DRAFT
Minutes of Trails and Greenways Committee MeetingDRAFT
Minutes of Trails and Greenways Committee MeetingThe meeting was held
at 6:30pm at the League of Maryland Horsemen
in Marriotsville. Claudia Walters, league newsletter editor, opened the meeting
and introduced the speaker, Delegate LF Jennings. He represents Northern Baltimore
County and the area around Bel Air. Del. Jennings explained to the group that
the Horse Industry Board is an important group that has state funding through
the Department of Agriculture. The board was formed to represent the needs of
the horse industry in the state of Maryland. It does not however necessarily
represent the needs of recreational riders and trail riders.
Mr. Jennings urged
the attendees to contact their individual legislators to let them know what
is needed to maintain equestrian trails and where new trails need to be built.
He pointed out that unless we let our elected
representatives know that we are out there, we will not get the funding
necessary to keep our sport viable in the state. The members of the League present,
decided to sign a petition to send to the delegates in the area as well as draft
a letter stating the need for more rangers and trail maintenance in the state
parks.
There was a lot of
discussion about the lack of rangers in Patapsco
State Park and resulting abuse of the trails by people on dirt bikes and
ATV’s. There was a question about how the tax money from horse feed is being
spent by the state. Del. Jennings said that the funds go to the Horse Industry
Board to be distributed through grants.
The representative
from Trail Riders of Today, TROT, Marilyn
Miller, Said that her group has received a $17,000 grant to map equestrian trails
in Maryland. She said that they have begun and are putting the maps done so
far on the TROT web site.
Del. Jennings also
mentioned the Horse Industry board comes under a “sunset” clause and will go
out of existence in 2006 unless it is voted back in. He urged that the board
be kept and that we let our delegates know that we want it .
Co-Chair, Mary Snyder,
thanked the league for hosting the meeting and Del. Jennings for speaking to
the group. She asked the group for any trail news from around the state. She
mentioned that the “WHOA” group in Anne Arundel County has been successful in
restoring equestrian use to a local park.
Also, an informational
meeting hosted by Dwight Williams of King's
Landing, regarding the newly refurbished equestrian facility at King's Landing
Park in Huntingtown, is going to be held on Sunday, April 24th at 1:00. It
will be at the picnic pavilion in the equestrian area.
The facility will have
at least one large show ring, suitable for all disciplines, and one warm-up ring,
new bathroom facilities, and a covered picnic area. The objective of the meeting
is to gauge equestrian interest and present what is in the plans at this point.
A question/answer/comment session will be held at the end of the presentation.
There was a question about whether Jug Bay Park in Anne Arundel County would be
open to equestrian use. No one had any information that it has been opened to
horses.
There was a discussion
about who equestrians could contact in DNR
when they have a question about trails. It seems that there is no one assigned
to equestrian concerns. The feeling of the group was that we should encourage
our legislators
to suggest to DNR that such a position be created. One of the duties of that
person would be to work with county trail planners and maintenence people to
co-ordinate work between counties.
The next meeting
is scheduled for 6:30pm, June 1st at Tuckahoe
Equestrian Center.
Mary Snyder
4/21/05