Northwest Minnesota Motorized Trail Advocates Meet

Motorized trail advocates, club leaders, agency representatives and others recently met in McIntosh, Minnesota to discuss collaboration opportunities under Legacy amendment funding. The Greater Minnesota Regional Development Commission’s District 2 Planning Committee convened the meeting as a part of a GMRPTC strategic initiative to identify and develop key unmet outdoor recreation needs in the region.

More than 20 people from across the district and state participated in the introductory meeting. “Participants spent time getting to know one another, sharing their challenges in building and maintaining a variety of trails, and understanding just how Legacy funding might help the system,” said Joe Czapiewski, System Plan Coordinator for the GMRPTC.

Next steps will include forming a task force to explore the extent of the motorized trail system in northwest Minnesota and build consensus on what might be priorities for Legacy investment.

“The Legacy Amendment was passed by Minnesotans in part to support the very type of facilities many of our local groups are trying to build,” said Czapiewski. “By determining which trails have the best potential for regional impact, we can invest those dollars in a way that will improve the entire system for everyone.”
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The Commission is responsible for system planning and providing recommendations to the Legislature for grants funded by the Parks and Trails Legacy fund to cities and counties outside the seven-county metropolitan area for designated parks and trails of regional significance.