In a University of Tennessee, Knoxville study, “Physical Activity and Immunity in HIV-Infected Individuals,” C. M. Bopp et al. also found “that regular physical activity may also be beneficial for HIV patients.”

In the study “Moderate to vigorous physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection,” printed in the August 2002 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Charles E. Matthews et al. demonstrated that “moderate levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced risk for upper-respiratory tract infection. Risk was reduced by about 20% in men and women.”

Why Do Athletes Get Sick after Starting a New Exercise Routine?

Countless studies support the idea that exercise boosts the immune system, but what about those of us who consistently come down with upper respiratory tract infections shortly after committing to a new exercise routine? After three weeks of faithful commitment to my mountain bike, I sit at home trying to recover from a persistent cold so I can get back into the swing of things. This is not unusual. Every time I commit to a workout routine, I get sick.

In her article, “Outrun The Common Cold,” published by Runner’s World in December 2007, Jennifer Pirtle reports, “Most data cite immune boosts after 30 to 75 minutes of moderate activity.” Not too many mountain bikers ride for only 75 minutes. So what happens when you ride for the usual 90 or 120 minutes? What about your three-hour rides?

David Nieman, DrPH, director of the Appalachian State University Human Performance Laboratory—and endurance runner—has focused on exercise immunology over the past 20 years. In the study, “Nutritional strategies to counter stress to the immune system in athletes, with special reference to football,” Dr. Nieman and Nicolette C. Bishop describe an ‘open window’ of immune dysfunction possibly lasting between three and 72 hours in which illness is most likely to develop. “Ingestion of carbohydrate beverages during intense and prolonged exercise has emerged as the most effective [countermeasure]. However, carbohydrate supplementation during exercise decreases exercise-induced increases in plasma cytokines and stress hormones, but is largely ineffective against other immune components including natural killer cell function and salivary IgA.” IgA is also found in blood and tears and is an immunoglobulin in the membranes of the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth that is responsible for protecting those common viral and bacterial entry points from such foreign bodies.

Preventing Illness after Endurance Workouts

This certainly makes the case for increased carbohydrate consumption during exercise, preferably in fluid form since the carbohydrates are delivered faster than solid carbohydrates such as those in bagels and bananas, but it doesn’t go far enough to prevent infection during the susceptible 72-hour period following an endurance workout. This is where lifestyle factors come into play: improve immune health by scheduling adequate sleep into your schedule, eat plenty of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods, and incorporate stress-reduction techniques into your day.

In addition to sleep, diet, and stress reduction, it is important to prevent exposure of your mucosal membranes to pathogens. Do not touch your eyes, ears, nose, or mouth after touching foreign surfaces that are highly likely to expose you to viruses and bacteria, such as gas pumps, shopping carts, door handles, and even pens at your local restaurants or banks. Instead, carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to use after exposure to any of these types of surfaces.

In the National Parks Conservation Association article, “Wheels of Change,” Amy Leinbach Marquis explains that in 1866, Major General Nelson A. Miles, a commanding officer in the U.S. Army, tested his idea of arming soldiers with bikes. “Miles set out to test his idea on a small group of ‘Buffalo Soldiers’—African-American men tasked with keeping the peace on the frontier and, in some cases, serving as America’s very first national park rangers in places like Yosemite and Sequoia.” These men first made an 800-mile journey to Yellowstone National Park. Their longest journey was a grueling, 1,900-mile journey across the Rockies.

The next time you hear someone argue that mountain bikers don’t belong on the trails because they’re just another radical, new user group, set ‘em straight: the 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers started mountain biking in 1866. Possibly radical, but definitely not new.

Rewinding back to my birthday, I went to Steve and Danielle’s for dinner, cake, and hoppy goodness with my friends. At the end of the evening, Kristi gave me two beers to take home—two that I’ve never tried. Yesterday, I decided to try those beers and do a little brew review including some of my favorites that are currently in my fridge. Incidentally, these beers are all from Colorado or Michigan.

Dale’s Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colorado

Dale’s Pale Ale is described as “a huge, voluminously hopped mutha of a pale ale” on the vessel that houses this big brew. I immediately smelled the hoppy aroma of this 6.5% beast of a beer when I popped open the can. It smelled goooooood, which is what I want from a beer. If it doesn’t have a nice aroma, it’s going to lose some brownie points.

I poured the fragrant beverage into a pint glass. It had an inviting orange color with no head. The first sip surprised me. The forward bitterness was a turn off at first, probably because I wasn’t expecting it, but subsequent sips brought about a noticeable maltiness that balanced the ale. It contains exactly what I hope to encounter from any pale ale: moderately bitter flavor combined with a citrusy aroma. I could see myself easily imbibing many cans of this stuff, especially after a challenging mountain bike ride on a sunny day.

Stranger American Pale Ale, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado

I was interested in trying Lefthand’s Stranger American Pale Ale because I’ve had my share of their milk stout and really enjoyed it. According to Lefthand Brewing Company’s website, “Initial impressions are not always reality, so you must delve deeper.” Unfortunately, my initial impression of this brew was pretty accurate. I tried sip after sip hoping that this ale would open up to something delightful. Not that this pale ale isn’t good—it is—but I don’t think it’s great. It’s not as bitter as I would expect, but I do get a mild citrus flavor.

This isn’t a beer I would buy, mostly because there are better options, but it’s not a beer I would turn down…at least, not on most days. It doesn’t have any strong flavors, so it’s not offensive making it easy to drink, but it doesn’t have a flavor that wows me either. There is some spiciness to it—something I appreciate in wine, but not something I like in beer.

Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Founders, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale is one of my favorite beers. In fact, this is my gateway beer into the world of hoppiness. Founders proudly sponsors mountain biking on the west side of the state, and it poured freely at both of the Midwest Mountain Bike Summits that I attended in Grand Rapids. After the second year, I didn’t just find this beer tolerable; I craved it. It took a while, but Founders turned me into a fan.

This pale ale is a golden-orange color testifying to the bright happiness that you will encounter in a pint glass. Unfortunately, after two other pale ales and an empty stomach, I can’t really taste much from this, but I can tell you from plenty of experience that Founder’s Pale Ale offers a nice maltiness balanced with hoppy goodness…and it smells GREAT.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this increasingly intoxicating brew review of pale ales from Colorado and Michigan. I know I have!

By the way, the Tigers beat the White Sox 5-2.

This corner is the transition from the grassy connector to the new trail.

After figuring out where the new trail work was being done, I walked to the beginning of the newly-cleared trailed, stole a mattock from someone, and began benching. Nick Shue came along and showed us where the riders would be coming from and asked us to bench out that corner from the existing, grassy trail leading into the new trail. I got to work. It took a while. I knew what I needed to accomplish, how I would want it to flow from a riding perspective, and began sculpting the trail. It wasn’t until I had finished the first round of benching and stepped back to assess my work that I realized what I really need to do.

I benched out the inside of the turn to make the corner more level while still encouraging water drainage across and away from the trail. Pete Kresmery came along and helped me finish the corner, mostly by widening the outside of the turn where it came into the new trail. He then stole the mattock from me and took off. My heart broke a little with that loss.

This is the trail that we camouflaged. This is the view that bikers will see as they enter the grassy connector (the grass is going to disappear) to the newly-cut trail.

Nick led Marty and me to the place where the old trail needed to be closed and a transition to the new trail needed to be created. We smoothed out a new transition from the old trail onto the existing grassy trail (the grassy trail wasn’t part of the original mountain bike trail, but it is now a short connector from the old trail to the newly-cut trail, so transitions were created at both ends of this grassy section).

We then took on the task of masking the old trail that was rerouted. Nick dug a hole and stuck a large tree that was cut down earlier into this hole. We packed rocks, dirt, and sod into the hole hoping that it would hold this tree up for a while. Bob and I dug a couple of smaller holes and planted some branches in these to create the illusion or smaller trees. I then grabbed the limbs and bushes that were cleared from the new trail and placed them on the old trail with the leafy ends facing the direction of the trail from which the mountain bikers would come. This brush created the illusion of bushes. I think we did a good job camouflaging the trail. This is the first step in trail reclamation. Another volunteer broke up the old trail path with a pulaski to further discourage riders from using it and to allow plants to seed and grow on that path.

This is the closed trail from the grassy connector. The rider’s back will be to this area. You can see the broken up trail on the right side of the picture.

We had a really good turnout for this trail day. Nineteen motivated and happy mountain bikers showed to diligently work: Nick, Marty, Di, Pete, Mark S., Chris, Jeff, Assam, Andy (the Moosejaw guys), Dave, Rodney, Mark M., Paul, Steve, Pat, Katie, Aaron, Shari, and Emma. Thanks to Bob for compiling this list of names.

A bunch of happy mountain bikers diligently worked on the mountain bike trail reroute.

I assisted with camouflaging the top of the closed trail, but my last project was to create the transition from the new trail back into the good part of the old trail. This was much more difficult than the first transition because the ground had many more of those stringy roots that like to grab the blade of the mattock preventing a nice bench. I spent more time cutting out roots than actually benching, but I eventually finished the job.

I felt that more benching needed to be done on the section leading up to that transition, and some people definitely made the effort, but had the same challenge as I with the roots and couldn’t perfect it in time for lunch and the finish of the trail day.

The new trail leads into the transition located at the bottom of the photo and the top of the hill.

Of course, you can’t do a trail reroute without updating the map. Steve, who seems to be the unofficial CRAMBA cartographer, surveyed the trail with his GPS. He went home to work his magic creating the new Addison Oaks mountain bike trail map.

I can’t exactly remember how the name of the new section of trail came about, but I know it has to do with it being a longer climb. One also has to question the name, “Fine Grind,” when it comes from a group of avid coffee drinkers.

Steve, the unofficial CRAMBA cartographer, surveyed the trail with his GPS.

I haven’t done a trail day in probably two years, although I had lots of practice when I created some trails on my dad’s property. It was nice to be able to finally show up and use the little that I do know. I also decided that I need to get a mattock because I really do enjoy building trails.

That’s not important though. What is important is what the ’sharks did later in the night to influence the bear. Nancy Shark spun a wild tale about a Rochester Mills Mug Member event later in April. This event will have a nice spread of food and lots of beverages that are included in the low membership fee of $35. The bear took the bait and succumbed to the promises set forth by this tall tale and acquired a beary cool mug for herself.

Zany conversation ensued and then the ’sharks and the bear went home with beers full of bellies. I mean, bellies full of beer.

I asked a couple of people at the Wednesday night Stony Creek group ride if they were interested in doing an easy ride at River Bends for Thursday (yesterday). We couldn’t decide on a time, so we left it for Facebook discussion.

The reason why I wanted to do an easy ride is because I have a Bloomer ride scheduled with the Sharks for tonight. Bloomer is going to kick my ass. I know from experience that if I don’t do any riding the day before a harder ride, then that harder ride is going to be even more difficult because my legs will be stiff and cold. If I do an easy ride the night before, then my legs will be looser for that harder ride. Does that make sense? Perhaps I’ll figure out the answer to that question when I proofread this blog post.

Back to my story. After lunch, yesterday, I found myself crashing earlier than usual. I usually “crash” in the afternoon—my energy levels plummet and I want to take a nap, but only on work days. I logged onto Facebook with the intention of telling Jeremy and Steve that I was going to bail from the ride because I didn’t have any energy, my dog is getting pissed at me for not being home, and my introverted self needs a quality evening on the couch with said dog.

Steve foiled my plan for bailing just in the nick of time. When I logged on, there was a message from Steve asking a few people what time they wanted to meet for the River Bends ride. Everyone seemed to settle on 6:00. I composed a message explaining why I might not be able to make it, hit CTRL+A and then Del to erase it all, and replaced it with, “I could swing 6.” Shit. And so, I made 6. Jeremy tried to pick on me for being late, but I was quick to clarify that I was ready and walking out of the River Bends bathroom right at 6. I know that cuz my iPhone told me so.

I was ready to go when I learned that we were waiting for Nick and Marty to arrive. That was okay. One of the things I love about Nick and Marty is that they are often late, so they buy me a little more time to mentally prepare and to screw around with stuff I didn’t think I had time to screw around with…like the iPhone.

Enter Norbert. He popped off the trail and found us waiting for Nick and Marty. He asked us if this was a planned ride, and we quickly explained our lack of organization. This was really a product of last-minute facebooking.

facebook

face·book (fa̅s-bük)
n. Annoying social networking site that is incredibly useful and continually threatens to force people to use its timeline feature.
v. face·booked, face·book·ing, face·books
To post crap on or communicate via facebook.

Seven us went rolling through River Bends and then hit up the roads for a spin down to the Clinton River Park trails…and whatever else they may be called since you may actually ride through seven or so parks thanks to the indecisiveness of the ADD city of Sterling Heights. Once we actually got on the trails, the gang took off—including Marty, who totally rocked her singlespeed that she recently wiped the dust off of—and dropped my ass. I cut out a couple sections of trail to catch up with this fast bunch led by the fearless Nick “Speedy” Shue. I just couldn’t keep up. I also realized that I was pushing harder than I had intended for this “easy” ride. Face it, the guys are freakin’ fast, and an easy ride for them is race pace for me.

Since we were now closer to Norbert’s house, he dropped off and headed home leaving us as a perfect sixer. Marty showed some mercy and hung back with me on the return ride. It was actually a great ride, but definitely much more than I expected. In the long run, this is good, and I had some sobering thoughts when I pondered it last night.

First, I’d like to comment that I don’t think anyone really knows exactly how far anyone really went because no one’s GPS or bike computers are in agreement. It is fair that I use my numbers since that is what I consistently have access to, and the exact distance isn’t what really matters, but it’s how my performance changes according to that one instrument. In other words: it’s about relativity. According to my cracked-out computer, we did 16.75 miles in 1 hour 45 minutes. According to el computero, actual ride time was 1 hour, 37 minutes. Not too shabby.

I snuggled on the couch with my increasingly pissed off dog and ate dinner while watching the last half of American Idol before moving my now very stiff body to the shower. Yes, I was feeling that ride. It was in my brief, warm shower that I experienced the aforementioned sobering contemplations regarding my riding: gone are the days of “easy rides.” I’m either gonna ride or I’m not. Some days I will be loose, strong, and fast—at least, as fast as Di is capable of going given her “current” fitness level; or I will be stiff, worn out, weak, and slow, like I was on my birthday. People who are riding with me are just going to have to accept that. Fortunately, I don’t think they really care and it’s not an issue for them. Unfortunately, I have to get over the fact that I will sometimes be that slow person holding up the group, but I also need to realize that there is probably going to be someone else in that group like I am on the Wednesday night Stony rides: incredibly grateful that there is a slower person for whom we have to wait so that I can get a little more rest.

I’m a little stiff today, but I plan to hit up the Bloomer ride with the Sharks and friends. I will have fun tonight. I hope Marty can make it.

After spending 35 miles with Erick Mile the day before, my legs were spent, but I still decided to meet fellow CRAMBA kidz Jeremy and Sol for a bike ride at Pontiac Lake on April 6. That’s a hard trail to pass up, and I’m glad I didn’t. Sure, I had to damn near granny up the hills, but I cleared “Triple Puke” for the first time since moving back downstate from the Keweenaw, and the trail was in such great shape the the downhills were…yeah, I’ve said it many times and I’m going to say it again…wicked fast.

We decided to get some pictures of us riding down “the chute.” We even climbed back up to experience the “whee factor” of this nifty spot for a second time.

Sol Cunningham. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Jeremy Verbeke. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Me. (Not so fast! You don’t get to enlarge this one. )

Doggies playing. The Jack Russell is Kristi’s new pup, Andy. The Labradoodle is Steve and Danielle’s beautiful pup.

CAKE! The funfetti is a masterful creation of Danielle. The rich, chocolatey goodness was delivered by Marty. The beer is Dragonmead’s Juggernaut.

My birthday is on Good Friday this year, which happens to fall on a Friday. In fact, it is the Friday that occurs tomorrow! Since I have plans tomorrow, such as church and riding at Pontiac Lake, I decided to do my 35-mile birthday ride today. This wasn’t just any 35-mile birthday ride, though; it was a record-breaking ride because it is the most miles I’ve ever ridden on a mountain bike!

I was a little nervous—no, pretty damn scared—about whether I could complete this ride. I knew that I could easily bust out 35 miles on my cross bike, especially if I rode on Saturday in Shiawassee County, but I figured getting it out of the way would make this Easter weekend a little less hectic.

Last night, Erick Mile made the fatal mistake of saying that he’d ride with me. He was a little worried because he had a week filled with long, hard rides, so his legs were feeling it a bit. I told him that it would be nothing more than a recovery ride for him because I wouldn’t be traveling that fast on my mountain bike. And so, we met today at 1:30 at the Stony Creek Metropark mountain bike trailhead. Say that 10 times really fast.

Erick was really “the perfect guy for the job” because I bestowed upon him the great opportunity to give me a tour of the park. We hit the “bikini loop,” made a quick jaunt around the Trolley Trails, and then screwed around a bit at the mountain bike skills park. After that, we continued on our way around the bikini loop and rode to the nature center and down the golf course road. That’s when we ventured onto the two-track and hit up “the pines,” but neither one of us really felt like doing the snake or the rollercoaster. It was just too much. Unfortunately, we had only gone about 17 miles, so we had to figure out how to get the remaining 18 miles done fast…or faster.

We rode out onto the road and did several miles on some roads, like Gunn Road, Dequindre, and whichever ones we rode in between. By the time we got back to the park, we still had nine miles to go, so we rode four miles out on the paved bike paths making a total of eight by the time we got back to the mountain bike trailhead. One mile to go…we slowly rode around the parking area to conquer that final mile.

By the time we got back to my Pathfinder, my stomach was screaming for food, so I gave Erick an apple, I ate my orange—ha ha, how appropriate: apples and oranges—and we each cracked open a bottle of Hazed and Infused: dry-hopped, yummy goodness that is frickin’ awesome after a long, hard ride. It tasted incredibly good!

In 3 hours, 48 minutes, we completed 35.04 miles. I broke my mountain bike distance record. I also scarfed down a burger and fries from Five Guys—yet another record, cuz I’ve never been able to eat it all in one sitting, not until today.

My legs are tired, my ass hurts, but come hell or high water, I will ride Pontiac Lake tomorrow! I already warned the people I’m meeting that I will be slow. I have yet to figure out whether that will be because I have to use my granny gear the whole way, or if I’ll be pushing my bike.

Slagter reported that problems with the equestrians “turned out to be considerable and many. They rode cross country, making their own trails. They boasted of getting so close to elk that they could reach out and touch them. They disturbed elk and other wildlife. They caused vegetative damage and showed up on trails where they were not allowed.” Worse yet, while the mountain bikers were able to show that they weren’t just another group, that they were clearly stewards of the land by maintaining the trails, the equestrians wanted no part of it. They simply wanted their access back without offering any kind of a productive relationship with the DNR and other user groups.

On December 10, 2011, I wrote a letter to the most recent bill’s sponsor:

Mr. MacMaster,

I am very sorry that I was unable to attend last week’s Michigan Horse Council meeting as I looked forward to meeting you. As an avid trail user, I’ve had the pleasure of building, maintaining, and enjoying Michigan trails such as those in Copper Harbor, Grand Rapids, and now, the Greater Detroit Area. Building and maintaining trails is truly a labor of love––hand tools make for slow trail development.

My fellow volunteers and I raise money to purchase those tools and materials that are necessary for building not only a fun trail, but one that resists erosion and will be sustainable for many years to come. You see, our goal is to enjoy our public lands with minimal impact to the surrounding environment. We recognize that our public lands are a privilege, and we, as volunteers, are stewards of that land.

The benefit to the State of Michigan is that we now have mountain bike trails all across the state, trails that were built without cost to the State of Michigan. The reason we were allowed to build these trails is that we also took the time to cultivate a respectful relationship with the DNR and other land managers, and proved the value of our word by building quality trails that we continue to maintain. If a trail is in need of repair, we repair it; again, at no cost to the State of Michigan.

Unfortunately, the soil throughout most of Michigan is very sensitive. A horse hoof divot will stop the proper drainage of water and will eventually escalate into a larger puddle that mountain bikers and hikers will go around, thus widening the trail and usually turning into a horrible, muddy mess. This prevents us from achieving our goal of having minimal impact on the surrounding environment. We do have short sections of shared trail in Lower Michigan that serve as overwhelming proof of this incompatibility. As a former equestrian of 15 years, I have also witnessed this, firsthand.

The passage of HB 4684 and HB 5175 will not only cost the State of Michigan the benefits of hundreds of volunteers, but it will unfairly favor equestrians over other user groups; nullify last year’s legislation regarding the Michigan Snowmobile and Trails Advisory Council (MSTAC) that both the Michigan Horse Council (MHC) and the Michigan Mountain Biking Association (MMBA) support and would like to move forward with; and prevent the DNR from appropriately managing our public lands so that recreational users may continue to enjoy it without negatively impacting this valuable asset. In addition, allowing this bill to move out of the House Committee will force advocacy organizations––mountain biking, equestrian, and others––to waste money on legal council and transportation, money that should go into improving and expanding Michigan’s trail network. In fact, the equestrian group that supports these bills could put their money to better use if they would do as other user groups have, and work to cultivate respectful relationships with local land managers and build their own trail network. The current law supports this activity, but the user group has to be willing to do the work, something that all of us opposed to these bills have proven is not too much to ask.

Lastly, I would like to point you to three resources. The first will help you understand the origination of this bill and why the Back Country Horsemen were banned from the Pigeon River Country Forest, to begin with. The second will illustrate what really goes into building a mountain bike trail. The MMBA and other mountain biking organizations within the state adhere to trail building standards that were developed by the U.S. Forest Service and the International Mountain Bicycling Association. The third source is a listing of mountain bike trails, the great majority of which are maintained by volunteers, not necessarily IMBA or MMBA members. While this list is not complete, it is extensive. Also, volunteers are currently building new trails.

• MLive: DNR takes fair stance for Pigeon River
• IMBA: Designing and Building Sustainable Trails
• MMBA Trail Guide

Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns and for evaluating the resources I have provided. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Diane Ursu

Although I was wrong on the part of the equestrians being completely banned—they were given limited access within the Pigeon River Country State Forest Area—my point was still valid. In late December or early January, MacMaster called me to discuss the situation. I empathized with his side of the story. He told me that if the equestrians were granted so many miles of additional trail access (I forget the number, but it was rather hefty)—access to trails the equestrians supposedly built—he would let the bill die. Unfortunately, his proposal doesn’t address the original issue stemming from the abusive behavior of the Back Country Horsemen toward other user groups and the land. Some advocates also suspect that the trails the equestrians built were bandit trails that were created without consulting with the DNR. I asked if MacMaster had before and after maps to show which trails the equestrians say they built and he said he would send them to me. I’m still waiting.

Currently the bill is in limbo in the House Committee while its sponsors and supporters work feverishly to bring it into compliance with federal law. Fortunately for mountain bikers and other user groups, there are many federal laws that this bill seems to violate, so compliance is something this bill may never meet, especially if it is to benefit the Back Country Horsemen.

In a December 23, 2011 letter to Representatives Frank Foster and Greg MacMaster, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Chief James B. Hodgson said:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) are Federal and State partners under Federal law (16 USC 669). Together, the Service and MDNR are responsible for ensuring that hunting and fishing license revenue is used only for those purposes set out in Federal and State law. This protection is important to those that have paid the excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. Their continued purchase of licenses fuels the success of the program. We protect the assets acquired with license fees and excise taxes for the sole purposes of wildlife and sport fish restoration. The Services takes this responsibility very seriously. For grant and license acquired land, no uses other than those described in law for wildlife and sport fish benefit can be allowed. We provide MDNR with the support needed to maintain program integrity and eligibility.

Sections of Draft House Bill 4684 that conflict with Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and State Assent Legislation:

Sections that need to exempt license and grant acquired lands to prevent loss of control
These sections of HB 4684 override the authority of the MDNR to manage for wildlife restoration. As discussed in recent phone conversations between Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs (WSFR) staff and members of the State Legislature, any statement such as: “currently existing” or “previous were” or “at any time” is an example (Page 2, line 2 (d); Page 2, line 14— 16 (h); Page 2, 17 (i); Page 2, line 19 (j); Page 2, line 21(k). The premise that all State-owned public lands are open to equine use and equine trails unless specifically closed overrides MDNR management authority. This is in conflict with the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration, and State Assent Legislation, as it removes the capability of MDNR to exclude or otherwise regulate such use. While Section 72115 (Page 8, Lines 15 through 27 and Page 9, Lines 1 and 2) appears on the right track and reaffirms the MDNR abilities due to links with Federal Law and Grants. This section is deep within the language of the bill. The simplest fix is to state early in the legislation that MDNR lands purchased or managed with hunting and fishing license fees and wildlife and sport fish grant funding for wildlife and sport fish purposes are exempt from the definitions or mandates of this draft legislation.

Additionally, Section 72115 (Page 8, Lines 15 through 27 and Page 9, Lines 1 and 2) forces the MDNR to allow horses unless it proves otherwise is contrary in relation to the acts and regulations. In practice, this typically creates an inefficient regulatory burden for the administering agency, in this case the MDNR.

Given our understanding of how limited the State budget is, we are concerned that the efforts directed toward advancing equine facilities and trails as a result of existing and proposed State law will take precedence over MDNR wildlife management responsibilities in the Pigeon River Country and other locations. MDNR must be able to fulfill their legal grant obligations, including having the resources necessary to implement wildlife management plans and conduct grant activities as planned and budgeted. Time and effort spent on non-wildlife dependent recreational activities, such as equine trail development, are not eligible for Federal funding or use of license fees. We are perplexed by continued efforts to use language that infers or implies that expanded equine use is possible, when all five previous letters consistently identified the potential loss of over $25 million dollars of federal funding as a result.

Word on the street is that the bill’s language has been changed to bring it in compliance with federal law, but I question whether that is even possible. While properly interpreting the tone of a letter is next to impossible, it is my take that Mr. Hodgson strongly suggested letting this bill go in favor of a proper land acquisition for the development of bridle trails—something that other user groups as well as much of the Michigan Horse Council have been supportive of all along.

The great majority of public trails available to the various user groups is the product of hard labor and fundraising efforts of volunteers who wanted to expand their recreational opportunities. It is important to note that these endeavors were brought to fruition with the blessing of the DNR and other land managers resulting from years of respectful partnerships culminating from respectfully cooperative efforts. This is something that the Back Country Horsemen don’t seem to want to partake in.

Michigan Mountain Biking Association advocates effectively countered the original wording of the 2010 “Right to Ride” legislation by significantly influencing it to change it from one that would turn the equestrians loose on any piece of land they so desired to ride into a bill that created the Michigan Snowmobile and Trails Advisory Council including an equine subcommittee. “The equine committee is made up of horseback riders. It was tasked with reviewing horse trail closures and developing a statewide plan for an equestrian trail network. Its creation marked real progress for horseback riders who have had no formal voice in state land use planning. The 2010 Right to Ride legislation also established clear criteria the DNR must meet to restrict access to trails—along with procedures for contesting those decisions,” Howard Meyerson explained in his December 18, 2011 Grand Rapids Press article, “Right to Ride redux: Horse bills threaten trail protection for others.”

As Slagter wrote, “Access to public land is a privilege we all can enjoy, but those gates should swing shut for those who abuse it.”

You can read the letter and bills in their entirety and their progress:

• December 23, 2011 letter to Representatives Frank Foster and Greg MacMaster from Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Chief James B. Hodgson
• House Bill 4684 (2011)
• House Bill 5175 (2011)