Senate Bill 496: "Introduced on April 30, 2009, to impose a requirement that horseback riders on state land must buy a bridle tag for $5 per day, $25 per year or $60 for three years, and use the money to establish and maintain a network or horseback riding trails. The bill would authorize a state equine trailways commission to 'advise' the Department of Natural Resources on the use of the trailway network and the use of the new fee money."
It is ironic that a bill is introduced to establish new trails when the DNR has shut down one of the largest riding trails in the state. On top of that, the bill proposes to charge fees to ride and perhaps worse, create another "commission" with all the expenses to go with it.
These kinds of actions will discourage out-of-state trail riders from coming to Michigan. They will have fewer trails and higher costs to ride. It will put a huge dent in the $8 Billion equine industry in this state. How unfortunate.
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Has no one been listening? Search the MDNR website for state parks and recreational areas. 108 come up. How many allow horses? TWO. We are pursuing Right to Ride on public land and someone wants us to pay bridle tag fees? For WHAT?
I searched.
Was it announced on any web page?
Was the pending legislation sent by email to equestrians?
Did anyone CALL anyone about it?
HECK NO.
Digging around and around and around, I finally discovered the source of this non-sensical evil… It came from … MICHIGAN EQUINE PARTNERSHIP. That’s right ladies and gentlemen. MEP wants money for breeder incentive fees for the RACING industry on April 29th, then STICKS THE TRAIL RIDERS IN THE BACK on April 30th!!
This piece of legislation is a crock of old, sour, soaking socks. It targets ONE single user group. It wants to target fees for trails – THAT DO NOT EXIST!! In fact, the group behind this says “We want to pay to have trails”… The legislation allows for money to be collected but it doesn’t say WHAT THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT ON!
Another commission within the all powerful, MDNR that is accountable to NO ONE.
Horse trails, much like biker trails (many of which were simply taken from the horse people, oh yes) are typically established by..gasp…VOLUNTEERS. Sometimes, the volunteers need professional help to put in bridges or erosion control at creek / stream crossings… but for the most part, thousands of hours of volunteer time go into trail work. Along with cleaning user areas, much of the material is donated, including heavy equipment.
Our campgrounds are not fancy. No electric, no cement places to park. No streetlights or fancy barbecue grills. No flush toilets or running water. Sometimes there are outhouses and usually there are old-fashioned hand pumps. Oh, and by the way… equestrians pay $20 for rustic camping while others pay only $15.
So why oh why, should equestrians pay for non-existent trails? Unless HB 4610 passes the House and the Senate … there’s no place to go beside county parks or - this is a good one, land that a county and horse group are now LEASING from the state in order to ride on it. That’s right, because otherwise, all the horse people go south to Indiana where they LIKE our money. So Allegan County got smart. They wanted to keep the horses, our $8 Billion in assets; our $1 Billion in annual revenue. It took them FOUR YEARS of negotiating to accomplish this. What a waste of people’s time.
We RIDE & We BUY MICHIGAN PRODUCTS… hay, corn, oats, straw, beet pulp, US-made trailers, US-made TRUCKS, US-grown and trained horses. US-made fences, gates, barns, and equipment, farm tractors and implements. Michigan fertilizers and sprays, Shall I go on?
If horses must pay to play, then watch out those of you with strollers and roller blades; hikers and berry pickers; canoers and kayakers.
TO Michigan Equine Partnership...
This legislation is ludicrous and irresponsible from a group that calls itself the Michigan Equine Partnership.
SB 496 Bridle Tag Fees
http://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2009-SIB-0496.htm
First. Why target ANY SINGLE user group within the equine industry?
Second. why put this commission under the control of the DNR?
Third. WHY not empower the MHC?
Fourth. Why did you not seek input from trail riding associations (if you did, they all kept it secret).
FIVE: Where did you come up with the fees? Snowmobiles only pay $20 a year - and they have trails!!. How can you expect a family to pay over $100 to ride on non-existent trails? Did you forget how much money horse people pay into local agricultural economies?
SIX: Why not create trails before charging people to use them.
How about a Michigan HARNESS FEE? That money could go towards 4H fair premiums.
How about a Michigan BREEDING FEE? That money could go towards placing all the unwanted horses.
How about a Michigan SHOW ARENA FEE? That money could go towards MSU equine research for all the horses that get ridden too young and become crippled.
I can't imagine what the speed associations would say if you tried to charge a "per barrel fee"...
Would you like me to continue with this idiocy? Do you see where I'm going with this?
Please stop this bill in its tracks. Wait and see what comes out of HB 4610. Let's see if we can even get any land returned to ride on!!
The more money trail riders must pay; the less money they have to contribute to other equine activities - such as a horse park.
Regards,
THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PLOY BY THE DNR TO EXTRACT MORE MONEY FROM THE HORSE PEOPLE. WE DON'T HAVE HORSE TRAILS PER SAY THE DNR HAS BUILT AND MAINTAINED FOR THE HORSE PEOPLE. THE TRAILS HAVE BEEN BUILT AND MAINTAINED BY THE TRAIL RIDER THEMSELVES, AND YET PAY CAMPING FEES THAT AMOUNT TO 5 DOLLARS MORE THAN A REGULAR CAMPERS DO. WHO SAYS WE AREN'T PAYING OUR WAY? FIRST OF ALL WE NEED ALL THE LAND BACK THAT WAS TAKEN AWAY BEFORE WE WILL EVEN CONSIDER IT!
TRAPPER II
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