Category Archives: Threats to wildlife

OPPOSING ATV Weight Limit Increase to 3,000 lbs

Threats to wildlife

OPPOSING ATV Weight Limit Increase to 3,000 lbs.-HF 1763 & SF 1713

The ATV weight increase to 3,000 lbs. is back in the legislature and we need to oppose it as strongly as we did last year !

Proponents are saying again that this weight increase is needed for the battery for electric ATVs. HOWEVER, the legislation is not written for electric ATVs. It is written for ANY ATV! ATVs that weigh more than a Toyota Corolla at 2995 lbs. could access a trail if this passes.

PLEASE WRITE TO THE BELOW LISTS of SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES.

The Bills are HF 1763 and SF 1713. Easy to follow instructions below.

There is a sample email below with some lines you can include. Of course, please add your own concerns if you like !
It can be brief– the important thing is to send the emails NOW!

You’ll send two separate emails, one to Representatives and one to Senators. Include your own legislators if they are not listed here.
All emails are listed below- you just need to copy & paste. EASY. Be sure to sign your name and address.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to protect our forests, wild and aquatic life !

HOUSE

SUBJECT: PLEASE OPPOSE HF 1763- ATV WEIGHT LIMIT INCREASE

Dear Chair Hansen, Vice Chair Jordan and Honorable Representatives,

PLEASE OPPOSE HF 1763 to increase the ATV weight limit to 3,000 lbs.

(Add your own thoughts here)

Send to:
rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.gov
rep.sydney.jordan@house.mn.gov
rep.jeff.brand@house.mn.gov
rep.heather.edelson@house.mn.gov
rep.leigh.finke@house.mn.gov
rep.peter.fischer@house.mn.gov
rep.fue.lee@house.mn.gov
rep.kristi.pursell@house.mn. gov
rep.samantha.vang@house.mn.gov
rep.liz.olson@house.mn.gov

SENATE

Subject: PLEASE OPPOSE SF 1713 to Increase the ATV WEIGHT LIMIT

Dear Chair Hawj, Vice Chair McEwen and Honorable Senators,

Please OPPOSE SF 1713 to increase the ATV weight limit to 3,000 lbs.

(Add your thoughts here)

Send to:
sen.foung.hawj@senate.mn
sen.jennifer.mcewen@senate.mn
sen.kelly.morrison@senate.mn
sen.mary.kunesh@senate.mn
sen.grant.hauschild@senate.mn
sen. john.hoffman@senate.mn

Plus, send notes to your own Representative and Senator!

SAMPLE LETTER:

In May 2022 the public strongly REJECTED this weight increase in comments to this Star
Tribune article on the weight increase. Every comment out of 215 comments was negative! IN
comparison to the average 15 responses to articles, this was a significant negative reaction by
the public to an increase in ATV weight limits.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-lawmakers-consider-allowing-bigger-heavier-atvs/600171377/

IF this Bill passes, ANY 3,000 lb gas combustion vehicle can access our public lands. A Toyota
Corolla weighs this much! The Bill is not written for electric vehicles.
Polaris states that consumers want enclosed cabs for air conditioning and heating systems and
to avoid the dust. A cab increases the vehicle weight load which is why Polaris also wants the
weight increase—for new product.

Increased weight increases soil erosion, sedimentation run off and dust pollution to our waters.
Sensitive, cold water species such as our state fish the walleye and brook trout need cold, clear
waters for survival.

Sincerely,

Your Name Here

Bald Eagles and Lead

Environmental Poisons, Threats to wildlife,

There is a new study out from Cornell concerning bald eagles and lead.  The short version: Hunters kill land mammals using lead shot, field dress the prey, and the remains are scavenged by bears, badgers, and everybody else including Bald Eagles. The study by Brenda Hanley and others, published in Wildlife Management, links the lead shot ingested by scavenging eagles to stunted growth.  Stunted, the eagles’ physiological buffer against disease or periods of food stress is reduced.

This lead poisoning of wildlife by hunters’ activity probably applies to all of the scavengers of lead ammo using hunters’ waste, but in this study, only eagles were addressed.

Krysten Schuler, one of the study’s authors, says, “Hopefully, this report will add information that compels hunters, as conservationists, to think about their ammunition choices.  Even though the population seems like it’s recovered, some perturbation could come along that could cause eagles to decline again.”

A press release from Cornell is here, and the original study is here.

Lead is a poison at any level, and we continue to put it in our environment, affecting other animals, as well as humans.  If you think this should be addressed, please bring this resolution to your precinct caucuses in order to give us (lead free) ammunition to help compel our legislators to address lead.  If you are reading this after February 1st, 2022, you can still contact your legislators in the Minnesota House and Senate and encourage them to get the lead out!

(The rest of our 2022 resolutions are here.)