As you are all now receiving the latest Back Country Horsemen of America Newsletter, I need to update you on events taking place since the deadline for this newsletter.

 

First I hope all of you in Southern California are safe. I know most of you that are dealing with the fires will not have time to read this but our prayers and thoughts are with you. I also know, given the nature of our members, you have all grouped together to help each other.  I wish I could send you some of western Washington’s rain.

 

Forest Service Chief, Abigail R. Kimbell, and the National Forest Foundation have invited BCHA to attend a Partner Open House in Washington, D.C. This is a Thank You celebration for the partners’ efforts this past year. We have decided that the Chairman of BCHA should attend. I am proud to represent BCHA members for all their efforts this past year. We are taking this opportunity to work on other matters as well. Backcountry Horseman of Washington has donated funds to send Bob Shonka with me to work on legislative issues.  We have a meeting scheduled with key staff members for Senator Cantwell (D WA), Senator Crapo (R. ID), and Jay Hickey from America Horse Council to work on getting legislation introduced to protect our historic and traditional pack and saddle stock use on public lands (formerly Right to Ride). We will also be meeting with others trying to gather support for this legislation. It would help if you were to ask your senators to inform senators Crapo and Cantwell that they would support such legislation.  We are also taking the opportunity to meet with Mike Keegan, the lobbyist that BCHW lined up to help last year. His help has been very useful in getting us to this point.

 

While in DC we will meet with a group from BCH Virginia.

 

Now to the Trail Classification Standards issue. The plan as stated before was that as soon as the interim rule was published, BCHA and Washington Office Forest Service were to have an on-the-ground meeting to discuss the impact of the rule to pack and saddle stock use. The location for this meeting needs to be at a site that would allow us to demonstrate all issues with the interim rule. The location that was determined to be suitable is now under snow. If the Forest Service still publishes the interim rule this fall, the timeline will not let us have that on-the-ground meeting during the comment period. BCHA has requested that the FS hold the rule until next summer. At that time we plan to have the on-the-ground meeting. To help reach that end, we have scheduled a conference call just before the Partner Open House with Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop, Director Jim Bedwell from the FS Washington Office, BCHA Public Lands Chair Steve Didier, Consultant Dennis Dailey, Past Chair Merlyn Huso, Vice Chair Terry Morrison and myself. The main purpose of this meeting will again be to insist that the FS wait to publish the interim rule until summer 2008.

 

There are some good articles in the BCHA newsletter explaining the situation on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. This is a serious situation.  You will be kept updated as the situation proceeds.

 

The South Dakota Grassland Wilderness Coalition has asked BCHA to make a presentation at the Grassland Wilderness Symposium 2007 on November 8^th in Rapid City, South Dakota. With Senator George McGovern, co-sponsor of the 1964 Wilderness Act as one of the speakers, we will take the opportunity to address language that needs to be included in future wildernesses and reiterate the intent as stated when the legislation was introduced. Other groups making presentations will be the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club DC office.  We are also hoping to come away with an opportunity to form a BCHA organization in this area.

 

We (Val Johnson, Terry Morrison, Yvette Rollins and Peg Greiwe) are interviewing candidates for the Director of Development position as authorized by the BCHA Board. Four applications were received. With one of those withdrawing we are interviewing the three remaining. By the end of today Friday, October 26^th we will have conducted an interview with each. At this point I will just say I’m very encouraged. A special report will follow on this topic within a few weeks.

 

Mike Reedy, BCHA Chairman