Do you compete at Rosaryville or Fair Hill? Ride at Tuckahoe or the League of Maryland Horsemen (Marriottsville)? Do you foxchase in the Patuxent or the Patapsco? Trail ride just about anywhere in this state?
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking citizens for their input on State outdoor recreation facilities and services in areas throughout Maryland. Of course, we would like to see a lot of input from horse people, as this is for their Long Range Plan Land Preservation and Recreational Plan, and we want to make sure that equestrian needs and desires are part of that long range plan – and Wed. June 19 will be your last chance to be part of the dialogue.
June 19,2013 6 to 8 p.m. Howard County Robinson Nature Center 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MD 21044At the time The Equiery originally wrote (in February) about this opportunity, the community meetings were expected to conclude in March, but inclement weather forced the rescheduling of one of the meetings, and so now you still have an opportunity to share your thoughts.
The public input will help guide the update of the Maryland Land Preservation and Recreation Plan,which will serve as a roadmap for future State outdoor recreation facilities and services. Last time, trails were left out entirely. This time, trails will be included and given significant space. The plan may include maintenance, improvements, new trails and land purchases.
The Department has hired a nationally-known parks and recreation management consulting firm, GreenPlay, LLC, to oversee the Recreation Component of this planning process.
A “Trails Working Group” was formed consisting of representatives of trail user interest groups (equestrians, hikers, mountain bikers, ATV’ers, etc.) and asked to survey their member’s for issues and concerns. Ellen Moyer represents equestrians on this committee, and is asking all horsepeople: “what changes and improvements would you like to see implemented?” General comments such as, “Enlarge trailhead parking lots for trailers”, will be included in the body of the report. Specific comments such as, “Enlarge the parking lot for trailers at Monocacy NRMA”, will be included in the Appendix.
To take the online survey, visit http://survey.rrcresearch.com/s3/Maryland.
From Debby Poole, who attended the meeting:
It went much the same as the others with lots of good information and future plans. Plenty of time for questions and answers. We had different trail interest groups then the last meeting and what has impressed me most is the passion to try and keep the trails natural, and connected throughout all of Maryland. From what I heard. This does not mean that we won’t have more bike paths and sidewalks, but it does indicate that Natural Trails will be protected and added as well. These proposed plans are on the edge of getting formalized. I encourage you to check out and contact http://WWW.MONTGOMERYTRAILS.ORG http://www.parkplanningandstewardship.org, http://www.parkplannig.org MNCPPC and DNR websites where you can see the direction the trails in your area are heading. They all welcome any input but for the DNR survey you only have a couple of days left to respond. Also check out the http://www.trailconservancy/org they were represented in both the meetings I attended, and have an active interest and work for natural trails. Take the DNR survey. hhtp://survey.rrcresearch.com/s3/Maryland ) Please let your elected officials know that you support these trail systems. It will benefit all of us now and our future so we don’t want to let these area’s get built up and miss these wonderful opportunities. We can improve our quality of life by joining together in keeping what is often just a 3 or 4 foot wide passage that might open an area up for miles of enjoyment. One thing I hadn’t realized until this meeting. The WSSC trails have been taken off the map so we will loose the connection between Howard and PG along the river. It’s a huge link that has been on all previous maps for as long as I can remember. One other thing to think about is that most utilities; Pepco, Washington gas…etc. are not interested in using their areas to help connect trails through communities. It’s always good to look into your area get an overview of what is there that may be perfect for connecting or making a trail loop, see what dialog you can start with all the different usages. One thing I always tell my riders, when you leave my farm you are on Private or Public party, you must be respectful.