Hiker Alert!Oppose “Right-to-Ride” BillCommercial horse and mule packing outfits have sponsored a bill in Congress to “grandfather” their existing uses (and abuses) of wilderness, parks, and forests. And the commercial packstock enterprises have frightened equestrians across the nation into supporting the bill by claiming that unnamed “radical environmental groups” are trying to eliminate horses from public lands. Such claims are deliberately false, but have resulted in a flood of mail to Congress in support of the outfitter-sponsored bill. All concerned citizens are urged to contact their two U.S. senators, as soon as possible, to prevent this horrible legislation from becoming law. Your letters now will make a huge difference. The bill (H.R. 586), called the “Right-to-Ride Livestock on Federal Lands Act of 2005,” would create a new federal law that says (among other things):
“As a general rule, all trails, routes, and areas used by pack and saddle stock shall remain open and accessible for such use.” The bill could be interpreted to require the completion of expensive and time-consuming “environmental impact statements” before the land management agencies could place any new restrictions on stock use. This would make it very difficult or impossible for the agencies to close any route to stock animals, to limit stock numbers to reasonable levels, or to limit the timing of use (for example, when trails are saturated by snowmelt and prone to erosion). The agencies would essentially be barred from taking action, even where resource damage is well documented. This is a dream-come-true for the irresponsible commercial outfits that are pushing the bill, because it would prevent the agencies from taking any action to limit their activities. Update: H.R. 586 passed the House of Representatives on May 16, 2006. The Republican leadership of the House made the unusual maneuver of taking the bill away from the Resources Committee, where it was appropriately assigned, because members of that committee had opposed the bill. House leaders instead assigned the bill to an obscure committee where it was passed without even a single hearing. Comments submitted by one Congressman are printed below, and provide an eloquent statement of why this bill should be defeated. Because the bill has now passed the House, and been referred to the Senate, it is crucial at this time to contact your two U.S. senators. What You Can Do:Send a letter ASAP to both of your U.S. senators and ask them to OPPOSE H.R. 586. Say the following:
End your letter by repeating that you urge your senator to strongly OPPOSE HR 586.
The address for all senators:
If you live in California, your two senators are Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Please write to both !!! If you live in another state, and don’t know the names of your two U.S. senators, ask your local newspaper editor, or find your senators’ names at Project Vote Smart. To see the bill in its entirety, visit the Library of Congress website, and type in HR 586. Please spread the word, and get other hikers, friends, and family members to write their two senators, urging them to OPPOSE HR 586. Comments on H.R. 586 by Congressman RAHALL (West Virginia): Madam Speaker, as the Ranking Democratic Member of the Resources Committee I would first observe that we on this side of the aisle also cherish the proud American tradition of horsemanship. Whether it be thoroughbreds—and a potential Triple Crown winner this year possibly in the making judging from Barbaro’s smashing performance in the Kentucky Derby—Appaloosas, Arabians, Clydesdales, our wild Mustangs on the Western Plains, Palominos, and even the Chincoteague Pony made famous by the book “Misty,” our country’s history and indeed, still in the present, is deeply intertwined with the horse. In effect, the bill hampers the ability of local federal land managers to administer trails under their jurisdiction in a flexible fashion taking into account changed local circumstances. In effect, the pending bill says that trails historically open to pack and saddle stock horses shall always remain open to them within units of our National Park System, National Forest System, Wildlife Refuges and BLM lands. This not only ties the hands of the local land managers to make adjustments if warranted, but appears to be a nationwide rubber stamp approach to what has not been a national problem with respect to public trail usage. I am also concerned about the precedent we are setting here. It is my understanding that the American Horse Council fully backs the pending bill. A noble organization, which does good service for the equine community. Yet, what if the American Motorcyclist Association catches wind of this bill. Can we expect a counter proposal from them, to make trails open to off-road motorcycles also deemed to be the highest and best use of public trails. I would expect their members would not want to be viewed as second class citizens when it comes to trail use. And the hikers, the bikers, the ATV groups. The list goes on. With that Madam Speaker, I have some trepidation over the course this legislation sets, and this comes from a gentleman who is a strong defender of our horse tradition in this country. |