Minnesota anti-snorkle bill died ( In May )

bri

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
6,178
152
US
"Any one here from Minnesota that may know the reasoning behind the bill in the first place."

Not all of us are from MN, enlighten us.
 

Pugsly

Banned
Apr 20, 2004
382
0
www.roverautomotive.com
Eric N. said:
Seems like a waste of time and money to me to try and restrict a snorkle height to no more then 6 inches higher then stock.

This seems really, really stupid. Are the tree huggers concerned a bird might get sucked into the intake? :D
 

Leslie

Well-known member
Apr 28, 2004
3,473
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Kingsport TN
Key word was: "wetlands".

Wetlands in many areas were drained to make room for development. Now, the big push is to protect all existing wetlands as habitat, and build as much new wetlands as possible. On most strip mine sites in the Appalachians, you can now find places where sediment retention ponds have been converted into wetlands. They provide habitat for a large variety of species, many of which are endangered.

With that said, I'd like to point out: while there was some limited wetlands within the Appalachians, like beaver pond fringe, stream floodplains, etc., there really wasn't a broad extent of wetlands present: most of the wetlands were coastal. However, even the Corps of Engineers can't convince people to tear out whole cities on the beach and put wetlands back. So, they're sticking these pocket wetlands all over the mountains, trying to recover the square footage of wetlands that there once was. Sounds like an environmental choice gone arwy to me.

To the north, in Minnesota, the topography is dominated by post-glacial kettle lakes. As crustal rebound continues after the contintental glaciation meltoff, these kettles are natually draining. People get a picture in their head that the way things 50 years ago is the way it is supposed to always be, and that's just not true. So, the environmentalists are attempting to prevent folks with 4x4s from driving through wetlands in order to protect something that is naturally doomed anyway.

I have to admit, I've seen an excavator bury itself trying to get a backhoe out of a wetland bog (the backhoe having buried itself trying to get out). It's one thing to have a snorkel on a vehicle if you have to make a deep stream crossing, or are avoiding dust ingestion in a desert, but anyone who thinks that they can get into a wetlands that is deep enough to require a snorkel and easily drive back out may be in for a surprise.


FWIW....



-L
 

Jake

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
1,994
0
64
Oklahoma City, OK
Having lived in MN for a few years before being lucky enough to move to TX, this bill does not surprise me in the least! Mn is close to being a socialist state, what with the greenies, the anti-everything college students (dont park a Disco around U of M campus: it might be disfigured when you get back. the bastards broke off my antenna and keyed a sticker about 9-11), ELF, aging 60s hippies masquerading as professors and 60's radicals. Most everything there is either against the law or so heavily restricted as to make it unentertaining. Hunting, fishing, off-roading (ATV's are unholy creatures there) are all looked down upon by the PC crowd. Look, this is a state that went into mourning when that little socialist senator Paul Wellstone died. Candlelight vigils, election signs up for more than a year and "What Would Paul Do?" bumper stickers were the norm. Remember, this is the land of Hubert Humphries and Walter Mondale: if they could the PCs would ban off road vehicles. What a land of hell.
 

SilverJ

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
189
4
Colorado
close to being a socialist state, what with the greenies, the anti-everything college students ..., ELF, aging 60s hippies masquerading as professors and 60's radicals.


Ha! Sounds like Boulder!!! :D

...except for the fact there are so many Discos around town.
 
F

flippedrover

Guest
That trucks with raised intakes will try and drive through the wetlands and damage them. But as Leslie says in his post anyone that's ever done that and gotten stuck knows better.