Subject: Re: [RC] [Guest] beach closing
to horses in ca.?
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.
