mtnmollie
10-23-2008, 04:02 PM
spinoff from I wonder thread
Mtnmollie,
This is a pretty amazing thread. I was on vacation when it first started and then when I first read it, I thought it was going to be about how to post pictures. Boy, did that subject ever get changed! I guess I will have to apologize for not reading the whole thing until today. It takes me a while to get caught up after vacation and then I didn't realize just what this thread turned into. I spend way too much time on this dang computer and even then, I don't get a chance to read every thread. Job and home related work doesn't allow enough extra time to research the forum like I would like to do.
Anyway, I do admire your passion and the work that you do while trying to save the Lolo Trail. Your pictures are beautiful!
Last year, I was trying to get the word out to trail riders concerning the "Senate Bill S.2283 Preserving our Equine Heritage on Public Lands". This bill, which was basically a reintroduction on the old "Right to Ride" legislation, was read twice on Nov 1, 2007 and then referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. As best I can tell, that is as far as it has gone. More than likely, it will never go any farther unless it is reintroduced in the next congress.
We, as horse lovers and trail riders, do need to ban together and protect our right to have continued access to trails on public lands. This is so important! There are a lot of people in this country who don't want horses on public land. Some of the "tree huggers" would like to have trail riders and stock banned from wilderness areas and other public land trails. That senate bill would have helped keep trails open on public lands for use by horses and stock. If we don't stand up for ourselves and fight to keep trails open, someday our children and grandchildren may not have the privilege to go trail riding.
A fellow trail rider did her own little survey. After sending 75 e-mails asking everyone to send a letter concerning the closing of trails in the White River National Forest in CO, she did a follow-up e-mail to find out how many trail riders actually sent their letters. Only 8 responded! That's sad. No wonder our right to ride is being threatened. We don't stand up for ourselves.
Why should our legislators stand behind us if we don't make our voices heard? If trail riders don't show our support of our right to ride and fight to keep our trails open, then our state legislators will not realize the importance of it. In the past, there has not been enough response by the horse community. Did you know there are more people in the horse industry than the tobacco industry? We should be able to make a lot of noise. We need to join together and fight to keep our trails open. I have heard that a legislator remarked concerning the Right to Ride issue, "if trail riders don't care enough to write a letter to me, why should I care enough to support them".
So, Mtnmollie, can you supply a list of names and addresses where the forum members can write and show our support in the effort to save the Lolo Trail? Also, maybe give us a rough draft of what you would like us to say and include in our letters. Alot of us on the forum may never be able to ride the Lolo Trail ourselves, but we do need to support each other and make sure that all trails across our great country remain open. The way I see it, if we allow one trail to close, that is just adding more fuel to allow other trail access to be denied as well.
************************************************** **************
For an example, the following was the letter that I sent to all of my friends and forum members so they could use it to send to their senators when S.2283 was introduced last year. You are welcome to use any part of it.
******
Dear (your state senator)
Every year, a group of my friends go on horseback/trail riding trips in (your state), and to other states as well. We greatly enjoy these trips and are hopeful that we will be able to have the privilege to ride our horses across trails in this great country in the future. We experience views that we would not see from a highway. There are many places in our state and in this country that are only accessible from foot or horseback. Most of my friends are not hikers. We are horseback riders and hunters who use our horses to ride and pack into the backcountry areas. The vast majority of trail riders care greatly about the environment. Trail riding is our way of enjoying the beauty that this country has to offer and we don't want to spoil it for ourselves or for others. We feel it would be a great shame to be denied access to enjoy the beauty that this country has to offer to us, if we were not allowed to ride our horses on public lands in the future. What purpose would it serve to have public land that could not be enjoyed by the public?
Please note my support for S.2283 (Preserving our Equine Heritage on Public Lands). It is important to me and many of my friends and fellow riders that this bill receives your support and affirmative vote. The use of stock on our federal lands has a long tradition, stimulates economic activity and provides a unique opportunity for family recreation and a positive activity for our youth.
Horses have been a very important part to the United States history and economy. The most recent economic study done by Deloitte Consulting LLP for the American Horse Council Foundation in 2005, provides proof that the horse industry plays a very important part in our economy. Government officials and the public should be made aware of these facts. The study concludes that there are 9.2 million horses in the U.S. Out of those, 3,906,923 are used for recreation. That's over 42%!. So you must realize that the loss of stock use in wilderness areas would also have a negative impact on the economy. It is important that we be able to continue to ride on public lands, wilderness areas, national monuments, and other designated areas that are administrated by the National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service.
I am hopeful you will realize the value of this bill and vote accordingly. Please vote to pass "S.2283". Thank you.
Sincerely,
(your signature)
(Your name
and address)
Mtnmollie,
This is a pretty amazing thread. I was on vacation when it first started and then when I first read it, I thought it was going to be about how to post pictures. Boy, did that subject ever get changed! I guess I will have to apologize for not reading the whole thing until today. It takes me a while to get caught up after vacation and then I didn't realize just what this thread turned into. I spend way too much time on this dang computer and even then, I don't get a chance to read every thread. Job and home related work doesn't allow enough extra time to research the forum like I would like to do.
Anyway, I do admire your passion and the work that you do while trying to save the Lolo Trail. Your pictures are beautiful!
Last year, I was trying to get the word out to trail riders concerning the "Senate Bill S.2283 Preserving our Equine Heritage on Public Lands". This bill, which was basically a reintroduction on the old "Right to Ride" legislation, was read twice on Nov 1, 2007 and then referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. As best I can tell, that is as far as it has gone. More than likely, it will never go any farther unless it is reintroduced in the next congress.
We, as horse lovers and trail riders, do need to ban together and protect our right to have continued access to trails on public lands. This is so important! There are a lot of people in this country who don't want horses on public land. Some of the "tree huggers" would like to have trail riders and stock banned from wilderness areas and other public land trails. That senate bill would have helped keep trails open on public lands for use by horses and stock. If we don't stand up for ourselves and fight to keep trails open, someday our children and grandchildren may not have the privilege to go trail riding.
A fellow trail rider did her own little survey. After sending 75 e-mails asking everyone to send a letter concerning the closing of trails in the White River National Forest in CO, she did a follow-up e-mail to find out how many trail riders actually sent their letters. Only 8 responded! That's sad. No wonder our right to ride is being threatened. We don't stand up for ourselves.
Why should our legislators stand behind us if we don't make our voices heard? If trail riders don't show our support of our right to ride and fight to keep our trails open, then our state legislators will not realize the importance of it. In the past, there has not been enough response by the horse community. Did you know there are more people in the horse industry than the tobacco industry? We should be able to make a lot of noise. We need to join together and fight to keep our trails open. I have heard that a legislator remarked concerning the Right to Ride issue, "if trail riders don't care enough to write a letter to me, why should I care enough to support them".
So, Mtnmollie, can you supply a list of names and addresses where the forum members can write and show our support in the effort to save the Lolo Trail? Also, maybe give us a rough draft of what you would like us to say and include in our letters. Alot of us on the forum may never be able to ride the Lolo Trail ourselves, but we do need to support each other and make sure that all trails across our great country remain open. The way I see it, if we allow one trail to close, that is just adding more fuel to allow other trail access to be denied as well.
************************************************** **************
For an example, the following was the letter that I sent to all of my friends and forum members so they could use it to send to their senators when S.2283 was introduced last year. You are welcome to use any part of it.
******
Dear (your state senator)
Every year, a group of my friends go on horseback/trail riding trips in (your state), and to other states as well. We greatly enjoy these trips and are hopeful that we will be able to have the privilege to ride our horses across trails in this great country in the future. We experience views that we would not see from a highway. There are many places in our state and in this country that are only accessible from foot or horseback. Most of my friends are not hikers. We are horseback riders and hunters who use our horses to ride and pack into the backcountry areas. The vast majority of trail riders care greatly about the environment. Trail riding is our way of enjoying the beauty that this country has to offer and we don't want to spoil it for ourselves or for others. We feel it would be a great shame to be denied access to enjoy the beauty that this country has to offer to us, if we were not allowed to ride our horses on public lands in the future. What purpose would it serve to have public land that could not be enjoyed by the public?
Please note my support for S.2283 (Preserving our Equine Heritage on Public Lands). It is important to me and many of my friends and fellow riders that this bill receives your support and affirmative vote. The use of stock on our federal lands has a long tradition, stimulates economic activity and provides a unique opportunity for family recreation and a positive activity for our youth.
Horses have been a very important part to the United States history and economy. The most recent economic study done by Deloitte Consulting LLP for the American Horse Council Foundation in 2005, provides proof that the horse industry plays a very important part in our economy. Government officials and the public should be made aware of these facts. The study concludes that there are 9.2 million horses in the U.S. Out of those, 3,906,923 are used for recreation. That's over 42%!. So you must realize that the loss of stock use in wilderness areas would also have a negative impact on the economy. It is important that we be able to continue to ride on public lands, wilderness areas, national monuments, and other designated areas that are administrated by the National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service.
I am hopeful you will realize the value of this bill and vote accordingly. Please vote to pass "S.2283". Thank you.
Sincerely,
(your signature)
(Your name
and address)