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Re: [RC] Nature Conservancy and horse trails - Jeannie GillenGO IDAHO!... I remember a meeting Senator or Governor Kempthorne....(not sure of the spelling)....who was very "pro-horses" and I can't imagine TNC getting away with limiting or eliminating equestrians on Idaho public lands. But in California, at the Santa Rosa Plateau, we have quite a different experience. Based on my personal involvement over 12 years there, I would unfortunately have to caution you not to trust The Nature Conservancy with regard to access to land they own and/or manage......I have had very disappointing experiences with them over land they appealed to the equestrians to help them purchase for conservation (calling it "a park by nature").....then before the ink was dried on the documents, "NO TRESPASSING" signs were posted......Even though this land was an original Spanish land grant used for grazing cattle and horses for the immediate past 150 years......The "foreign seed" thing was conveniently used to justify excluding equestrians, and if you dig deep you'll find TNC many excuses for excluding everyone except "researchers"..... aka government employees or consultants that get paid BIG bucks to "study" something (?) on that land, often justifying exclusions..... Ironically, the "researches" usually come in large numbers, driving fast in small trucks and jeeps, advocating "controlled burns" (started with lots and lots of chemicals)....all in the name of "conservation"...Their studies are usually a 5 year term, requiring a "Committee" to manage the researchers and their results.......take a look at how much money TNC gets from government partners and Grants...which all ultimately is public dollars for public lands that the public cannot enjoy.......... BE CAUTIOUS.....and if you work with them for "Trails" ...make sure the word "Equestrian"word is included IN THEIR DOCUMENTS....otherwise they might agree to do trails, but exclude horses.....been there, done that......you really have to force their hands at every point......Public opinion and the power of the press can be your friends here. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Barber" <toltstar@xxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 1:58 PM Subject: Re: [RC] Nature Conservancy and horse trails Someone on the Horsecamp list wrote several months ago the Nature Conservancy was one of the groups working to restrict or limit public trails for horse use. Since I am a Nature Conservancy member I wrote to them (Idaho Chapter) to ask for clarification regarding this issue. Here is their response:Although that may be true for the Idaho Chapter, at least around here (Long Island, NY) the Nature Conservancy has worked hard to try to bar horses from as much land as possible. One of the common arguments they use is that the manure left by horses introduces non-native plants into the area by spreading seeds of non-native species. Sigh . . . Andrea Sand Meadow Farm Icelandic Horses Long Island, NY __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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