Joe, good luck with that. The Wilderness Act was passed in 1964. Today
changing it to allow endurance rides will elicited opposition from
environmental lobbies that will mean it will never happen. It's time
for the AERC to address the issue that if riders want endurance rides
through Wilderness land, they figure out how to come into compliance
with the Wilderness Act.
The problem is that a ride that complied, along the lines you suggest,
would not be an endurance ride.
Bottom
line the AERC membership is 5 to 6 K - we are a minority. It's
not like we have the numbers to swing a change in the Wilderness Act.
That's a problem. But we are not the only group disaffected by the
arrogance of the Sierra Club and its allies who want to close vast
tracts of public land to everyone but themselves.
It took an act of Congress to get the Tevis grandfathered through
Granite Chief. I'd like the AERC to seek a specific exemption for
endurance rides through our Congressmen.
