The July play day has been moved to Sunday July 27, 2014
Play Days PDF
Time is of the essence here… the sale is next weekend!
Victoria CB Trees, Vice President
Chair: Membership, Mule Sale,
Pack Clinic Volunteer Schedule
High Desert Trail Riders Back Country Horsemen
Klamath Falls, Oregon
In the past at pack clinics, we have used live stock or a combination of stock and a packing dummy. At this year’s clinic in May, we are focusing on 4H horse groups and with a group of kids learning to pack, live stock just adds to the confusion and may result in someone getting hurt. We have a very nice pack dummy, Woody the mule, but for this clinic having a couple more would be better. I had a couple of the blue plastic 55 gallon drums and thought they would make good pack dummies. Read More!
BCHA ensures you, your children, and future generations can enjoy the wonder, beauty, and joy of unspoiled landscapes and viewscapes. Help us stay on the job!
Robbin Schindele produced and directed this video!
Why the Campaign?
Because our trails on public lands need you.
Like you, the men and women of Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) care about protecting and sustaining a safe and accessible outdoor experience for our families and future generations. But we can’t do it alone. We count on our partners and you to help us preserve access to public lands. In 2012, only 37% of the 158,000 miles of National Forest Service trails received basic maintenance. Only one-quarter of these trails meet standard regulation for public use.
Gaps of investment, oversight, and maintenance point to a future with fewer sustainable trails in our 144 National Forests.
Please take a few minutes to support and share our campaign! Trails may be owned by government entities, but volunteers are needed to keep them open and maintained.
A National Foundation has posted a Challenge Grant of $25,000 when we hit our goal! That means for every $1 you donate .50 cents will be added to your donation when we reach our goal!
The Untrammeled video .
BCHA National Board Meeting Live Broadcast
For the first time the Back Country Horsemen of America will broadcast live the National Board Meeting along with Announcing the “Keep Trails Open For You” Campaign. Please join in April 23rd to 26th.
CLICK HERE IS GO TO LIVE VIDEO FEED
Live Video Streaming Schedule
Wednesday, April 23 All Times Eastern Standard Time
- 8:30 am – 10:15 – BCHA NBM Opening; Speaker Joe Meade Director, USFS for Recreation, Heritage and Volunteer Resources
- 1:00 pm – 2:45 pm – Boardsmanship; Chairman’s Report; Resolutions
- 3:15 pm – 5:00 pm – Speaker Amos Tuck Program Coordinator, Coosa River Basin Initiative
Thursday, April 24, Public Lands Day All Times Eastern Standard Time
- 8:00 am – 9:15 am – “Opportunities to Engage Public Lands Stewards – Working Effectively with Youth”
- 9:30 am – 11:45 am – Solutions: USFS Trail Maintenance Backlog – Panel Discussion
- 12:45 pm – 1:30 pm – National Park Service: A Trend Toward Limiting Stock Use; Joining via Skype Bob Ratcliffe, NPS Chief, Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Program
- 1:45 pm – 3:00 pm – Issues from States
Friday, April 25 All Times Eastern Standard Time
- 8:00 am – 9:45 am – Movie “Untrammeled”; Strategic Plan
- 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Nominations; Elections of Officers and EC Members; BCHA Foundation Report
- 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Election Results; Roll Out of Initiatives
- 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – ONLINE CROWD FUNDING START
Saturday, April 26 All Times Eastern Standard Time
- 8:00 am – 9:40 am – Committee Reports
- 10:15 am – 12:00 noon – Committee Actions; Resolution Reports; Executive Committee Actions
- 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Discussion of 2015 and 2016 NBM’s; Conclusion of NBM
NOTE: Videos will also be available for later viewing
– See more at: http://www.backcountryhorse.com/blog/2014/04/16/bcha-national-board-meeting-live-broadcast/#sthash.Q9IVLWEY.dpuf
Notes from the National Board Meeting:
TO: Jim McGarvey
Subject: Four things
1. Thank you for everything you did to make it a great meeting!
2. I have asked everyone to get me numbers for monies owed by the 5th so will have it all to you by then
3. The embroidery guys contact information is Eric Craig – The Cad Company 404-392-3356 mail@cadcompanies.com He can put new logo on anything!
4. Recipe Requested after BarBQ
Recipe: Blue Cheese Cole Slaw
1 Bag of the Angel Hair Cole Slaw
¾ cup of Hellman’s Real Mayo
4 oz. block of Blue Cheese – crumble it (we used the Kroger Private Selection) Sprinkle salt, white pepper and sugar over the top.
Let sit for a couple hours before serving… may get too soupy if made the night before.
Thanks again!
Cindy Mitchell-McGarvey
The Back Country Horsemen of Idaho’s annual convention was hosted in Bonners Ferry by the Selkirk chapter of the organization. The Selkirk chapter is centered in Bonners Ferry. Back Country Horsemen of America is a national organization with state organizations that have chapters located throughout the state.
Twelve Idaho chapters joined the Selkirk chapter at the Kootenai River Inn to get together to discuss current business. The organization’s mission is to promote the common sense use and enjoyment of horses in the back country. BCHI works with the Forest Service to keep trails open to horseback riders and to maintain and build trails. BCHI also promotes the use of horses on the trails and works to
educate horsemen of all ages to participate in sustainable use of forest trails by horseback. All who have interest in riding the back country of Idaho are welcome to join. It is a very close knit group of riders who have the same goal of keeping horseback riding available on the forest trails.
2014 Convention Report 2014 SBD Meeting Minutes 2014 Convention Minutes
This Pacific Crest Trial bridge crosses the Bumping River at Goodwin Meadows in the William O. Douglas Wilderness. During August of 2013 the several Back County Horsemen of Washington members worked with the USFS, Naches Ranger District and helpers from the Pacific Crest Trial Association and Earth Corps replaced the bridge.
Members of Washington Trails Association and a local multi-user trail organization from Yakima also provided labor for the project. The BCHA Education Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant to purchase the bridge decking.
• National Newsletter
• Public Lands Committee
• Public Liaison Committee
• Education Chair/Committee
• National presence on the “Hill”
• Website: www.backcountryhorse.com
• Guidebook, publications and traveling display
• Camaraderie
• Strength in numbers
• Sharing information
BCHA Fact Sheet BCHA Do For You
January 21, 2014 This morning the Back Country Horsemen of America executive committee voted unanimously to adopt the attached image as the official BCHA “brand.” This brand image does not replace the old BCHA logo but will be used exclusively in all official online and published communications and correspondence. The brand was designed by Squaw Butte member Robbin Schindele with finishing touches by freelance creative director Kevin O’Callaghan of Minneapolis, MN.
2014 will be the 4th year of a Zone Trail Crew on the Boise National Forest. The North Zone (Emmett, Cascade, Lowman) currently has one of the largest trail crews in the region and has been able to do some outstanding work over the last 4 seasons. Much of this work comes with the help of our volunteer organizations, outside funding, and IDPR. I would ask each of you to look through the attached grant proposal and see if you might be willing to write a letter of support for this proposal. You will notice that this is for motorized trails. Many of the trails on the North zone are Multi-use allowing both motorized and non-motorized travel and they are utilized as such. As we move forward I would like to bring these groups together to help not only with trail work but managing any issues that may arise. As a part of this proposal we are also looking for volunteer commitments. If you would like to commit a number of hours to the “match” of this proposal please include that.
Many of the projects that we have taken on the past 4 seasons have come at the request of our users, we will continue to do so as we try one season at a time to bring our trails back up to standard. If you have questions, comments or concerns about this proposal please feel free to let me know. We input from everyone.
Thank you for your time and thank you for all of the work you have put in over the years.
Zach Poff
Lowman Ranger District
Boise National Forest
zpoff@fs.fed.us
(208)259-3361 ext.7554
LOCAL HORSEMEN DONATE TO THE COMMUNITY
Several members of the Squaw Butte chapter of Backcountry Horseman of Idaho delivered to the Emmett Valley Friendship Collation 75 lbs of food along with a monetary donation to help stock the shelves there. Pictured left to right are members Bill Conger, Nancy Schindele, Marybeth Conger, Phil Ryan, Shelly Duff, and Kay Ryan. Then they were off to the Pet Adoption League where another 100 lbs of food was donated there. These donations were gathered at the Chapter’s end of year Christmas party on December 14. For more information visit our website at sbbchidaho.org.
Each month a new president’s corner piece is posted by Kay Ryan on the Squaw Butte website. This blog posting will provide links to each piece posted during the year.
August 2014 President’s Corner
September 2014 President’s Corner
October 2014 President’s Corner
November 2014 President’s Corner
President Kay Ryan
VP Bill Holt
Treasurer Bill Conger
Sec team Linda Erickson, Shelly Duff
State Board Robbin Schindele, Phil Ryan, Marybeth Conger
Foundation Roger Segers
The Problem
America’s National Forest trails are squeezed between the demands of an enthusiastic public and the challenge of shrinking budgets and a lack of attention. According to the comprehensive June 2013 study by the Government Accountability Office, The Forest Service trail maintenance backlog exceeds a half-billion dollars, and only one-quarter of the agency’s 158,000 miles of trails meets agency standards for maintenance. Nearly two-thirds of these trail miles receive no maintenance at all.
Meanwhile, National Forest trails are giving back to American communities at unprecedented levels: since 1980, trail use has increased nationwide by 376% as people seek exercise, relaxation, and adventure on America’s public lands. Forest trails help fuel a $646 billion recreation industry. The constituency of people supporting trails is enthusiastic and energetic, bringing people together through unique partnerships that link hunters, horsemen, hikers, anglers, bicyclists, conservationists and many others in service of our national trails system. Today, nearly a quarter of Forest Service trail maintenance is provided by volunteers, state funding, and other federal and non-federal sources.
The trail network on our national forests is simply too important to let lapse into ruin and disrepair. We are aware that additional resources are necessary to fully maintain our nation’s trails and are working to secure additional funding for trail maintenance. But in a time of limited budget, there are things that the agency can do now to improve trail maintenance, and the Forest Service needs to look for creative solutions to supplement limited funds, empower volunteer networks, and ensure existing resources are used more efficiently.
The Solution
The ideas we support to address these challenges and improve and safeguard our rich treasury of national forest trails include the following:
• Increase transparency in the trail maintenance program by providing an annual breakdown of how the US Forest Service’s trail maintenance budget is used. This breakdown should detail amounts retained for overhead costs and the resulting amounts that are used for actual trail work. This disclosure will allow the Service and the public to consider whether the amount of overhead can be reduced to enable the agency to do more trail work on the ground;
• Institute national-level goals and targets for trail maintenance and stewardship that will be used as performance measures; create incentives that reward exceptional leadership and service on trails among agency staff;
• Modify the “Volunteer in Forest” program to more evenly distribute the risks associated with the use of volunteers throughout the National Forest System, limit the liability carried by any single forest, and lower the liability barriers for using volunteers to assist with trail maintenance and stewardship;
• Provide national direction and better coordination to maximize the utilization of fire crews for trail work whenever possible;
• Prioritize the selection, training, and retention of skilled and motivated trail staff as well as leadership on trails at higher levels of the agency;
• Develop a USFS Enterprise Team focused on addressing the problems and challenges of existing national forest trails – including working more effectively with partners and providing rapid response crews to remediate severe and sudden trail impacts;
• Standardize national protocols for training and certification on chainsaw and crosscut saw use and expand sawyer training capacity beyond the agency to include skilled non-agency partners; and
• Develop policies, procedures, training, and leadership that would allow volunteer crews to operate more independently, effectively, and efficiently, regardless of the presence of US Forest Service staff.
National Forest Trails Stewardship Administration Concepts Proposal
National Forest Trails Stewardship – FINAL Concept Paper Oct 2013
TRAILS Legislation sign-on letter FINAL TRAILS Admin sign-on letter FINAL
If you live in Idaho and play outdoors, chances are good you’re doing it on public land. They are critical to our quality of life. Outdoor recreation adds billions to the state’s economy and is a magnet for newcomers.
Public lands are a precious resource, and as more people go outdoors, those public lands get more pressure. We could always use more, but buying private land creates problems of its own.
What if we could get more public lands without doing that? It’s possible by getting access to public lands that are currently blocked by private lands.
According to a recent report by the Center for Western Priorities, Idaho has 163,314 acres of inaccessible public lands.
Sophia & brother Emmett
On Saturday November 23, 2013 Squaw Butte Chapter member Laurie Bryan’s granddaughter Sophia fell about 5 feet onto the concrete basement floor. She has an orbital fracture and a fractured skull and the biggest shiner ever. She is conscious though now and responding well. She recognizes everyone and seems to be healing at a remarkable pace. She is just over a year old – which is in her favor. Laurie and her daughters family are with Sophia in Denver Colorado – actually Aurora – at the Children’s hospital. They are staying at the local Ronald MacDonald house. The Squaw Butte chapter of BCHI is setting up a fund for anyone who would like to donate to help with expenses while Sophia is being treated in Denver. To donate to the Sophia fund, checks can be sent to Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen, PO Box 293, Emmett, ID 83617 or brought to the December meeting or the end of season party.
Update December 5th– Sophia is home in Wyoming now, after extensive treatment and evaluation. She is doing very well and the doctors feel she has an excellent chance of full recovery. She will be returning to the Children’s Hospital in the new year for more evaluation and treatment.
Update December 18th – Sophia and her mother were in Denver for additional testing and treatment this week. Athena, Sophia mother said she did really well and will be completely in the clear the end of February!
Sophia’s sporting shades after smoking the eye appointment. No hemorrhaging behind the eye and appears to have no vision damage. First of many follow ups and doing well.
Update January 17 – Sophia’s mother Athena said the Dr’s told her she will be in the clear by the end of February and can lead a totally normal life including roller derby and mutton busting.
The family wants to thank everyone who donated to the fund, your support and concern was appreciated.
In the December Issue of Western Horseman, author and photographer Jennifer Denison wrote a very interesting piece about one of the two remaining Pack Strings run by the US forest service.
The South Platte Ranger District is home to the Rocky Mountain Specialty Pack String based at the AG Ranch in Shawnee, Colorado. Horses and mules based out of this station still ply trails and aid their packers in teaching lessons on horsemanship, packing and low impact techniques for backcountry use. The packers of the Rocky Mountain Specialty Pack String provide specialty packing and educational outreach throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.
The Rocky Mountain Region Specialty Pack String consists of eleven highly trained pack mules and two saddle horses along with their equipment and tack. Working as two mule strings, the pack string uses special packing equipment such as gravel bags, lumber racks and swivel bunks to carry loads into work sites. Able to be utilized anywhere within the United States, the RMRSPS uses two semi-tractors with 27 foot trailers to haul the mule teams.
The pack string supports a wide variety of projects on the national forests, including hauling materials and gear to support Forest Service and volunteer trail crews, assisting in building bridges and other structures, packing sand or gravel for trail maintenance and reconstruction, loading timbers, hauling junk out of backcountry areas and hauling fish to stock remote streams and lakes.The pack string is authorized two packers – a lead packer and an assistant – to accompany the string to shoe, pack, lead and care for the livestock. In addition to scheduling work to support on-ground projects, the packers also conduct a variety of classes such as packing and “leave no trace” training, as well as providing educational outreach presentations to the public about the pack string, its history, capabilities and uses. Finally, the packers and their mules support a variety of community events, such as parades, rodeos and fairs.
Packing a mule string … some history & background
Pack strings are valuable tools in managing the 191 million acres which make up the national forests, America’s Great Outdoors. These lands were set aside over 100 years ago to provide for the needs of the American people in ways that also protect the environment.
Today, while there are numerous smaller mule teams serving the wilderness needs of individual forests, there are only two full regional specialty pack strings serving U.S. Forest Service needs throughout multiple States: (1) the Rocky Mountain Region Specialty Pack String (Region 2), supporting forests in Colorado, Eastern Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota; and (2) the Northern Region Pack Train (Region 1), serving Montana, Northern Idaho, North Dakota and Northwestern South Dakota.
Mules in the Forest Service
Cowboys, trappers and woodsmen–outdoorsmen of every variety–filled the early forest ranger ranks. A good pack animal was an equal partner in protecting the forest reserves from timber, theft and fire. Often, that animal was a mule. Mules were preferred because they possess intelligence, agility and stamina. It was only a matter of time before several pack mules were tied together, creating a working pack string. These working strings became lifelines to the crews who fought fires, carved trails, built fire towers and bridged rivers in the backcountry.
Jennifer Denisons Story in Western Horsemen / Glenn Ryan thought on use of pack string
You don’t have to own your own horse or even be a frequent trail rider to recognize the importance of conservation of horse trails. Learn how you can become involved to help protect your local riding trails in a quickly modernizing world.
by Jocelyn Pierce
Now more than ever, horse trails need support to remain accessible for the public to enjoy them. An overburdened Forest Service is unable to maintain all the recreational trails available to the public, hindering equestrians from accessing many riding trails. Horses and use of the horse are a tradition in United States culture and history that must be preserved for future generations. Only by creating an awareness of the importance of our riding trails and the danger they are facing can we have an impact on the American public and land management agencies.
There are currently 155 national forests in the United States, with over 158,000 miles of recreational trails for horseback riders, hikers, bicyclists, and others to use. That’s roughly six times around the globe at the equator. With all those miles of trails, it’s difficult for the Forest Service to maintain all of them. The Government Accountability Office completed a study on national forest maintenance and found in 2012 only 37 percent of their 158,000 miles of trails had some level of maintenance performed and only one-quarter met the Forest Service’s standards. The Forest Service estimated their trail maintenance backlog to be $314 million in 2012.
Dennis Dailey has been involved in wilderness management for 40 years, and has seen a dramatic shift in the way trails are maintained since he began his career. Dailey worked for the Forest Service, and for Back Country Horsemen as Wilderness Advisor. He has an expert’s understanding of trail conditions. Dailey explains wilderness areas have seen much neglect over the last 60 years and some trails haven’t even been touched in ten years.
Finally, don’t forget to browse through our website and our Facebook page for even more information about the SBFC.
By ROCKY BARKER — rbarker@idahostatesman.com
MARSING – You wouldn’t have known from Owyhee County rancher Dennis Stanford’s presentation Wednesday about reseeding after a range fire that he is facing orders to remove up to half his cattle from public land.
Stanford is one of the ranchers the Bureau of Land Management told in January to reduce their seasonal grazing to meet rangeland health standards. He also is one of the key proponents of the Owyhee Initiative, formed by Owyhee County more than a decade ago to bring ranchers together with groups such as the Idaho Conservation League and the Nature Conservancy to protect wilderness and ranching.
The grazing cuts came as a result of an order by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who ruled in a lawsuit by Western Watersheds Project, an environmental group that opposes grazing. Winmill ordered the BLM to update the grazing permits to show the agency was meeting its standards for rangeland health, guidelines to ensure that the desert ecosystem is functioning. The standards help agency scientists determine that native grasses and shrubs are healthy, streamside areas and watersheds are thriving, and habitat for sage grouse and other endangered species is protected.
Many observers predicted the BLM’s grazing orders would break up the collaboration, which helped Republican Sen. Mike Crapo get a bill passed by Congress in 2009 to protect 517,000 acres of wilderness and provide help to ranchers and other groups.
Here is the final version of video from BCHU Wagon Trek 2013 held July 27-Aug 4 in central Utah to post on BCHA website. Unfortunately… the “thank you” at end only says thanks for contributors of pictures and did not give credit to the 2 singers who provided (at no charge) the music in the video. Anyway, its a pretty good representation of the trek and the varied terrain/scenery we traveled through – about 85 miles worth – 9,400 to 4,500 elevation. Click here to see video. Sent to BCHA by Kathy Myers
On Saturday October 19, 2013 Squaw Butte members assisted the Gem & Boise Country’s 4-H horse programs in hosting a fun trail course with a Halloween theme at the Gem Country Fair ground. The participants were to come in costume as did a number of the adults. The trail course was set up on the track and had step overs, bridges, flags, gates, simulated water hazard and a camp site the riders had to negotiate. BCHI member worked with the riders to ensure that they had fun and were safe.
The goal of Squaw Butte and the 4-H leadership is to forge a strong relationship, that results in a couple of events each year with the goal of an annual horse camping trip, and a new generation of back country trail riders. Click here from more information on the 
event.
Mary Beth Conger | Gail Duke | Phil Ryan | Kay Ryan | Janine Townsend | Hilary Haskins
Originally reported missing on September 24th, the search for Dr. Jodean “Jo” Elliot-Blakeslee will continue this weekend, with approximately 20 searchers led by National Park Service and Butte County Sheriff’s Office personnel. See more Pictures // Location of Search The effort to find Dr. Jo and her hiking companion has been heroic, but if they had been carrying a device the size of a cell phone, and been able to press the 911 button on that device, this story likely would have had a different outcome. Help would have been dispatched sooner, and the help would have known were to look. If you ride, hike, hunt or bike in the back country, you should have a SPOT in your pocket. Idaho Statesman report 10/23/2013
By ROCKY BARKER — rbarker@idahostatesman.com
Three federal agencies spent $392 million to manage 32 million acres of public land in Idaho in the 2012 budget year, a Congressional Research Service report shows.
The report shows that Idaho would have to make up for much of those costs if it succeeded in getting control over the land, as a resolution passed by the Idaho Legislature demands.
The Idaho Department of Lands has estimated that the state could raise $50 million to $75 million annually in timber receipts from federal land. But one cost not figured into the estimate could swallow that revenue by itself — $58 million in payments to counties under two programs, one that makes up for former timber revenues and another compensating for the fact that counties can’t tax federal land. read more
What’s New with Education Backcountry Horseman of Idaho
From Marybeth Conger, BCHI Education Committee member
This year we have grown into a committee which is a great way to mentor members while accomplishing more on our Education agenda. The Committee consists of Bonnie Fox – Treasure Valley BCH, Joseph Brinkman- Eagle Rock BCH, Cindy Walker- Salmon River BCH and Marybeth Conger- Squaw Butte BCH, so there is some great geographic representation. At our recent meeting in Nampa, ID we set forth the following Education areas of importance, in random order.
First let’s talk about Volunteers hours. Keeping track of all our volunteer efforts is one of the most important things we can do in our efforts to keep our access to riding areas. So, we will be redistributing Volunteer Hour Reporting Guides to all chapters to increase awareness and both the number and type of hours reported. Plus we are bringing a FUN Volunteer Hours puzzle to the 2014 Convention, so please come and get your name in the hat to win a fabulous Education prize.
Second, we will be updating The Education and Public Relations section of the Backcountry Horseman of Idaho Planning Guide. I know, this sounds a bit dry and perhaps boring, but updating this guide with education items accomplished and identifying new ones, helps the committee stay focused on the preamble set forth in the Backcountry Horseman of Idaho bylaws.
Third we will be asking for chapter input to Identify Education needs and ask for mentors willing to help with education. A list of available mentors will then be made available to all chapters. Yes, we will be communicating with each chapter’s Education chair or the President if none is listed on the officer register. So, chapter President’s if you haven’t had time to get someone for the Education position, please do, and don’t forget to the State Secretary know too.
Lastly one of our committee members recently completed a Nine Mile Leave No Trace Master Training session, so it is a perfect time to review the Leave No Trace information in the Backcountry Horseman Education manual found on our website. We want to make sure the BCHI.org website has the latest and greatest information, for your use when teaching, preparing, and conducting Educational & Leave No Trace clinics, reports, seminars, etc. or while you are actively attending or presenting at Public meetings relating to BCH activities’ or issues.
All for now and hope to see you on the trail.
Wild fires burned 69 percent of the Payette National Forest and more than 50 percent of the Boise National Forest since 1985, a new report issued by the Idaho Conservation League shows.
Most of the acres burned in six years of when conditions were dry and temperatures high, the report said. And 64 percent burned on the two southwest Boise national forests and the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
These three forests are dominated by drier, lower-elevation ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests as contrasted to the high elevation, wetter forests of north and east Idaho which are dominated by lodgepole. The low elevation forests historically had frequent fires, and the trees and other species had adapted.
“While none of us want to breathe smoke or see flames from our doorstep, there’s no way to remove fire from Idaho entirely,” said Jonathan Oppenheimer, of the Idaho Conservation League and author of the report. “Our challenge is to live with, and prepare for, inevitable fires.”
Oppenheimer analyzed the 2012 fire season and the history of fire in Idaho. Here are some of his key findings:
• Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the national forest acres burned fires were low severity or untouched. Forest Service experts said only 13 percent were “high severity.”
• Large fires consumed a disproportionate share of fire costs, with the five largest fires consuming $145 million, 68 percent of the total cost of suppression.
• Nearly 20 years after policies were updated to restore the natural role of fire, the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho has failed to implement any plans to manage natural fires for resource benefit.
• The Charlotte Fire raced through the Mink Creek and Gibson Jack areas of Pocatello and destroyed 66 homes and 29 outbuildings, making it one of the most destructive Idaho fires since the Big Burn of 1910.
1925 fire fighters
Oppenheimer is advocating essentially what firefighters actually have been doing in Idaho, staying out of the way when fires are big and attempting to restore fire to the ecosystem on our terms. To do that communities need to feel safe.
“The wise way forward is to focus thinning around communities, carefully restore fire where it belongs and keep new homes out of dangerous areas,” Oppenheimer said. “Anything that detracts from that is part of the problem, not part of the solution.”
Tom Bonnickson, professor emeritus of forest science at Texas A&M University and a former park ranger challenged this view in a guest opinion recently in the Calaveras (Calif.) Enterprise. Bonnickson was one of our speakers at the 2000 conference the Idaho Statesman co-convened with the Andrus Center for Public Policy: The Fires Next Time.
“We can thin little trees and use prescribed burns to reduce fuels, but that is not enough,” Bonnickson said. “We must use history as a guide and restore the natural immunity of our forests to monster fires. That means cutting whatever trees are necessary, big or small, to recreate the patchiness and diversity of historic forests that kept fires gentle and helpful.”
Oppenheimer quotes Penny Morgan, director of the University of Idaho Wildland Fire Program, who noted that Idaho has led national thinking about fire management for more than 100 years.
“While fire is naturally part of Idaho summers, things are changing in our forests and rangelands,” she said. “Idaho should remain at the forefront of creative solutions to restore forests and keep communities safe.”
And his press release includes Erich Zimmermann, Senior Policy Analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense. He says its not just a safety and environmental issue but also about saving federal dollars.
“We know that putting out every fire is misguided in places like the backcountry of Idaho,” Zimmermann said. “Experts tell us we can help save money and restore our forests by allowing fire to play a more natural role.”
By Rocky Barker – Blog September 16, 2013
Additional information
I looked backed at the writings between Idaho’s Republican Senator Weldon Heyburn and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 about Idaho’s forest reserves to prepare for the covering the Idaho Legislature’s Interim Committee on Federal Lands Friday at 9 a.m. at the Capitol.
These two Republicans had clear differences about the value of the reserves and their role in American life. Heyburn saw the reserves as an affront to the state’s ability to choose the remaining 50,000 acres the federal government promised it would get under the Admissions Act.
At statehood in 1890, Idaho received federal grants of 3.65 million acres but it took a few years to identify all the lands it wanted. Today the state has 2.46 million acres.
Also see Tom Seay’s video clip in support of BCHA. (From Best of America By Horseback)
Back Country Horsemen of America Gives Youth a Leg Up on Tomorrow By Sarah Wynne Jackson
The GAO just posted on its website an updated report on the USFS trail maintenance and reconstruction backlog: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-618
Agency imposes new rules for Birds of Prey area
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal land managers are imposing a ban on paintball warfare and rock climbing in and around a raptor sanctuary along the Snake River canyon south of Boise.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced the new rules Monday for the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey area. Agency officials have been crafting the rules for several years in hopes of better protecting raptor habitat and improving public safety in the area. New rules prohibit rock climbing and rappelling in the canyon within the sanctuary boundaries to protect 16 species of raptors that nest along the rock walls. Paintball guns have also been outlawed inside the area and within a quarter-mile of the boundary. New restrictions have also been implemented for campfires. Offenders could be fined or sentenced to prison.
Wild Land Fires – Forest and Range land fires are different in Idaho Rocky Barker, May 2013
History alone is enough reason to make the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains a national monument, speakers at Redfish Lodge said Saturday.
Cecil Andrus’ fight to stop a molybdenum mine at Castle Peak in 1970 got him elected governor and changed conservation politics in the West, said Idaho Conservation League Director Rick Johnson. He rattled off historic mining sites, unique botanical resources and fish and wildlife values that support the bid to make the entire Boulder-White Clouds worthy of monument status.
Should the entire Sawtooth National Recreation Area be included in the designation?
Red Fish Lake
Red Fish Lake
By ROCKY BARKER — June 4, 2013
Backers of a proposed national monument for the Boulder and White Cloud mountains east of Stanley and north of Sun Valley want to make sure it’s the right size and has the right federal agency to give the region the focused “showcase management” it deserves.
But as the Obama administration undertakes a review of a possible monument designation, just how much of the 500,000-acre road-less area in central Idaho would be included in the proposed monument and how it would be managed remain open questions.
In a visit to Boise last month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pointed to Chimney Rock, a 4,700-acre archeological site in the San Juan National Forest in Colorado designated by Obama as a monument, as a model for decision-making that involves all stakeholders. Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Becky Nourse pointed to Misty Fjords National Monument in Alaska as an example of how the U.S. Forest Service has addressed monument-management issues. Read More
For More Information To Donate online
Welcome to the Diabetes Ride!
The Diabetes Ride is a pledged equestrian trail ride that began in 1995 and has been running annually since that time. We hope you’ll plan to join us every year! The Diabetes Ride benefits Idaho Diabetes Youth Programs (IDYP), a local nonprofit that since 1978 has been providing diabetes camps and programs for children and teens with Type 1 diabetes.
Anyone may participate in this trail ride. We encourage all of our participants to collect pledges for their ride and turn them in on the day of the ride. If you collect more than $175 in pledges, you ride for FREE! We often have riders that collect more than $500 in pledges—sometimes as much as several thousand dollars! That money is put to great use and is much appreciated by the staff at IDYP! Read more about IDYP and the Hodia Camp programs at www.hodia.org.
An event put on by the Heartland chapter of Back Country Horsemen. The partnership with your horse will test your skill negotiating natural mountain trail obstacles at Whitetail Ridge in Meadows Valley.
Contact Gloria Pippin at gapippin@ctcweb.net / 208-741-9000 or Al Becker at ahbecker@frontiernet.net / 208-347-2346
There will also be a clinic June 14 by Idaho Horseman, Kieran Donahue 208-841-8844 / knjdonahue@aol.com
HMC waiver MTC Entry form 2013 2013 Mountain Trail Flyer
Dear BCHA members,
Yellowstone National Park recently announced the start of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to review its “Parkwide Commercial Stock Outfitter Concessions Contracts.” Public comment letters during the initial scoping of the project are due by April 15th, 2013. For details, go to: http://parkplanning.nps.gov
This process is VERY important to BCH and will be closely monitored. Members that have ridden in Yellowstone, or plan to in the future, should participate in the EA process, attend public meetings (if you live in ID, MT or WY) and—importantly—submit written comments to the Park by April 15th. BCHA’s Advisor for Wilderness & Recreation has included talking points at the end of this alert that you should consider including in your letters.
We are learning, our written comments often do carry weight, particularly if a great number of members submit personal comments (versus form letters). We all need to respond so the Park Service understands how important Yellowstone is to horse and mule riders nationwide.
1) Review the newspaper article below
2) The link to the project’s website and our talking points
3) Then submit a short, courteous letter to Yellowstone National Park by clicking on the “Comment on Document” link given on the website or by mailing your letters to:
Yellowstone National Park
Attn: Parkwide Commercial Stock Outfitter Concession Contracts/EA
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
We are seeing more and more National Parks going through a process that includes the potential for new limits or restrictions to outfitted day rides or a reduction of stock use in the backcountry/wilderness. If you live near or ride in a National Park or National Monument, please serves as our eyes and ears and alert BCHA if this process appears in your area. It is imperative that horsemen be in on the ground floor when an agency is considering limits on commercial stock use, as some outfitters are prevented from speaking out against reductions in guided day or backcountry tips. Moreover, we’ve seen some public land agencies move toward reducing private stock use after they’ve justified making reductions to commercial stock.
Yellowstone Park reviews horse use Revised Stock EA Scoping Newsletter BCHA Talking Point
It’s springtime again, and that can only mean one thing: It’s almost time to get back out into the wilderness backpacking, riding,floating, hiking, flying, fishing, camping, climbing, and sleeping under warm summer skies. And of course, let’s not forget about getting out into the wilderness to volunteer to take care of your favorite trail or wilderness area! We’ll be publishing our first-ever complete volunteer guide in late April, but between now and then you can view a preliminary list of our summer 2013 projects on our website. Aside from getting your gear in order and your tack cleaned, we’ve got plenty for you to do before summer hits: Http://www.selwaybitterroot.org
SBFC Receives National Wilderness Award
The Forest Service recently announced the recipients of its 2012 National Wilderness Awards, and the SBFC is the proud recipient of the Bob Marshall Award for Partnership Champion in Wilderness Stewardship. These awards honor individuals and groups for excellence in wilderness stewardship and encompass education, traditional skills and minimum tools leadership, and overall wilderness stewardship. Read Spring newsletter!
Southwestern Idaho’s Boise and Payette National forests have a long history of fires and fire lookouts. Many of these lookouts are no longer used, but many are still in service. All of them have great views and make interesting ride destinations. There used to be hundreds of active fire lookouts in Idaho, now only a handful are staffed. Some still stand tall but idle. A few have been restored as alluring backcountry rentals. Others are slowly melting back into the mountains. Whatever their condition, lookouts are icons of the state, historic reminders of decades of fire fighting in Idaho. Eyes of the Forest – Idaho’s Fire Lookouts (IPTV) “Fire lookouts began as a matter of convenience. A likely tree and likely spot on a mountain top or a ridge top. They would put a ladder, either a wooden rung ladder or maybe they’d drive large spikes in the tree and climb it. In Idaho there were probably a hundred of these tree lookouts in the beginning. They went from there to more of them. A lot were built during the Civilian Conservation Corps era of the 1930s. The earliest cabins were cupola type cabins where you’d live on the ground floor and then a small cab upstairs or maybe just a tent camp. And they went from there to live-in style pole towers. They’d cut the poles on the mountain, sometimes 100 feet tall towers and they were livable towers. And that was the ideal set up because that way the lookout on duty could go about his daily activities and scan the horizon every ten minutes or so all day and night if necessary.”
Tripod Peak Lookout
Tripod Peak Lookout was established in 1921 with a 6′ wooden tower topped by a live-in cab, a 6′ L-4 tower was added in the 1930’s, with a concrete base added in 1956. The present 2-story R-6 flat cab, built in 1977, has been staffed by the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association. Elevation 8086′
Miners Peak Lookout
Miners Peak Lookout was established in 1948 with a gable-roofed L-4 cab salvaged from Krassel Knob and Teapot Dome lookouts, the present 2-story log hip-roofed cab, built in 1989?, is staffed in the summer. Elevation 7810′
Peck Mountain
Peck Mountain was established in 1919, a 30′ tree w/ cab and frame cabin living quarters were built. A 45′ steel Aermotor tower, built in 1935, was removed in 2007. An accompanying R-4 ground cab was used for living quarters. The site is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. Elevation 5200′
Gold Fork Lookout
Gold Fork Lookout established in the 1920s with a 6×6′ log platform atop a rock 1.5 miles east at 8165′ and a log cabin in a meadow 1 mile southwest, an L-4 cab was constructed in 1933. It was moved to 2 miles east of Cascade for private use in 1988. Elevation 7790′
To see other lookout and their locations visit the South Western Idaho Firelookout.com map!
There are a number of great sources of information of interest to BCHI members outside of our state and chapter websites. BCHA has a Facebook page and there are news feeds that post the latest information on public land agencies that we work with.
Rocky Barker – March 4, 2103 Idaho Statesman
U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, presented numbers that appeared astounding as he made the case that state forestry is better.
Bishop, speaking at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation last week, said that the Idaho Department of Lands has 52 times the volume of timber harvested per acre on its 971,678 acres of forests than the U.S. Forest Service has on 20 million acres. That’s 239.4 million board feet per acre to 4.6.
Chairman Bishop said the annual revenue per acre is even more astounding – 917 times more for the state than the federal forests. That’s $55 per acre for the state to 6 cents per acre for the national forests.
What Bishop’s dinner-napkin math doesn’t say is that not all of those 20 million acres are forests. There are only 17.2 million acres of federal forests in Idaho, and a small part of that number is under the Bureau of Land Management.
Of that, more than half – 9 million acres – is roadless, and another 3.8 million is wilderness. Much of the roadless forest is technically open to logging. But, in reality, much of it is either too prone to erosion, too steep or covered in trees that are so low in value that they would not support road-building or the kind of active management practiced on state lands.
Finding different paths for forests
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and Boise are looking at changing a federal management system that all but ended logging after the forest wars of the 1980s and 1990s.
The desire for new forest plans is driven by wildfires that are growing in intensity and cost, and by lawsuits that lead foresters to add time and pages to environmental reviews to avoid litigation.
In Idaho, the Legislature is studying whether to copy a Utah law that would try to force the federal government to turn over millions of acres of public lands.
In Washington, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation is looking at programs to mirror the forest trusts in 22 states – such as Idaho’s state endowments that produce revenue for schools and other beneficiaries – on 135 million acres.
Boise Chapter http://www.boisebch.org
Squaw Butte http://sbbchidaho.org
Treasure Valley http://www.tvbch.com
BCHI http://bchi.org
In 2013 Squaw Butte is applying for a grant from the IDRP for chain saws to continue our work on public land trail in the Boise and Payette National forests. A number of agencies have provided letters of support for this grant. I have included links to one from the BLM and the final draft of our grant proposal. The chapter thanks Robbin Schindele for all the hard work on this grant.
Its time to think about photos for the 2014 BCHI calendars.
In addition to being great horsemen, SBBCHI members are also noted for some spectacular photography. It is time for each of you to go through the images youve taken at various SBBCHI activities during 2012 and choose the photos you would like to submit for the selection process. Read More
THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT Example: Idaho’s Centennial Trail
SEC. 2.
(a) In order to provide for the ever-increasing outdoor recreation needs of an expanding population and in order to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation, trails should be established (i) primarily, near the urban areas of the Nation, and (ii) secondarily, within scenic areas and along historic travel routes of the Nation which are often more remotely located.
(b) The purpose of this Act is to provide the means for attaining these objectives by instituting a national system of recreation, scenic and historic trails, by designating the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail as the initial components of that system, and by prescribing the methods by which, and standards according to which, additional components may be added to the system.
(c) The Congress recognizes the valuable contributions that volunteers and private, nonprofit trail groups have made to the development and maintenance of the Nation’s trails. In recognition of these contributions, it is further the purpose of this Act to encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, maintenance, and management, where appropriate, of trails.
Zach Poff Lowman ranger district shared some pictures of work done in the Northern zone of the Boise National forest by his team and other volunteer organizations in 2012.
The South Western Idaho RAC minutes for the 09/13/2012 meeting are also available for downloading.