Our Outdoors

I am glad to see that Senator Norm Coleman has introduced a bill that would authorize borrowing $400 million to purchase wetlands. As a Minnesota outdoors man, I believe that our two greatest assets are our children, and our outdoors. I do not wish it to happen that some day, if you drive from the Twin Cities to Duluth, you will see nothing but roof tops and vinyl siding. According to the Minnesota Republican Platform, it reads, "No net gain for DNR lands." This is where I stray from the party. I have lived in Houston TX and the sprawl is outrageous. Minnesota has more land open for public hunting than Texas. I believe that any public lands purchased is an investment in the future. For our own enjoyment, and for drawing out state tourist dollars. In Texas, people who can afford it, lease great amounts of ranch land. This can run in the ten's of thousands of dollars. The outdoors of Minnesota belong to all of us. The poor and the wealthy. One trend I disagree with is here in the Twin Cities, it seems as if every piece of park lands has to have paved walkways. I believe it is necessary to preserve places where we still have to step over a mossy old log, or get our feet wet in a marshland.