If you signed our Change.org petition and live in Minnesota you likely have or will receive a "personal" form letter from Representative Ann Lenczewski like the one in the photograph regarding the Minnesota River Valley Trail development project. We thought we would take few sentences to clarify some generalities and inaccuracies from the letter. 1) This was not a "website-generated petition". It was generated by human beings, each of you. The website just substituted for an old-fashioned piece of paper and a clipboard. The people who organized this effort are named Matt, Dennis, Don and Steve. Together we have been working on and riding the Minnesota River Valley trail in it's current natural state for literally decades. We are long-time MORC members and either current or past board members of MORC. We truly appreciate your help with this effort. 2) We have never suggested that there was an intent to pave the current natural single-track trail. The plan currently under development would ADD a new, 10-foot wide paved trail through through an approximately 50' corridor that would need to be cleared of vegetation to construct the trail and make way for heavy equipment. It is true that much of the new trail would have to be built where the natural trail currently is because the corridor is a very narrow one at many points. Right now there actually is no plan for where either trail would be located. The DNR is working on that plan. The thing to remember is that no matter where the actual alignment winds up, building this new paved trail will forever destroy the natural beauty and wonder of this incredibly wild place that has so far defied so-called development. 3) We would appreciate seeing a list with contact information for the "dozens of user groups" who allegedly support building a paved trail. If they existed at one time decades ago when this project started they seem to have gone silent. In fact there are a very few people who still support paving the river bottoms. 4) A paved trail would potentially increase access for those unable or unwilling to explore due to their physical limitations...perceived or otherwise. We hold the position that not every wild place was intended to be developed to be accessible by everyone. This is the reason nobody is trying to pave the Superior Hiking Trail or the Grand Canyon. It's okay for some wild places to remain wild. There are solutions that can increase access for all without needlessly paving the entire length of the river valley. We are going to work towards those solutions. 5) Some portions of the Minnesota Valley Trail (LOCATION) have already been paved. Unfortunately these sections have been predictably flooded since they were opened, and significant amounts of sediment have forced their closure since last spring. There does not appear to be any maintenance plan in place for completed sections of the paved trail to address these recurring flooding issues. Why should we move ahead with creating more miles of paved trail in a floodplain when these obvious maintenance issues have still not been resolved? Steve, Dennis, Don and Matt for #savetheriverbottoms