RobertH wrote:
On Jul 14, 2:38 pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:
On Jul 14, 1:02 pm, Peter Cole wrote:



On 7/14/2011 10:48 AM, SMS wrote:
On 7/12/2011 5:08 PM, James wrote:
Horses also leave lots of manure that may contain foreign seeds, and it
is said heavy hooves damage delicate soil structures, in this country.
MV is probably very opposed to horses as well but since one of his only
supporters is a real estate agent that bills herself as a "Horse
Property Specialist," he feels obligated to not publicly oppose them.
This is a shame since if he could be educated to direct his efforts
against the trail users that cause the most damage he would give up on
mountain bikes and concentrate on equestrians.
India has sacred cows, we've got sacred horses. I've ridden horses,
mountain biked and hiked on the same trails. No contest, horses trash
the place, but they're grandfathered in. It's ironic that many of our
local trails have seasonal closures during mud season, but the only
users who are excluded are bikers.
You obviously haven't studied the SCIENCE (REAL science, not the JUNK
science created by mountain bikers). The SCIENCE shows that mountain
bikers have greater impacts on erosion, plants, and animals, partly
because they generally travel several times as FAR and as FAST as
other trail users, multiplying their impacts. (Seehttp://mjvande/nfshost.com/scb7.htm.)

Your link doesn't work.

It's true that mtn bikers reach farther into the woods, thereby
creating more impact than they would on a short ride. However, speed
is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of wildlife impact. A hiker is
in the area longer, and therefore creates a longer-term impact. Also,
some species have been shown to recognize the threat of a human on
foot, while basically ignoring vehicles. This multiplies the impact of
a slow human on foot.

Generally speaking, mtn bikers have some negative impact on wildlife.
But hikers are in no position to get all self-righteous about the
negative impact caused by mtn. bikers. That would be very
hypocritical, based on all available evidence.

Besides that, horses evolved in North America, and hence arguably have
the right to go wherever they want to.

Horses were introduced to N. America by the Spanish in the 1500s.

What is your "PhD" all about?

meh. Both natural flora and fauna kill humans too:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7468891.story

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Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
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