This is a letter to the editor from Randy Rasmussen and Mark Larabee
Rasmussen is director of Public Lands & Recreation, Back Country
Horsemen of America, and Larabee is associate director of
communications for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
FUNDING FOR HEALTHY TRAILS: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
"Oregonians increasingly seek outdoor adventure and renewal on public
land--and trails provide ready access. Trails are the passport to
beautiful vistas, streams and lakes, hiking, fishing, hunting,
horseback riding, mountain biking and so much more.
Photo Credit: Terry Richard
Trail-based recreation creates jobs and is an economic boon to towns
that serve as gateways to public land. Trails also enhance our health
and quality of life. Yet Congress continues to cut funding for trails
maintained by the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies. In the
Pacific Northwest, trails can grow over or be blocked by downed
timber. Wildfires obliterate them. Access to public land becomes
diminished or lost. Profits from recreation-based tourism go unrealized.
We represent nonprofit organizations with robust volunteer trail
maintenance programs that partner with federal agencies to ensure
safe and well maintained trails. Yet volunteers alone should not be
expected to shoulder the workload when Congress cuts agency budgets.
Agency expertise is essential to quality management and healthy
partnerships. Volunteers become stretched thin. Then what?
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a 2018 budget that
again cuts the Forest Service's trails program. This trend needs to
be reversed. It's fiscally irresponsible not to maintain beloved
trails built over decades through taxpayer and volunteer support.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley understands this. He is on the Senate
Appropriations Committee that negotiates federal agency budgets. We
are optimistic that he will carry the message that the 2018 budget
should support our land managers and respect the benefits that safe
and well-maintained trails provide.
Randy Rasmussen and Mark Larabee
Rasmussen is director of Public Lands & Recreation, Back Country
Horsemen of America and Larabee is associate director of
communications for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
To see the original article and photos, CLICK HERE.
============================================
Write to your California Senator!
Sen. Kamela Harris
<https://www.harris.senate.gov/content/contact-senator>
501 I Street
Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 448 - 2787
Sen. Diane Feinstein
<https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact>
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/09/funding_for_healthy_trails_let.html
Rasmussen is director of Public Lands & Recreation, Back Country
Horsemen of America, and Larabee is associate director of
communications for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
FUNDING FOR HEALTHY TRAILS: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
"Oregonians increasingly seek outdoor adventure and renewal on public
land--and trails provide ready access. Trails are the passport to
beautiful vistas, streams and lakes, hiking, fishing, hunting,
horseback riding, mountain biking and so much more.
Photo Credit: Terry Richard
Trail-based recreation creates jobs and is an economic boon to towns
that serve as gateways to public land. Trails also enhance our health
and quality of life. Yet Congress continues to cut funding for trails
maintained by the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies. In the
Pacific Northwest, trails can grow over or be blocked by downed
timber. Wildfires obliterate them. Access to public land becomes
diminished or lost. Profits from recreation-based tourism go unrealized.
We represent nonprofit organizations with robust volunteer trail
maintenance programs that partner with federal agencies to ensure
safe and well maintained trails. Yet volunteers alone should not be
expected to shoulder the workload when Congress cuts agency budgets.
Agency expertise is essential to quality management and healthy
partnerships. Volunteers become stretched thin. Then what?
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a 2018 budget that
again cuts the Forest Service's trails program. This trend needs to
be reversed. It's fiscally irresponsible not to maintain beloved
trails built over decades through taxpayer and volunteer support.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley understands this. He is on the Senate
Appropriations Committee that negotiates federal agency budgets. We
are optimistic that he will carry the message that the 2018 budget
should support our land managers and respect the benefits that safe
and well-maintained trails provide.
Randy Rasmussen and Mark Larabee
Rasmussen is director of Public Lands & Recreation, Back Country
Horsemen of America and Larabee is associate director of
communications for the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
To see the original article and photos, CLICK HERE.
============================================
Write to your California Senator!
Sen. Kamela Harris
<https://www.harris.senate.gov/content/contact-senator>
501 I Street
Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 448 - 2787
Sen. Diane Feinstein
<https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact>
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/09/funding_for_healthy_trails_let.html
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