DNR to let Minn. county open road in refuge

After years of legal wrangling, the Minnesota DNR will allow Kittson County to open a road through a wildlife refuge.

The DNR and Kittson County have been sparring over a road through the Beaches Lake wildlife management area for more than five years.

The county wanted to open a trail to ATV traffic, but the DNR said the trail was not a legal road.

DNR Wildlife Section Chief Dennis Simon said a court case last year clarified that the trails were not legal roads.

"Now that we have some of those answers we can really move forward with satisfying both the needs of the citizens up there and also the needs of the department and the citizens of Minnesota to protect this really unique landscape," he said.

The DNR will allow the county to open an eight-mile trail across the wildlife management area. Simon said the trail will be open in time for the weekend start of the deer hunting season.

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