Pigeon River & Beyond - Back Country Horsemen, Michigan

Forwarding an email that was received this morning:  Let's get on board to help however we can! (Not my cousin)

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This information came from my cousin, Margo, who was riding at Pines Pt. on Friday, Nov. 6. This notice was on her windshield when she came back to her vehicle. While on the trail she met this Kathy Bietau, who was not very friendly and questioned her about riding in the Pines Pt. area. This lady has the power to re-manage the area and said that the initial plan is to close the diamond river trail and many of the other trails. Camping, fishing, hunting, etc. and other uses of the area will also be affected. If you have not been to Pines Pt. lately they have put barricades up on many of the roads and camping areas as well as clearing some of the trees and making some more open areas. A lot of this re-management, “limiting our use” has to do with butterflies, but also this women said our manure, hay etc, brings in evasive weeds, etc. into the forest. We all know that research has been done that does not support this claim.

We are asking that all trail riders call this number 231-745-4631 and ask to be put on their contact list and also ask for a “face to face” meeting with the forest service and the trail enthusiasts to express our concerns and the value of this riding area to us, we need to state our case and fight for our rights. I am also contacting the Michigan Chapter of the Back Country Horseman to get their support and knowledge on the steps to take to try to stop this re-management.

Please forward this to all of your trail riding friends. This is another important battle for our trail riding rights. If we do not fight now, we will lose a valuable riding area, like the closing of Elk Hill 2 yrs ago. We have a much better chance to fight the changes before they happen than after.

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IMPORTANT!! Contact anyone you know that enjoys the Pines Pt. Area, we need strength in numbers and we need a “town meeting” to get our point across.

Subject: PINES POINT NATIONAL FOREST "RECREATION RE-MANAGEMENT"