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U.S. Senate passes Sierras horse access bill for two National Parks |  |
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Rare bi-partisanship forces joined hands to pass bill to restore commercial horse operations (Fresno Bee) Senate passes Sierra horse-packing bill By Michael Doyle - Bee Washington Bureau Thursday, May. 17, 2012 | 11:39 PM WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday approved a painstakingly negotiated bill that keeps commercial horse-and-mule packers operating in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Following some furious behind-the-scenes action, the Senate joined the House in directing the park service to renew the commercial packing permits for the next several years. The legislation was only introduced on Capitol Hill, in a different form, about three weeks ago. "There are up to 20 businesses that depend directly upon pack stock use in these parks," Democratic senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer wrote. "Many jobs will be lost, and some pack stock operators could even go out of business, if there are no pack stock permits this year." The Senate bill approved by voice vote modifies one passed earlier by the House, which also acted by voice vote. To complete the legislative dance, the House had to pass the amended Senate version and send it to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature; that was to happen late Thursday night or sometime Friday, before Congress adjourns for a recess. Reversing an earlier position, the park service has already said it would ask a judge to allow the permits to be issued this year. The legislation initially authored in the House by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, makes the renewals mandatory. "We appreciate the support we've received, both from the congressman and from the senators," said Alan Hill, a Redding, Calif. resident and leader in the Backcountry Horsemen of America, adding that the measure is "a great benefit" for recreational riders and commercial packers alike. While Nunes has "reservations" about some of the bill's changes he is "willing to support it" as it had industry support, spokesman Andrew House said late Thursday afternoon. The legislation addresses part of a lawsuit filed in 2009 by the High Sierra Hikers Association, which is challenging the agency over park and wilderness management. In January, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled the park service violated the Wilderness Act because its 2007 general management plan for the neighboring national parks did not adequately deal with commercial stock such as pack horses. In response, the park service said it would not issue the permits until the question was resolved in court. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national park officials now are preparing the formal Wilderness Stewardship Plan to govern management of the approximately 835,000 acres that is managed as wilderness in the two parks. Environmentalists contend the parks need to pay special heed to preventing damage from pack operations. "Commercial outfitters run pack and saddle stock throughout the parks, where the animals continue to trample soils, pollute the water and provoke numerous complaints from park visitors," argued the original lawsuit, filed by attorneys with the San Francisco-based firm Morrison Foerster. The House passed its bill April 27, less than a day after Nunes introduced it. In hopes of finishing it before the federal judge holds a scheduled May 23 hearing, staffers for Boxer and Feinstein embarked on a rapid round of negotiations with the House, packers and the Democratic leadership of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Senate's changed bill directs the park service to offer the packing permits for up to four years, instead of the two as the House had ordered. It presses the park service to complete the wilderness planning; and, in a move that caused Nunes some hesitation, the Senate version gives the park service some discretion in setting permit levels depending upon wilderness conditions. CLICK HERE to see the original article in the Fresno Bee. ========================= PREVIOUS POST April 4, 2012 Judge may restrict horse, mule access to national parks After more than nine decades of providing horses, mules and guides for trips through the back trails of Sequoia National Park, Balch Park Pack Station's future may depend on a federal judge's decision in May. That's when National Park Service officials and a group that successfully sued it will submit to a federal judge proposals of how to manage the wilderness areas of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Until that happens, the Park Service has announced it will not issue permits to "commercial packers" to bring their horses, mules or other pack animals into the wilderness areas of the two parks. That decision stems from a January determination by a U.S. District Judge that the agency violated the Wilderness Act of 1964 by granting special-use permits allowing commercial packers to operate in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. If the judge doesn't alter his ruling, Balch Park Pack Station co-owner Dianne Shew said her business and other commercial packers that make use of the neighboring national parks could be out of business. "We run a horseback business, and we pack people into the wilderness," she explained. "The people will ride horses, and sometimes they'll hike, and we will pack their gear on mules." The backcountry trails in the parks' wilderness areas often are steep, narrow and rocky — accessible only on foot or by using horses and mules to ride or carry camping and cooking gear, Shew said, who bought the pack business about 30 years ago with her husband, Tim. While Shew's business also takes people in the Golden Trout Wilderness area in the Sequoia National Forest, about 70 percent of her customers go to Sequoia National Park. And without access to the park, "We might survive a year or two, but that's it." In a March 12 letter to Shew's business, Karen Taylor-Goodrich, superintendent of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks, explained that the change in policy stems from a 2009 lawsuit filed by the High Sierra Hiker's Association. The group claimed that the Park Service violated the Wilderness Act, which designates special protections of national parks' wilderness areas. Based in Lake Tahoe, the 600-member group filed the lawsuit seeking to overturn a 2007 management plan on commercial stock use in the parks, claiming the federal agency failed to first conduct an adequate environmental analysis on the effects of horses and pack mules on the wilderness. Among the concerns raised by Sierra Hikers were: ª Horses and mules trampling plants. ª Animals bringing in weeds not native to the wilderness. ª Whether animal urine and manure gets in the parks' waterways. ª Effects on endangered animals. ª How the presence of stock animals affects visitors to the wilderness. In January, Judge Richard Seeborg ruled that the parks' management plan violated the Wilderness Act. Before that ruling, the Park Service was developing a Wilderness Stewardship Plan that addresses some of the issues raised in the lawsuit. Dana Dierkes, a Park Service spokeswoman, said an initial draft of the plan is expected to be released for public comment later this year. In the meantime, Taylor-Goorich's letter states that a hearing is set for May 23 to "address what remedial action should be take to address the violation of the Wilderness Act," which could include to what extent, if any, commercial stock animals will be allowed in the wilderness areas. "Unless and until there is a further ruling by the court after the [May] hearing that allows commercial stock us in wilderness areas of the parks, the National Park Service will not issue any [permits] for this use," the letter continues. No other national forests are affected. The Park Service's decision has raised the ire of the affected business owners and others who enjoy back country wilderness trips using their own horses and mules, among them Visalia attorney John Cochran. "They are basically prejudiced against the uses of horses and mules in the back country," he said of the High Sierra Hikers. He noted that people have been packing with stock animals through the Sierra since the 1800s, and horses and mules were used to build and maintain the trails that hikers uses. "Even people who started [hiking] with heavy packs on their back, they still want to get to the same places," and often use horses and mules when they get too old or if they're no longer fit enough hike through wilderness areas, Cochran said. A representative of High Sierra Hikers said representatives of the group wouldn't be available for comment Wednesday. Also upset by the change is U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, who on Wednesday issued a press release calling the federal action a "job killer." "They want to eliminate the back country horsemen, the only means left by which the vast majority of Americans, including those with disabilities, are able to gain access to the American wilderness," he stated. The decision doesn't affect visitors going through the back country with their own stock animal, nor does it affect people riding horses in areas of Sequoia and Kings Canyon not designated as wilderness areas, Dierkes said. Dierkes said the Park Service sent letters to 16 commercial packers that have had permits issued in the past couple of years to operate in Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks. She said that after the Park Service and High Sierra Hikers present the judge with their proposals for remedy in May, he may not decided what actions to order right way. And Nunes has criticized the Obama Administration for not issuing a one-year extension on commercial packers permits while changes are made to the parks' wilderness plans. But even if that happens or if the judge's ruling favors commercial packers, it may be too late to salvage this season for the affected businesses, Shew said. Normally, commercial packers operate from June or July to about mid October, depending on the amount of snow on the foothill trails. But earlier in the year, they're usually booking clients. They can't do that now unless they get word they know permits will be issued, and even if that happens in May, Shew said that by that time she would be lucky to book one of two trips so late in the season. ------------ Among the concerns raised by lawsuit by the Sierra Hikers must be addressed here: ª Animals bringing in weeds not native to the wilderness. TRUTH: It has been CONCLUSIVELY proved by an AERC-sponsored university multi-year study that equine manure does not spread noxious or non-native weeds, and that horse's hooves do not spread them. There is not one scientific study that shows equines spread weeds in the wilderness. What has been proven and stated by NPS, BLM and other agencies is that it is tires that grab weeds and seeds and effectively transport them. ª Whether animal urine and manure gets in the parks' waterways. TRUTH: Horse urine is sterile and the manure is so safe, it is used on food crops for humans. As long as horses are tied 100 feet away (standard sanitation rules regarding farm animal barns' distance from wells) from waterways when in the wilderness there should be no issue. The small amount of manure that could rarely be dropped just as horses cross streams is not dangerous to humans or other animals and is quickly dissipated. ª Effects on endangered animals. TRUTH: Humans on top of horses frighten wild animals much less than humans alone. Horses don't frighten animals, people do. ª How the presence of stock animals affects visitors to the wilderness. Do you think people's enjoyment of the wilderness experience could be ruined by the presence of horses? ======================== U.S. Rep. Deven Nunes RESPONSE "Job Killers Loose in National Parks - Backcountry Horsemen Targeted" Washington, Apr 4 - Our jobs are under attack. Rural mountain communities are once again in the cross-hairs of liberal politicians and regulators. Having already devastated California's mining and timber industries with laws and regulations limiting access to public lands, environmental radicals have moved full speed into a new round of limitations that impact recreational use of our National Parks. They want to eliminate the backcountry horsemen, the only means left by which many Americans, including those with disabilities, are able to gain access to the American wilderness. Backcountry horsemen are part of the American story and have, since the settling of the West, been responsible for packing people and supplies into some of the most remote places. They are environmentalists, not in the modern sense, but in the true sense. These hardworking entrepreneurs understand that public access and conservation belong together and are sharply contrasted with the vast majority of urban activists who fund and support the modern environmental movement. Unlike the urban zealots, backcountry horsemen actually understand the wilderness and are personally invested in its survival. Despite these facts, well-funded radicals are working to put backcountry horsemen out of business. They filed and won a lawsuit which alleged that operating permits for these businesses required compliance with environmental laws related to wilderness areas. The activists and court would have us believe that horses and pack mules are a threat to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, despite their longstanding presence in the area and despite a specific Congressional directive to the contrary (see here). Ironically, the Obama Administration is pushing backcountry horsemen out of business at the same time it is urging Americans to "get outdoors." The White House initiative is based on President Obama's belief that government investments in outdoor activities are good for the economy. The White House could demonstrate an interest in protecting these "outdoor" jobs with a simple act – one that it has so far refused to entertain. The Administration simply needs to ask the court for a one year extension of existing permits. A one year extension would allow adequate time for the permitting process to be updated in order to reflect new wilderness requirements and it may spare the small but time honored industry from the chopping block. CLICK HERE to see Rep. Nunes response. |
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