Dear Editor,

Minnesotans have long valued our outdoor heritage.  From hunting to hiking, camping or fishing, open spaces define what it is to be Minnesotan.  Unfortunately, one city in Anoka County is depriving landowners from preserving open spaces for future generations by denying them the right to sell their land to the DNR.  The people are willing sellers for their land to be included in the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area (WMA), located within the City of Columbus.  Not only am I concerned about the protection of open space in the metro, but of people’s right to do what they reasonably desire with their own property.

I didn't have a grandpa to show me the outdoors.  And for new immigrants, like my parents, outdoor recreation was the last thing on their minds.  We went camping once a year or so, but survival in a new country was their priority.  So when I got my Firearm Safety Certificate in the 8th grade, my dad--a USDA veterinarian--got really excited.  It reminded him of hunting snow geese and partridge with his four brothers in the canola fields at their family farm, in India, when he was a kid.  Seeing my new-found interest, dad ran out one Saturday and bought a shotgun for me, my brother and himself with money I'm pretty sure he didn't have.  We jumped into the white, Reliant K car station wagon with red vinyl seats and drove north to find a place to hunt for the first time.  He had asked his coworkers who wore hairnets, helmets, and bloody gloves along the meat processing line, where a good place might be.  They told him about a good place not far from where we lived in Anoka County.

That place was Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area. 

I still remember that walk my brother, dad, and I took along the border of the refuge.  We had no idea how to hunt, but I still can't forget that day.  We didn't fire a shot, but I recall we had fun.  And why?  I think because something new happened:  A tradition - a Minnesota tradition - a family tradition.  That outdoor tradition for our family was born in Carlos Avery WMA. 

I grew up in Anoka County and still live there. Carlos Avery was the closest place to hunt anywhere around our home, and still is.   Since that first day hunting, I've gone there with friends to hunt or just hike.  I even brought girlfriends on dates there.  I've brought my new family, especially step-daughter Hannah, to help train our puppy to hunt.  I wonder how many other families started their outdoor tradition at Carlos Avery.  I bet a lot of folks in the metro.  More importantly, how many more traditions will be started in future generations?  Future generations, like me, may not have a grandpa to take them outdoors. 

Today Carlos Avery is threatened.  Threatened by people who for some reason need to live right on its border.  Perhaps because they think no one will build in their backyard for the very reason it is protected.  Maybe they want to experience what many out-state people already have--the ability to walk out their back door and hunt.  Or maybe some people think local control is more important to protect than our outdoor traditions.  What I know is housing developments along WMA's mean complaints, and complaints mean restrictions, and restrictions will ultimately mean prohibition of Minnesota's time honored values and outdoor heritage.

Many people are surprised to learn that you must have approval of your county board to sell land to the DNR for preservation. I have offered a small exception in state law to protect Carlos Avery.  It's simple:  If someone along the border of Carlos Avery wants to voluntarily sell their land to the DNR, they should be allowed.  Why is this concept difficult? 

What is the worst that will happen to the city of Columbus and Anoka County under my provision? Landowners will have to be treated fairly.  So why is this wrong?  Shouldn’t one of the reasons we are elected be to solve injustice?  How many legislators voted for the Eminent Domain bill, to preserve people's property rights against local government?  Is it not a state interest to protect, preserve, and enhance our natural resources and wildlife habitat?  Can I ask what good buying any new WMA will do if the right to its use is destroyed by encroaching development?  I can't for the life of me understand why we're having such difficulty agreeing.  At the root of it all is a willing seller and a willing buyer!   What right does any government have to interfere? 

Is Anoka County short of development?  Did you know Anoka is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation?  The City of Columbus just inaugurated a new race track and sports a large Gander Mountain.  So why is there desperation for tax base at any expense?  Can’t Columbus see what treasure lies in its midst?  Is there honestly no where else to build a house in the city of Columbus, that we finally say, "to hell" with this precious place?  A place that has provided so much of Minnesota's outdoor heritage to so many countless families. And if Columbus simply must develop new housing on the border of Carlos Avery, why doesn’t Columbus just buy these properties itself instead of blocking someone else’s sale?

The truth is these properties cannot be developed.  They are in flood plains, shoreland protection zones, wetlands, or all three.  One landowner paid $18.00 in property taxes, perfect for more open space. 

The Steinke property in particular would provide valuable access to Howard Lake for duck hunters and anglers.  This means more business for Gander Mountain and other nearby businesses.  So what is there to be gained, except some concocted power struggle between a city and the DNR?  When a law is abused, it should be changed.  This is a state law requiring local approval of a sale regarding a state WMA, so we as state legislators have a direct interest.  The change is narrowly drafted to apply only where the current law has been abused – in my home county of Anoka.

Many grandparents reading this may empathize with my dad.  He is a grandpa to my son, Arjun, who just turned four.  I bought him his first pair of camouflage jammies at Gander Mountain when he was just a month old.  Arjun has joined me at almost every duck rally, sportsman show, and Game Fair that I've been to.  He caught his first fish last summer in his dad's boat.  Now, my dad wants to carry on our new family tradition, and give Arjun what he couldn't give his own sons that day in Carlos Avery--a grandpa with whom to enjoy Minnesota’s great outdoors!

I implore citizens reading this to contact their legislator, and help me protect this special place.

Sincerely,

Satveer Chaudhary

State Senator