Well, I missed the original post on this, when
was it?
I think the reason the officials close
trails & parks is more often for the protection of the land,
environment, and wildlife, not to protect the users. One case that comes to
mind is the Spenceville Wildlife Area where the Camp Far West ride is held.
The ruckus I heard is that the new manager at the time(can't remember his
title) thought the horses were interfering with the turkeys nesting and
were too hard on the creeks they crossed. Turkeys are soooo abundant in this
area, I don't think they're even native, AND, I've never seen one
anywhere near the trails, EVER. Of course, they still allow the cows to graze,
not that I have a problem with that, but the cows do far more damage hanging
out in large groups by the creeks than the 150 horses crossing the creek
on ride day.
Sometimes the closures are warranted and
sometimes not.
