Mississippi
Headwaters Protection Alliance is a group of concerned
citizens united by our love for the headwaters of the Mississippi
River. We are paddlers, skiers, hikers, birdwatchers, parents,
grandparents, property owners, tourists and some of us
are ATV owners and riders.
We have joined together to urge the State of Minnesota
and Beltrami, Clearwater and Hubbard counties to keep the
public lands in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest
non-motorized.
Designating the forest as closed
means that ATVs and OHVs cannot be used on forest trails.
The state is reviewing its classification for the forest
now. Current state law allows counties to opt out of the
state plan. We believe that the same level of protection
should apply to all public lands in the Mississippi Headwaters
State Forest.
That the Mississippi River and Headwaters State Forest:
- Borders the first segment of the Mississippi River
on both sides from Itasca State Park nearly all the way to
Bemidji.
- Is a narrow corridor which contains the most pristine
stretch of the Mississippi River in Minnesota.
- Is a magnificent, semi-wilderness part of the river,
a hidden treasure alternating from boreal forests to
vast wetlands rich in the history of north central Minnesota.
- Is habitat for trumpeter swans, wolves, fur bearers
and an incredible diversity of waterfowl in its wild
rice lakes, sedge meadows and bog lands.
- Has jack and red pine forests intermingled with wetlands,
making for an amazingly rich ecosystem.
- Supports more than 350 species of animals, mammals
and birds, including nearly all of the endangered, rare
and threatened species listed in Minnesota.
- Contains a dozen vegetative communities representing
nearly every type found in Minnesota.
- Is the ecological foundation of two-thirds of the
state of Minnesota and to nine downstream states.
- Has 95 lakes and ponds within the Forest boundary
and that 8,500 acres of public land are within 1000 feet
of one of these lakes and ponds.
- Has 30,680 acres of public lands within the Mississippi
Headwaters State Forest, of which 8,838 acres are state
land and 21,843 acres are Beltrami (most), Clearwater,
and Hubbard county lands.
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