
He said the board would consider a resolution to approve another five-year permit for the cut-across trail and ask the DNR to update its feasibility analysis on allowing ATV use on the Taconite Trail, which would largely bypass the county roads in the township.
Several township members have opposed ATV use on the Taconite Trail because they may hear them through the woods at their homes.
Deputy County Administrator Julie Marinucci explained the new Pyrite OHV Campground is adjacent to the township.
She said alternate routes proposed to the north cross through sensitive areas and would require multiple highway crossings and create safety concerns.
Speakers included Eagles Nest resident Rob Matson, who spoke in favor of the cut-across trail, saying, “Allowing the existing trail will allow activity to continue and ample opportunity to investigate the Taconite Trail.”
He said Eagles Nest Township is not an island but part of a connected system and asked that ti look to build bridges with adjacent townships instead of being a roadblock.
Eagles Nest resident Steve Groteboer, the head of the club’s signage committee, said the cut-across trail could still be used without the permit but the signs would have to come down.
“If the signs come down, it will be pandemonium in Eagles Nest,” said Groteboer. “You will have ATVs going willy-nilly trying to figure out how to get through Eagle’s Nest.
“Reality is, everybody’s going to be trying to get through Eagles Nest, no matter what we do, they’re going to be coming through because these roads are open.
“I sincerely hope you give some consideration to keeping this little quarter-mile artery open, and let’s get the Taconite open. That is absolutely the low-hanging fruit on this thing. The Taconite is perfect and it’s already there. End of story.”
William Messerich of Eagles Nest spoke in favor of the trail and said he works with ATVers and non-profits to do rides to benefit veterans.
He said the Eagles Nest board has held secret meetings.
“Eagles Nest doesn’t follow the rules they just do what they want,” said Messerich “They hired a consultant to stop UTVs period using my taxpayer dollars.”
He said the trail helps businesses in Ely and Tower.
Eagles Nest resident Wren Graham opposed the trail, saying she was concerned about the safety of people using the roads and the township’s quietude.
She said the roads are crowded with dogs and runners and that there are no retail businesses in Eagles Nest.
Graham said she opposed using the Taconite Trail due to Bear Head State Park which she said has 85 places to stay compared to 24 at the new ATV campground.
Eagles Nest supervisor Jackie Monahan-Jounek said her issue is the roads the ATVs are allowed to drive on run through a residential neighborhood.
“There are clustered large neighborhoods,” said Monahan- Jounek She said ATVs are very annoying and “we just happen to sit between some communities, and the path of least resistance is at our expense.”
She said the trail can be moved but houses can’t be moved.
Eagles Nest resident Michele Yeadon said, “We value the quiet and solitude but we also enjoy our ATVs and the trail is vital to connect Ely and Tower together.”
She said a different route would be more ideal but until that is achieved the cutacross trail is needed.
Ron Potter, who lives just outside the township, is the trail administrator for the Prospector ATV Club.
He said Eagles Nest chose not to participate in the trail planning process in 2013.
“At that time, Eagles Nest did not agree to be part of the process,” said Potter. “We had two sets of public meetings in Babbitt, Ely and Tower, at none of those meetings did I see someone from Eagles Nest Township there.
“In 2019, the township formed the committee to look at the ATVs but as Mike (Banovetz) had mentioned, that was more to stop the effort. So that didn’t matter.
“And then the following year, they invited me out of the committee to look at other options. And that was a very wet season. Bugs were horrendous, but I spent three months of my life out there, south and around from the woods, trying to find options that they wanted us to look at.
But when it came to the town board, they didn’t even consider any options. I’m done working from the township, so I’m trying to find a solution, but I would certainly help the county if they wanted to work on something.
Township resident Bob Larson said he came back to the area after 22 years in the service, retiring as a disabled veteran.
He said the BWCA rule changes required he and his wife to find other recreation options which include riding ATVs.
“If they open the Taconite Trail that would eliminate all the knobby treaded tires that ATVs have,” said Larson.
Duane Gustafson, age 82, said he has had property in the township since before the road went all the way in.
He said it doesn’t make sense for ATVs to drive 4.5 miles of blacktop to get to the cut-across trail when the Taconite Trail could be used.
“Somebody’s got to come to their right senses here,” said Gustafson.
Mike Banovetz of Winton said he has attended numerous Eagles Nest Township meetings and found people there to be hostile toward ATVers.
“It’s more like a mob scene,” said Banovetz.
Commissioner Paul Mc-Donald pointed out at one time the Taconite option was acceptable to the town board.
No one filed for two town board positions in the November election.
