Re: RC: Hike the Hill: Trails Advocacy Week

[Teddy Lancaster <Teddy@runningbear.com>]

The rep from the AHS at the Clemson Trails Symposium was very clear in
her distaste (pardon the pun) for horse manure.  She was onr of the few
speakers I did not agree with.  I wonder if she truely represents the AHS
philosophy?

Teddy

Susan Brehm wrote:

> I'm delighted to see the discussion of trails on RideCamp,
> particularly since it's Trails Advocacy Week.  The American
> Hiking Society (AHS) sponsored Hike the Hill this week, with
> training in lobbying, as well as presentations by
> representatives from the federal agencies that are
> responsible for our national trails, parks, forests, etc
> (National Parks Service, National Forest Service, BLM, OMB
> and more).
>
> I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment, it's going to take a
> little time to absorb all the information presented.  The
> AHS is very welcoming to those of us from the horse world
> and several attended including Connie Berto and Nancy
> DuPont.
>
> What stands out most of all to me is that this is a
> complicated issue and will not be solved overnight.  There
> are huge funding problems -- our government does not have
> enough money to fully fund every program.  We have to
> compete for every dollar.  Not only that, but there are some
> serious management and accounting problems within the
> government agencies that will take time to fix.  Add to that
> the disagreements between users of forest and park lands
> (hikers, bikers and riders).
>
> I believe that we can reach compromises on the trails issue.
> Not every trail is appropriate for horses.  But that still
> leaves many that are.  What we have to do is work with other
> users, compromise on sharing the trails, and be willing to
> work to maintain them.  We need to be careful in approaching
> the government agencies and only use threats as a very last
> resort.
>
> I would strongly encourage everyone to take part in the
> trails advocacy process.  Connie Berto is looking for more
> members on the AERC Trails Committee.  Find out what the
> conservation groups are doing in your area.  Find out what
> the other horse groups are doing in your area (the largest
> number of equestrian trail users are pleasure trail riders).
>
> I came away from Hike the Hill with a good feeling that many
> positive changes are taking place.  Most of our congressmen
> are trying to help us preserve our trails.  We've got a long
> way to go though, and it's going to take all of us working
> to accomplish our goals.
>
> SusanB
>
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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
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