SF 1245 Isn’t Dead — And Minnesota OHV Riders Need to Wake Up
There’s a quiet assumption spreading through the Minnesota OHV community right now: that SF 1245 is gone. Done. Not a problem anymore.
It’s not true — and the complacency could cost us everything.
What SF 1245 Is
Senate File 1245 was introduced earlier this year by Minnesota Senate Environment Committee Chair Foung Hawj. On the surface it looks like an environmental protection bill. In practice, it’s one of the most sweeping threats to OHV and motorized recreation access in Minnesota’s history.
If passed, SF 1245 would:
- Allow just 50 county residents (or 150 metro-area signatories) to petition the DNR to close any trail or road in a state forest
- Ban all trail crossings of waterways — including frozen ones
- Prohibit trails within 200 feet of any water body, with no exception
- Block new trail construction, reroutes, or expansions entirely
- Open the door to endless litigation against existing trails based on environmental claims, even when the DNR disagrees
Minnesota has 4.2 million acres of state forest land on the table. And those aren’t just OHV trails — they’re access points for hunting, fishing, camping, and everything else we do out there.
“But Didn’t It Get Killed?”
No. It got laid over in committee — which is not the same thing.
Laid over means it was set aside for the session. It does not mean it’s dead. Bills that are laid over carry forward. They can be reintroduced with existing momentum when the next legislative session opens. The committee chair who introduced it still chairs the committee.
The fight isn’t over. It’s just on pause.
Why This Matters Now
Here’s the thing about legislative battles: the time between sessions is when they’re won or lost. Right now, while the bill is dormant, is exactly when we need to be organizing, educating, and making sure our elected officials hear from us before they head back to St. Paul.
If we wait until the bill is moving again, we’re already behind.
The federal government just rolled back 50 years of OHV restrictions at the national level. At the same time, Minnesota was trying to layer on some of the most restrictive trail access rules in the country. That tension doesn’t resolve itself. It resolves based on who shows up.
This Is Stewardship
I want to be straight with you about something.
There’s a version of this fight that’s just about access — “let us ride where we want.” And I get that instinct. But that’s not the whole story, and it’s not the most compelling argument.
The lands we’re talking about — the trails we ride, the forests we camp in, the water we fish — those aren’t ours to consume. We’re caretakers. We’re called to be stewards of what we’ve been given, and that means we fight to preserve it, not just for ourselves, but for the people who come after us.
Good stewardship isn’t passive. It doesn’t sit back and assume someone else will handle it. It shows up, stays informed, and uses its voice.
That’s what this moment calls for.
What You Can Do Right Now
1. Contact your state legislators.
They need to hear from you before the next session — not after SF 1245 is moving again. Find your Minnesota state senator and representative here:
👉 Find Your MN Legislator — Who Represents Me?
When you reach out, keep it simple and personal. Tell them you’re a constituent, you ride these trails, you care about this land, and you oppose SF 1245. Personal stories carry more weight than form letters.
2. Stay connected to BlueRibbon Coalition.
BRC has been tracking this bill and has the infrastructure to mobilize fast when it moves again. Subscribe to their action alerts.
3. Show up on the trails the right way.
The best case for keeping access open is demonstrating that we’re good stewards. We broke down exactly how ADV bikes, ATVs, and 4x4s should share the same routes — because responsible use is the strongest argument we have.
3. Share this article.
Seriously. Most MN riders don’t know this bill exists. Awareness is the first step.
The Bottom Line
SF 1245 would gut Minnesota’s trail network — not all at once, but systematically, lawsuit by lawsuit, petition by petition. The community that depends on those trails needs to understand the threat is still live.
We don’t fight this by waiting. We fight it by staying awake between sessions, building relationships with our representatives now, and showing up as the kind of community that takes care of the land it loves.
Application matters. So does showing up.
ADV Anonymous covers land access because where we can go is as important as how we get there.
Sources:
BlueRibbon Coalition — MN SF 1245 Could Close 4.2M Acres
MN Revisor — SF 1245 Bill Text
Find Your MN Legislator
