|
Boulder County Emergency Evacuation Information!
A summary of information from BCHA and Boulder County Sheriff Department's Emergency Evacuation Seminar includes: How horse and barn owners can be prepared, Evacuation tips for emergency personnel, and Horse Owner's Operation Find (HOOF) form.
Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks
Revised Visitor Plan
A debriefing about the city of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Visiotr Master Plan.
What Do I Do With My Horse In Fire, Flood, and/or Earthquakes?
The website for Equestrian Trails Inc., based in California, has a 29
paged booklet with the above title available to download by clicking here, or from
their home page, scroll down a short way and look for the above title. Information is also available for obtaining a printed copy.
Colorado State Parks
Thank you equestrians for giving the Colorado State Parks staff your input on future planning. Recent statistics show a strong interest in developing additional equestrian trails and trailer parking.
Colorado Horse Park
The Park currently is an international equestrian competition center encompassing the old High Prairie Farms Equestrian Center south of Parker. Plans for expansion include a museum of the Western Horse, a Living History Museum, an Equidome, wildlife refuge and more. To schedule a tour, become a member, see a calendar of events, or learn more about this spectacular acreage, visit their website or call 303-841-5550.
Colorado Horse Rescue
Located in Boulder County, CHR provides horses in need with care and rehabilitation, followed by adoption services. CHR promotes equine education and outreach programs. Visit their website or call 720-494-1414 for complete information.
Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center
The Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center (CTRC) is a North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), Premier Therapeutic Riding Center in Boulder County. CTRC has been devoted to serving children and adults with disabilities since 1980 and is the oldest and largest therapeutic riding center in Colorado. For information on registration, volunteering, donations, etc. visit their website or call 303-652-9139.
The National Day of the Horse
S. Resolution 452 states : "A Resolution designating December 13, 2004 as The National Day of the Horse and encouraging the people of the United States
to be mindful of the contribution of horses to economy, history and character
of the United States.
National Trails Day
Thank you 2005 Volunteers for National Trails Day efforts!
The first weekend is June is typically National Trails Day. Watch for news from BCHA about the 2006 event.
Wildlife Information
Summary of Suzanne's review of available Elk studies in and around the Rocky Mountain Region 12/2003: Research Summary
Daily Camera article 11/16/2003: "Wildlife officials trying to figure out how to trim size of state's (Elk) herds"
Lawrence Journal-World: Colorado elk herd careens out of control. 7/21/2002. "Colorado's elk herd, the largest in North America, is over objective. The recovery of elk in Colorado has been too successful for the range to support."
Wildlife Report - News from the Colorado Division of Wildlife 5/4/2001. Colorado has more than 260,000 elk, which is higher than the long-term objective of 188,000. The state has far more elk than any other state or Canadian province. … “We are still substantially over our population objectives despite the fact we had a record elk harvest last year,” said John Ellenberger, the Division’s big game manager.
Ecosystem Trends in the Colorado Rockies "Elk and moose populations continue to increase in the (Rocky Mountain National) park"
Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks
Revised Visitor Plan
FINAL DECISION
We won some and we lost some, and some have been temporarily rained out.
On April 12, 2005, open space die-hards of all stripes waited breathlessly for the Boulder City Council to weigh in on the final Open Space and Mountain Parks Visitor Master Plan (OSMP VMP). Environmentalists had pleaded for more preservation, citing fears of unknown catastrophes that might befall the birds and the bunnies, should trails actually be built for people to enjoy (gasp!) on Open Space. Recreationists had decried the certain demise of our quality of life and that of Boulder's overall economic health, should vast tracts of Open Space be officially closed to people. Consensus had been achieved and then broken. Coalitions had been forged and then abandoned. Individual alliances and midnight horse-trading – all were certainly attempted, though there is no way to quantify how many of those efforts went into the mix. We had all done our best, and it was time to sit quietly and watch Council sort through all the competing priorities.
Council did so, with a mixture of brilliance, savvy, platitudes, and deliberation. And, depending on what happens next, there is some cause to believe that the outcome “could have been worse” for recreationists in general and equestrians in particular. Enormous areas (almost 40%) of all of OSMP will now be “set aside” as Habitat Conservation Areas for environmental preservation – but that's less than the 53% than had been proposed as recently as a month ago. Some of our favorite haunts – notably adjacent to the Eldorado Springs trailheads -- will remain as Natural Areas, where equestrians will be able to continue frequenting our traditional habitats. However, other favorite haunts – notably west of the Denver Water Board Canal, Coal Creek, and West Beech south of Joder – will be off-limits because there are currently no designated trails, no enthusiasm for building new trails, and essentially no off-trail use will be allowed. But now there will be a formal process for studying new trail opportunities, and a commitment to include the public in this process – a far cry from the extreme voices who wanted not even to discuss future trails on OSMP. And for those of us who like to explore off-trail areas, now there will be a process set up (details to be determined) to allow for members of the public to apply for off-trail permits – again, a far cry from the slam-the-gates-to-all-but-our-friends mentality that had prevailed in certain quarters before the Council meeting.
It took more than ten years to get from the beginning of the plan to this point: ten years of hopes, ten years of hopelessness, ten years of frustration, ten years of anger, ten years of documentation, ten years of negotiations, ten years of listening, ten years of pleading, ten years of resignation, and ten years of wary optimism. And yes, I feel more than ten-times-ten years older, and much wearier, and infinitely warier, now than I did when I started.
In the end, as always, the devil will be in the details. We will need to remain vigilant, we will need to participate, we will need to be proactive instead of reactive, and we will need to continue to forge alliances. More than 70% of all BCHA members engage in trail riding, in addition to their other equestrian pursuits. I have tried to represent you all fairly and constructively throughout this entire process, and I have tried to keep you informed of developments as they happened. If you arrive at your favorite haunt and find the gates barred to you, please don't say you never knew what was happening. If, on the other hand, you arrive at your favorite haunt and find it open, or find a new trail to enjoy, perhaps you will reflect, however fleetingly, on this epic struggle and on how important public lands are to the entire equestrian community of Boulder County. Perhaps you will even become inspired to pick up the torch and lead the way for us all into the future. Please let me know.
Suzanne Webel
External Vice President, Trails and Public Lands Chair
|
