A petition to keep county-managed lands, including the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, open to motorized use was presented this week to commissioners in Beltrami County, which includes Bemidji.

It comes as two bills are being introduced in the Legislature to restrict motorized use in state forests, including the repeal of an exemption for state forest lands north of U.S. Highway 2, says the Bemidji Pioneer.

“We are all good stewards of the land, we love the land down there, but we want to enjoy it, too,” Jones Town Board Chairman Roger Bachmann told Beltrami County commissioners Tuesday night as he presented a petition with 1,066 signatures.