Volume 5, Issue 1 January 2012 B a c k C o u n t r y H o r s e m e n o f U t a h INSIDE THIS ISSUE: HiLine & Hobbles Central Utah Bridgerland Find More Horse Trails 2 3 4 5 S t a t e C h a i r m a n s M e s s a g e Equine Emergency 6 Chapters 7 Calendar & Next Meeting 8 Editors: Cindy Furse (cfurse@ece.utah.edu) Stephanie Yeager (yeagirls@msn.com) Next Article Deadline: February 25 The Purpose of the Back Country Horsemen of Utah: 1. To perpetuate the common sense use and enjoyment of horses and mules in America s back country and wilderness. 2. To work to ensure the public lands remain open to recreational pack and saddle stock use. 3. To assist the agencies responsible for the management of public lands. 4. To educate, encourage and solicit active participation in wise and sustaining use of back country resources by horsemen and the general public, commensurate with our heritage. 5. To foster and encourage the formation of new chapters of Back Country Horsemen throughout Utah.BCHU serves the common interest of its members by providing them an opportunity to influence laws, regulations, and attitudes regarding the use of pack and saddle stock on all public lands. Welcome to a New Year! One filled with opportunity, no doubt. Let's make some resolutions 1. Resolve to renew your membership this month 2. Resolve to recruit one new member before June. 3. Resolve to attend at least one chapter work project each quarter 4. Resolve to participate in a local dialogue regarding trails in your area. If we all accept and keep these resolutions we will increase our impact by an order of magnitude. Now is the time to plan your chapter's 2012 activities. Please include attendance at our BCHU Annual General Membership Meeting in those plans. Remember the chapter with highest percentage attendance will receive a $150.00 check from State. We will also be making decisions about the role of the state organization, electing officers and having a fund raiser lunch and auction. Come join us at Spanish Fork Arena Conference room on 4 Feb. more details will be sent out to chapter presidents in Jan. I am proud of all we accomplished in 2011 and look forward to joining you on the trail in 2012. Ride safe and smile Craig
Page 2 H i - L i n e & H o b b l e s B C H U C h a p t e r A c t i v i - t i e s a n d W o r k P r o j e c t s John Stephens The Hi-Line & Hobbles chapter of the BCHU had several accomplishments we are proud of as a chapter and appreciate the help received from the membership. Here they are: Membership of 117, I believe that is the highest on record for the chapter. First chapter in the BCHU to publish their by-laws in the new state directed format. Held monthly meetings all year with excellent guest speakers. Held at least one monthly ride every month of the year with several stepping forward to share in leading the rides. These included a poker ride, a big breakfast before a ride and a sunset ride with dinner. Published and shared the membership roster regularly with the membership. Met regularly with the Pleasant Grove Forest Service and coordinated service projects. Our summer campout was at the Fish Lake Tasha Equestrian Campground. We just about filled the entire campground and had some wonder rides and campfire activities. Lately I have been thinking about the purpose of Back Country Horsemen of Utah. The goals and purposes from our state organization are published at the end of every one of our monthly newsletters. I want to share what we, as a chapter, have accomplished with these five goals and purposes in mind. 1. To perpetuate the common sense use and enjoyment of horses and mules in America s back country and wilderness areas. I think this means to teach others about the proper use of the back country and, most importantly, to just get out on your horse or mule and enjoy the back country. Our chapter provides monthly rides for the membership and their friends. During these rides we are able to find new places to enjoy the beautiful back country of Utah. We also learn from each other some common sense things to do with our animals in the back country. I personally have learned a lot from the old timers and other members and really appreciate what they have handed down to me and I hope to pass that on to others. In 2011 we included a common sense thought in each of our monthly newsletter. For example, Horses are naturally frightened of being approached quickly because they're beasts of prey. That is their natural instinct. There are things you can do to train your horse to be less frightened but remember it is a natural instinct you are working with. Always be on the alert. 2. To work to insure that public lands remain open to recreational pack and saddle stock use. At the local, state and national levels of Back Country Horsemen our leaders meet regularly with government, forest service and other land managers to give input from an equestrian point of view. In some parts of the country equestrian use of public lands is being terminated. A part of your annual membership fees go to the state and national BCH organization for this purpose. Lots of our members don t ride with us or even have a horse anymore but pay their membership fees because they care. At the local level, I meet monthly with the Pleasant Grove District of the Forest Service to discuss trail reclassifications, determine which trails should be given priority maintenance with the limited budget available and discuss possible new trials. 3. To assist the agencies responsible for the management of public lands. This is where we provide service. I want to especially think Hugh Jacobs for leading what he calls the WOW team. This is comprised of members of our chapter who do weekday service projects for the forest service. Also, many of us provide service when we do basic cleaning and maintenance of the trails. Just pruning low hanging tree limbs from the trails is service. 4. To educate, encourage and solicit active participation in wise and sustaining use of back-country resources by horsemen and the general public, commensurate with our heritage. There are many ways this can be done. Some that we are doing include, our monthly meeting where we invite a guest speaker to teach us about different aspects of caring for our horses, their environment and the places we ride. We also share our knowledge with others. Our state organization has an annual Horse Extravaganza each year to educate the public and equestrians which our chapter participated in. 5. To foster and encourage the formation of new chapters of Back Country Horsemen throughout Utah. Our chapter is the second largest in the state. It may be time to divide our chapter so more people can be involved in leading work groups, monthly rides, and working with the forest service and other public land agencies. We are looking at this possibility in 2012. We are grateful for everyone in our chapter who make a difference in helping to achieve these purposes and goals. Even the little things we all do make a difference in the beautiful trails we ride on.
Page 3 C e n t r a l U t a h B C H U W o r k W e e k a t T a s h a E q u e s t r i a n P a r k ( A u g 1-7, 2 0 1 1 ) The Back Country Horsemen of Central Utah enjoyed seven days at Tasha Equestrian Park in Fish Lake the first week in August. This is our big work week we spend improving the facilities and trails at Tasha. Tasha is an equestrian park that was built by the BCHCU and the Forest Service. The Seven Mile Bridge Trail needed lots of work because of a bog that blocked part of the trail. This trail needed rerouting because that bog is there to stay. Also the Middle Ridge Trail needed serious work with the chain saw. We rode our new Tasha to Pelican Lookout Trail several days. This needed a little more work also. We appreciated the Fremont River Ranger District Trail Crew working on this trail too. We worked with the Forest Service to install two new green gates on the Tasha Creek Trail and on the Seven Mile Trail. This will make it much easier to keep the cattle gates closed. We also built a practice bridge for riders to get their horses used to crossing a wooden bridge. The trail from Tasha to Pelican Point Lookout requires you to cross two bridges at Jorgensen Creek. These bridges were rebuilt by the BCHCU, Forest Service, and other volunteers on National Trail s Day in June. This was a result of BCHCU noticing a problem and working with the Forest Service to remedy that problem. On Friday afternoon we enjoyed a packing demonstration by Allen and Jeri Rowley. We appreciated learning more about packing. A delicious steak dinner was enjoyed by 37 members and guests on Friday evening. Rod Winkel and Don Pendleton entertained us with their guitars and singing after dinner. Mike Bodin, BCHU Vice President and Inger Christensen joined us in our activities Friday through Sunday. Kim Peterson developed a Tasha Trails Map for public use and placed copies in a box located on the restrooms. This will help people locate trails in the area. We appreciate the partnership we have with the Forest Service. They have been very supportive in our projects. We take great pride in the Tasha Equestrian Park at Fish Lake and strive to keep it in good condition for equestrians to enjoy! F i n d O u t M o r e A b o u t F i s h L a k e h o r s e T r a i l s & C a m p i n g http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/fishlake/recreation
Page 4 B r i d g e r l a n d B C H U C h a p t e r A c t i v i t i e s a n d W o r k P r o j e c t s Steve Hales Well here we are at the end of yet another year already. I just can t believe how fast the time goes by anymore. I guess it s because I m getting older but it seams like I just can t get everything done that I would like to. That goes for my Back Country Horsemen duties as well as my family and profession duties. Oh well I guess we can only do so much. I hope that everyone had a wonderful and happy holiday season and we here in Bridgerland wish everyone the best for 2012! As I wondered what to write about this time I really couldn t come up with anything interesting so I started wondering if we had accomplished the goals of the Back Country Horsemen this year. At first I thought that we hadn t really done anything to promote the BCHA. But as I sat back and really thought about what the chapter had been involved in I started to realize that maybe we had accomplished more than I thought. So I am going to highlight a few of them in hopes that maybe it will help members of other chapters in their efforts. In January 2011 we held our annual winter social and membership drive. It was a big success in my eyes for a couple reasons. We had quite a few new members come and join and a hand full of members who hadn t joined for a few years that came back. I think it was primarily due to the advertising we done for the event. We had the local radio station announce it several times, which they did for free, we hung flyers all over the valley and sent out invitations to everyone that we had address s and e-mail address s for. This was very helpful in growing our membership base. It was also very beneficial in activating members who hadn t been around for a while. These new members have been very helpful this past year. In June as part of the National Trails Day we participated in a trail building project in Green Canyon in North Logan. This turned out to be a fun day of work for those involved and we made some very good contacts with other users of the area and Forest Service and Trail Conservation groups. These contacts have helped to strengthen relationship and strengthen our position in the area as an important and influential user group in the area. As an indirect result of this project we have been invited to join a trail user group that was formed over the summer as an attempt to correlate efforts of all types of trail users. (Horses, Bike s, Hikers and Motorcycle) It was quite interesting to me at our first meeting just how far apart the users really was and what they really thought of each other. This is a very new group for our area but I think and hope that it will continue to grow and become what it should be so that all trail users can co-exist in the back country. It is important that we work together for a common goal or there just might not be anywhere for anybody to go and do the things they enjoy. Another thing we have done for that last couple years is our Geo Cache program. If you re not familiar with Geo Cache s do some research on them. They can be really fun. We have placed 5 Caches around our area at points of interest in the Cache range. Most of them survived but a word of caution if you try this program make sure you hide them good! We had one that probably wasn t hidden well enough at a very popular site and it got destroyed. This enables some members who maybe are not comfortable with big group rides to get out and ride the trails of the area and see whats happening and hopefully do some service work while they are riding to and from the Cache sites. If you would like more information about what we have tried please contact us. This can be a lot of fun if it s put together correctly; we are still learning but would be glad to at least tell you what not to do. J By the time you get this letter we will have had our Winter Social where new officers will be elected. The President Elect that will take over in January for the Bridgerland chapter is Jared Storrs. Jared is a school teacher by trade and a rodeo clown because he can t help himself I guess. Jarod will do a great job with the chapter as long as he gets support from the chapter. So I am challenging our chapter and all the other state chapters to show great support for the leaders in your area and the state. We should all remember that all the positions in the BCHA are volunteer and we as members need to show our support for those that are willing to fill those positions and do our part to make it as easy as possible on them as they serve to promote the Back Country Horsemen. Well that s about it from the Cache Valley and probably my last letter for the State newsletter for awhile as I will be replaced by a great person, Jared Storrs, by the time you read this. However I will defiantly still be involved with the BBCH as I have grown to love the back country even more than I did before. I hope that those of you that have not taken the opportunity to serve will some day, I know it will be well worth your time as you do so. I guess the theme of my letter became, Be Involved and Stay Involved. What we are doing is and should be important to us. Not only for us but for our family and those around us that use the back country, so please stay involved. We wish you and your family the best for 2012. Sincerely, Steve Hales Bridgerland BCHU
Page 5 F i n d M o r e H o r s e T r a i l s! Looking for new horse trails in your area? Horse trails in other parts of the state? Here are a few useful resources to find them: B C H U. c o m The Utah BCHU website has a list of horse trails that have been submitted by the various chapters. See the link near the bottom of the page. T h e B a c k C o u n t r y H o r s e m a n s G u i d e B y B r u c e K a r t c h n e r This guide has a list of 50 popular Utah horse trails, with maps and information for each. Available from tatepublishing.com www.ogden-ut.com/horsebackriding.html www.davisareacvb.com/attractions/hikingtrails.htm Lists 9 popular Ogden-area trails with information and directions to each. http://www.horsetraildirectory.com/ Lists all kinds of information for trails in all states. http://stateparks.utah.gov/ O g d e n a r e a H o r s e T r a i l D i r e c t o r y U t a h S t a t e P a r k s S a n P e t e e q u e s t r i a n t r a i l s http://sanpete.com/pages/equestrian G a r f i e l d C o u n t y t r a i l s http://www.utah-trails.com/ T r a i l M e i s t e r. c o m F o r e s t S e r v i c e w w w. f s. f e d. u s Find Forest Service Trails in Utah (and everywhere else): The US Forest Service has a lot of online material on trails, camping, facilities, closures/warnings/ updates, etc. for Utah Horse Trails, and others. Click on the link above. Then put in your state. Here are the forest listings for Utah: Utah Ashley National Forest Dixie National Forest Fishlake National Forest Manti-LaSal National Forest Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest To find horse trails and campgrounds, click on recreation and then the kind of recreation you are looking for (horse trails). From there you can also make reservations for campgrounds, etc. http://www.trailmeister.com/utah.html R a i l s t o T r a i l s C o n s e r v a n c y http://www.traillink.com/ U t a h M o u n t a i n B i k i n g T r a i l s Many (but not all) of these trails are also horse riding trails. The maps on this site are some of the better ones I ve found. Check on watershed limitations before you go. http://www.utahmountainbiking.com H e b e r V a l l e y t r a i l s http://www.gohebervalley.com/recreation Missed a few! Send me more of your favorites for future newsletters. cfurse@ece.utah.edu
Page 6 C e n t r a l U t a h B C H U W o r k W e e k a t T a s h a E q u e s t r i a n P a r k ( A u g 1-7, 2 0 1 1 )
Page 7 Change of Address? If you have moved, or your address is incorrect, please contact your chapter treasurer. B C H U C h a p t e r s SHOP FOR BCHU Every time you shop at Country- Supply.com they will donate up to 5% of your purchases to BCHA. (Applies for all products on any web order where a group code is entered, except for dewormers & shipping & handling) The group code for our organization is BCHOFAMERICA. BRIDGERLAND Box 554 Logan 84323 Steve Hales 435 512 2410 steveh@logancoach.com CANYONLANDS Gina Giffin 303 419 1192 Box 623 Moab 84532 gina@bzrez.com CENTRAL UTAH Kim Peterson 435 896 4237 Box 621 Richfield 84701 peterson@altazip.com HI LINE & HOBBLES John Stephens 801 386 1884 Box 1066 Pleasant Grove 84062 stephensjls@comcast.net HIGH DESERT Sheldon Willardson 435 899 0951 985 S Hillside Dr Kanab 84741 willardsons@yahoo.com HIGH UNITA Jack Prescott 435 783 2382 Box 1230 Kamas 84036 jrpscott@allwest.com MOUNTAIN RIDGE Paul Deputy 801 539 0210 Box 81 Riverton 84065 pmdeputy@gmail.com SAN RAFAEL Rod Player 435 653 2440 Helper 84526 rlp1217@yahoo.com SOUTHWEST Roger Phillips Box 3174 St George 84771 horsecamping@msn.com UINTAH BASIN Grizz Oleen 435 790 9669 Box 790801 Vernal 84078 Grizz_o@hotmail.com WASATCH FRONT Mike Bodin 801 529 7115 Box 42 Hooper 84315 michaelbodin@comcast.net WEST DESERT Erda 84074 Bonnie Sweat 435 830 2939 2 0 1 1 S t a t e O f f i c e r s Steve Guymon 435 757 3956 swguymon@comcast.net Helen Whitney 435 259 7239 aspenmoon@frontiernet.net Peggy Peterson 435 896 4237 peterson@altazip.com. Hugh Jacobs 435 785 8781 handmjacobs@gmail.com Noel Poe 435 644 5694 nmpoe0920@gmail.com Tom White 435 615 7827 twwpi@yahoo.com Perry White 801 254 8798 whitemt@aol.com Wayne Ludington 435 650 3639 papakaz1@yahoo.com Larry Dunn 435 862 6606 ldcasasound@gmail.com Mike Vanderlinden 435 781 8265 Georgiz@ubtanet.com Scott LeRoy 801 628 4820 sleroy1960@hotmail.com Gary Bean 801 541 7866 beaner1475@hotmail.com Chairman: Craig Allen 801-388-1175 allenceco@msn.com Vice Chairman: Mike Bodin 801-726-2201 michaelbodin@comcast.net Secretary: Linda Morrison 435-640-2690 lmorrisonbch@yahoo.com Treasurer: Beverly Heffernan 801-572-3304 b.heffernan@att.net Education: Scott LeRoy 801-628-4820 sleroy1960@hotmail.com Communications: Carol Lang 801-589-0344 utlang@msn.com Legislature: Craig Moody 801-571-8848 hcm@burgoyne.com Unit Development: Kent Evans 801-361-7279 Kentevans2@earthlink.net National Delegate: Wayne Ludington 435-472-8249 yayakaz@yahoo.com National Delegate: Freddy Dunn 435-862-6181 freddydunn@gmail.com Newsletter Editor: Cindy Furse 801-581-9225 cfurse@ece.utah.edu Newsletter Editor: Stephanie Yeager 801-232-8806 yeagirls@msn.com Fund Raiser: TBA Public Lands: Wayne Ludington 435-472-8249 papakaz1@yahoo.com Past Chairman: Fred Leslie 801-450-2905 Fredleslie101@gmail.com
DETAILS ON THE WEB BCHU.COM JANUARY 14 th High Desert BCH Ride Grand View Trail near Bryce Canyon National Park Southwest BCH Ride Chuckwalla Trailhead Burger burn to follow FEBRUARY 11th High Desert BCH Ride - TBA