Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

       There are 26 endangered species of freshwater mussels that inhabit
the streams and waters of the southern Appalachian mountains. Has that impacted
endurance rides in the SE - or any equestrian event that requires a permit
- you bet it has big time. The folks over in Alabama some years ago ( I think
Joe Long was on the front line here) hauled blocks by hand down to the creek
beds to make crossings for horses that would be minimal disturbance on the
mussels. There are trails that are closed from endurance rides in the Big
South Fork because we would have to cross the Big South Fork of the Cumberland
River at a point where there is an active mussel bed to get to them. 
 
 SERA has paid for materials and/or provided the works in two cases to build 
bridges - one in Mississippi to protect an endangered aquatic plant and the 
other in the Talladega NF in Alabama for the stream crossings. 
 
 Yes there are conflicts but they have to be and can be worked. The Trials 
Column in the March EN is a very good example of how we can work with the 
FS. The area the Hungry Buzzard was held in was basically off limits for endurance
rides since the mid 90's because of the mussels and the number of stream
crossing on the streams and the initial poor layout of the trails. There
working with the FS and through lots of volunteer hours helping the FS and
through a few bucks to help buy the marterial for bridges, we were able to
run the Buzzard on the old trails at Talladega one last time before they
are closed and the new ones open. We will have more trails when this happens
this spring - not less. This was a true win-win for all envolved but especially
for the hrosemen. This cooporation has lead to, more miles of an environmentally
friendly trail layout and a few bridges to keep the horses out of the streams
at the sensitive crossings. 
 
 This trend of a small animal stopping recreation is going to continue unless 
we become proactive and work with the land managers instead of railing against 
them. In the mid 70 a damn was built on the Little Tennessee River somewhere 
around Tellico Plains by the US Corp of Engineers. In the creek that dam was
to close there lived a small endangered darter, the Snail Darter to be exact.
The closing of the dam was put on hold for 10 years by the federal court
until the Corp was able to convince the court that they had successfully transplanted
the Snail Darter to another location and it was doing well. If this transplant
project had failed the dam would probably still no be closed.  The moral
is the Endangered Species Act has huge fangs and we are not going to defeat
it - nor do I think we want to, but we can work with the land managers to
minimize our impact on the environment and enjoy our sport at the same time.
That's a true win-win for everyone and every species. 
 
 Truman
 

 Barbara McCrary wrote:

I'd say it's pretty solid.  The snowy plover nesting is an issue here on the north coast of SC county.  The kite surfers wanted to hold a world championship on Waddell beach (which used to be open to horses), but the parks denied them a permit because of the plovers.  So they came to us to ask if they could hold the event on our beach property, which runs about for a mile or so south of Waddell Creek.  We could have said "yes", but the weird thing is that plovers haven't been nesting on park property, but on ours.  So if we say yes, then we're in trouble with the ESA, and if we say no, the kite surfers have nowhere to go.  This area is world class for the ideal wind and surf.  The parks are supposed to be there for "the people".  The parks are owned "by the people".  But "the people" cannot use a good many areas because there are species that are perceived to be endangered.  Many of these are here because man has created a habitat for them while going about his business.  Many of these are thought to be endangered, but no one really knows whether they were ever here in any number, or whether they just migrated here within the past 25 years and were never here historically.  Certain salmon are "endangered", but the truth is that scientists have never found any evidence that these fish were native here.  They were planted in the local streams for nearly 100 years, and when that  practice was stopped, the salmon population declined.  Are we surprised?  I sincerely hope for some semblance of sanity to return to our country on these issues.  It seems that we can be careful without closing down everything.

 

Barbara