To the editor,
Before Voyageurs National Park came to International Falls, the public, the private citizens, could hunt, trap and camp wherever on Rainy Lake. Then the park shows it’s face, so now no hunting, trapping and designated camping. Now the next step; charge the public to camp. You see a pattern forming. Slowly and very subtle, they’re pushing the public out of Rainy Lake.
A federal public park, which your federal taxes pay for. Public taxes that you pay to the federal government. The people’s park, paid and bought by the people’s taxes. And now they want the public to pay to camp in the park. Their excuse — to pay for maintenance. It didn’t need maintenance when it wasn’t park. Any maintenance that’s needed is their problem, not the publics. Your short on money cutback on park rangers, take a cut in pay, quit spending the people’s money on nonsense. Don’t put your mistakes on the taxpayers. Put the park rangers to work maintaining the park, instead of harassing the campers and fishermen and joy riding in the park.
As one park ranger stated in The Outdoorsmen, I will treat every man, woman and child as armed and dangerous. This is what the park has brought to International Falls.
A park that’s owned by the taxpayers. They have forced their way in like a home invasion. People don’t drive hundreds, even thousands, of miles to take a 10-minute walk in one of your buildings. They come to fish Rainy Lake and that’s it. The name should not be VNP it should be the people’s park. The park hasn’t made Rainy Lake any more beautiful. They just took a person’s rights away on how you can enjoy it.
Darren Wallen
International Falls, MN
