Equestrian trail access bill clears Michigan Senate

Brooke Meier
February 17, 2010 - A bill to increase equestrian trail access across the state has been approved in both the state House and Senate — however, the legislation can't be enacted until its Senate counterpart is approved in the House, where it's being held.

House Bill (HB) 4610 recently passed in the Senate with a 23 to 13 vote. Two senators were excused from the vote. State Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Commerce, Milford, Highland, White Lake, West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Wixom, Wolverine Lake) voted in favor of the bill, while Sen. Deborah Cherry (D-Waterford) voted against the legislation.

HB 4610 requires the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) to preserve and facilitate the use of pack and saddle animals on all state-owned lands where there is a tradition of such use; keep open and accessible all trailways and other areas on state-owned land that were open on May 7, 2008 to pack animals; and reopen those trailways and other areas that were available for such use before that date.

The bill is controversial among conservation groups and the federal government, which has warned the state that it stands to loose approximately $25 million in federal wildlife and sportfish restoration funds each year if HB 4610 is enacted.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has warned Michigan lawmakers that our state will likely lose $25 million annually if the bills do not include certain management control standards," said Dave Nyberg, a government and public relations manager for the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC). "Regardless, House Bill 4610 galloped through the House without any problem last fall. In the Senate, MUCC worked to reach a compromise on the bill and its counterpart, Senate Bill (SB) 578, in order to alleviate the funding problem articulated by USFWS. Nearly one year and nine different bill variations later, that compromise is almost complete and MUCC has removed its opposition to SB 578, which has passed the House Tourism, Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee."

Nyberg said MUCC worked with state Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) on substitute language that would fix the definition of a trailway, which was considered too broad and ambiguous by the USFWS; however, that language wasn't included in the final version of the Senate bill.

As it stands now, the bills outline a process for trail closures by the DNRE and create an Equine Trail Advisory Council to help the DNRE identify additional trails that should be opened for access to equestrian trail riders.
Brooke Meier is a staff writer for the Spinal Column Newsweekly

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