News May 24, 2001


Dear Member Clubs, Club Representatives, and Friends:

It is time to celebrate and congratulate ourselves on obtaining the first official dog training, testing and trialing site in the State of Minnesota on publicly owned ground. On April 25th, your officers signed a lease for 640 acres, 13.5 miles North of Milaca off of Hwy. 169, to the West.

This property was originally part of the Four Brooks Project, so hence the name Four Brooks was chosen. In this letter I will attempt to give you an overview, but I want to stress that much remains to be decided and accomplished. Therefore, it is a must that we have you and your club representatives at our June 19th meeting. The place is the Ramada Inn, Hwy. 694 and Hwy. 81 (NE corner), in Charlie’s Bar and Café. We will start with a social hour at 5:00 p.m., supper at 6:00 p.m., from the menu, to be followed by the meeting. Please R.S.V.P.

The official lease can be viewed by selecting the link here (FBP Lease).

The MNDOG Committee will meet in advance of the dinner meeting to set the agenda so that as much as possible can be covered on June 19th. That meeting will occur in June, and is to be announced.

Lease Overview:
To enter the grounds, drive North from Milaca 13.5 miles to where County Road 20 tees into 169 from the East. This is the road to Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area. At the intersection make a u-turn and go south on 169 crossing Burnt Land Brook, and turn right into the property. The entrance will be marked for our use only.

The members of the Federation are given exclusive use on 40 acres from May 1, 2001 to October 31, 2001. This is where we can camp, stage our trialing and training efforts, and have any facilities, such as portable toilets.

We have the right to train and trial on the adjacent 600 acres from May 1, 2001, until September 14, 2001. During this time period you must be a Member of a member club in the Federation, in good standing. Following September 14, trials may be held on the 600 acres by obtaining a permit, which will be readily available. Only recognized clubs in good standing with the Minnesota Federation of Field Trial clubs will be able to schedule events. Field trial chairpersons should contact myself for further details at this time.

We will have to come up with a way to I.D. ourselves, so that DNR management knows who is on the grounds, with as little effort as possible. You can use horses, kill birds, and release birds. Four-wheelers may be used only during scheduled events and in conjunction with training, in a manor that complies with stipulations of the lease.

For specific questions, please e-mail your club representative or myself.

Best Regards,

Roger Berg President, MFFTC

E-Mail : mail@mfftc.com
Web Site: http://www.mfftc.com/