Clemson Conference Proceedings Now Available

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@ici.net>]

The proceedings from the October 18-21 1998 "Horse Trails in Forest
Ecosystems" conference at Clemson University are now available online
at the Strom Thurmond Institute's web site:

http://www.strom.clemson.edu/programs/trails/

It is a 340K .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) file.  There are 69 pages.
Alas, no table of contents.

This is basically the set of papers they gave us in a binder when
we registered.  Some of the 26 or so papers are nothing more than
abstracts.  Some are fairly detailed.  If I were to point out
several highlights, I'd pick:

p. 31 "Funding Alternatives for Trail Construction and Maintenance
       on Public Lands"  by Christopher B. Douwes, Federal Highway
       Administration.  This guy helps administer the grant programs
       for recreation trails funded through the FHA.  The paper
       talks about the new, revised funding programs.  Unfortunately,
       it does not include the paper he handed out at the conference
       that talks about explicit equestrian concerns.

p. 35 "Equestrian Trail Volunteers" by Mylon Filkins, D.V.M., Back
      Country Horsemen of America.  Has some very explicit instructions
      about how to run a successful volunteer program.  I remember
      excellent points such as always DOCUMENT each and every
      volunteer hour so that you can look the government in the eye
      and tell them, "Our volunteer equestrians have contributed
      $400,000 in labor to public lands over the last four years,"
      and know you can *prove* it!

p. 66 "Horse Camp Planning and Partnerships" by Jan Hancock, Arizona
      State Committee on Trails.  This was a fabulous session that
      sought to define the specifications for a successful horse camp
      based on a pilot project in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona.
      Again, alas, the proceedings do not include that wonderful
      hand-out that Ms. Hancock passed out at her session that
      included detailed architect's drawings of the pilot project.
      We're talking hard core meat plans here, like just exactly
      how big should the parking platform be to reasonably accommodate
      modern living quarter rigs?  Ms. Hancock is planning a book
      on this subject.

Also missing are the great papers at the back of the proceedings that
reported research results on horse pollution issues that are becoming
so critical to so many of us.  There was a paper on cryptosporidium
and giardia, and a paper by ecologist Adda Quinn on "Does Horse Manure
Post a Significant Risk to Human Health?"  Both were intended as
"ammo" for people when authorities start to raise these issues.

But what is available on the web site is good stuff nonetheless and
will give an excellent idea of what transpired at the conference.

Linda B. Merims
lbm@ici.net
Massachusetts, USA