ridecamp@endurance.net: AERC Convention, Trails and cryptosporidia

AERC Convention, Trails and cryptosporidia

Misxfire@aol.com
Wed, 26 Feb 1997 01:47:32 -0500 (EST)

This message is sent at the request of Connie Berto, Chairperson of the AERC
Trails Committee. Connie spoke about this issue at the AERC Convention and
we distributed fact sheets.

Thanx to those who ACTUALLY WROTE LETTERS TO THE PUC AND THE MAYOR about this
issue on such short notice. Those letters were in hand for the PUC meeting
TODAY. I am so impressed by what motivated people can do.

How many of you ride on watershed lands? If you ride on land that has a
reservoir, you are probably riding on watershed lands. How many endurance
rides use watershed lands? How much longer will we be able to ride on these
lands?

On March 11, 1997 the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will decide
whether or not to terminate cattle grazing leases and equestrian access to SF
watershed lands due to a perceived threat from cryptosporidium parvum which
horses and cattle may carry. If the leases are terminated in this water
district, public pressure may well cause other water districts in the Bay
Area to do the same and this same pressure could spread throughout California
and the rest of the United States.

There is no conclusive scientific evidence to show that cattle and horses are
the source of C. parvum in water supplies or that removing cattle and horses
from watershed lands will reduce the incidence of this parasite. Adult
horses and cattle have a particularly low incidence of C. parvum, 1.1% and
0.8% respectively.

Other animal populations, including humans, are even greater sources of
infection, particularly mice and wild brown rats which have C. parvum
incidences of 30% and 63% respectively.

C. parvum counts were taken in the three local SF watershed reservoirs and
the reservoir whose watershed has no grazing and very little equestrian
access had the largest number of C. parvum. The reservoir watershed most
extensively grazed and most used by equestrians had zero C. parvum. Three is
not a statistically significant number but it can be reasonably concluded
that grazing and trail riding does not necessarily fill a reservoir with C.
parvum.

We ask you to write or fax Mayor Willie Brown, Jr. and the Public Utilities
Commission to protest the termination of the grazing leases and to request
that in the interest of public safety that a scientific study of the sources
of C. parvum in reservoirs be conducted. Adresses and phone numbers follow:

The Honorable Willie Brown, Jr. Public Utilities
Commission
City and County of San Francisco Mayor of San Francisco
1155 Market Street, Fourth Floor City Hall
San Francisco, CA 94103 401 Van Ness, Suite
336
(415) 554-3165 - phone San Francisco,
CA 94102
(415) 554-0796 - FAX (415) 554-6141
- phone

(415)
554-6160 - FAX

If you want more info or a fact sheet, e-mail me at misxfire@aol.com or call
me at (408) 248-3900 Judy Etheridge.

For Bay Area residents:

The public hearing for the grazing leases and equestrian access, among other
items, will be at 1:00 pm on March 4, 1997 at the PUC office on the fourth
floor. The lease and equestrian topic will probably start around 2:30 pm.
Please come if you can, but write or FAX for sure. The PUC is near the
Civic Center BART station.

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