Pagosa Springs Rotary Club
Rena introduced her self as a member of “San Juan Back Country Horsemen” (BCHA). She stated that she started riding horses when she was 60 years old and that it was very difficult for her but now, she enjoys riding. She said that “what I really want to do is encourage and solicit active participation in the use of back country resources by stock users and the general public commensurate with our heritage”.
Rena showed the other purpose and philosophy of BCHA which is:
- To perpetuate the common sense use and enjoyment of horses in America’s back country and wilderness.
- To work to ensure that public lands remain open to recreational stock use.
- To assist the various government, state and private agencies in their maintenance and management of said resources.
- To foster and encourage the formation of new state organizations and BCHA.
She wanted to let us know what the Back-Country Horsemen do to maintain back country trails such as keep the trails cleared of fallen limbs and trees as well as other repairs to trails as needed. She mentioned that other groups such as the Forest Service, the Pagosa Area Trail Council, ATV groups also help clear the trails. She stated that they all are prohibited from using chain saws and other motorized equipment on the wilderness trails, so they must use hand tools. It took she and her husband 5 month to clear Leche Creek, Opal Creek and Fish Creek trails last year.
Rena then showed a slide show that included a fund raiser that netted $30000 last year with the help of many including several outfitters in the area. Many of these outfitters have also been helping clear the trails of yearly dead fall in the spring. There were images of huge logs across trails that were removed using axes, hand saws and the big two man crosscut saws. Many of these projects are above 10000 feet making them even more difficult. Crews are required to measure and document the trees removed from the trails. Sometimes crews spend several nights in the wilderness clearing trails and Back Country Horsemen carry food and other supplies to them. They interact with and set up trail heads for hunters in the fall. She showed pictures of Anderson trail, Little Sand trail and Archuleta trails that had been cleared.
Rena stated that they have about 85 members (25 does most of the work) that worked about 1800 hours last year to clear the trails. That involved clearing about 500 trees from 242 miles of trail with 177 miles in the wilderness. She then showed a slide of the number of trees cut by different trail clearing groups. The Pagosa Ranger District Backcountry crew cut 1768 trees from the trails, Ron Decker and Becca Smith cut 1700 trees themselves, Southwest Conservation Corp cut 545 trees and the San Juan Outdoor Club and others cut out 86 trees all for a total of 4599 trees cleared from the trails. She stated that there are approximately 9500 fallen trees on San Juan forest trails each year.
Rena’s presentation ended with a picture of a beautifully groomed horse’s rear and there was expected cheers, laughter and applause.