BACKUS – The Cass County Board voted Tuesday to support developing a mountain bike trail in the same area as the Cut Lake Cross Country Ski Trail in Bull Moose Township.

The township supervisors voted their support earlier.

Cuyuna Chapter of Minnesota Off-road Cyclists bike club proposes volunteers from their club would maintain the trail, which would serve as an area complement to the Cuyuna Mountain Bike Trail in Crow Wing County that opened in June.

Jeff Schoenbauer told the board Tuesday the club estimates developing the Cass 15-mile trail will cost about $20,000 or $300,000 for the total project, to be paid from grants. It would be built to International Mountain Biking Association standards, he said, with a goal to open by spring 2013.

It would be a mountain bike only trail, though hikers also could use it, he said. It is located in Foothills State Forest, about 10 miles west of Pine River and accessible from County State Aid Highway 2.

The county already has a parking lot to serve trails in that area.

It will be designed for all skill levels, according to Schoenbauer.

Hackensack Sons of the American Legion, Cass County, Minnesota DNR and Deep Portage Conservation Reserve will coordinate a special deer hunt for up to 10 disabled veterans for the first time this year at Deep Portage in October.

The board also approved a request from Oregon State University to place monitoring devices at three county land sites in Loon Lake and Salem Townships through November to monitor the earth’s natural electric and magnetic fields.

This is part of a nation-wide study the university is conducting.

Land Commissioner Joshua Stevenson obtained board approval to record easements over Potlatch land to reach county administered land in Ansel and Powers Townships.

The board also authorized Stevenson to use $15,000 of the interest the county has earned on money in a trust fund set aside from state leased lots the county sold several years ago to pay the county highway department to design portions of all terrain vehicle trails along county state aid highway ditches near Outing and between Hackensack and Longville.

If those two all terrain vehicle trails are constructed, the highway department also would oversee construction over trail portions using state aid highway right of way areas.