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July 2009
Happy July to all of you. We’ll start with the most important business: Who is planning on riding in the Sweet Pea Parade?! So far we have Kris Werner with Katie and Doug, Suzie Peters, Wendy Fordyce, Sandy Kypfer, Sandy Smith, Marianne and Lucy.
Instructions for Equine entries are attached. Staging begins at nine, parade at 10:00. We will meet in the equine staging area on North 9th, between Main and Mendenhall. All entries are required to have sweet peas on them, paper is okay. The theme is “Celebrating our Roots: Arts, Culture, Community”. After discussions with people that have already RSVP’d, the consensus seems to be to pick something from our western culture: gunslinger, bar maid, etc. If anyone has good tips on where to get costuming, please let me know!!
What follows is news about the last two events GallEP did, the Ride into Town and the Interconnect Challenge.
Ride into Town
Thankfully the Ride into Town was completed safely. We got great news coverage in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and on the two local TV News stations: KTVM and KBZK. Participation was a little light, with only 5 riders making the journey. However, we are making progress—the traffic on Kagy came to complete halt before we even attempted to cross the street! People on the trails were friendly and courteous. We plan to stay longer while at the fair next year… Thanks to Nancy Creel, Sabrina Hannan, Lain Kay and Kris Werner for joining in the fun and a huge thanks to Nancy's poop crew.
Interconnect Challenge
Hopefully, some of you saw the fantastic news coverage on the County’s Interconnect Challenge last week.. Please take time to view the blog and make comments at www.interconnectchallenge.blogspot.com There are great videos, photos and write-ups on all the participants, routes, history, etc.
The event was a huge success, as it changed the frame of discussion from, “Should we update the County’s Parks and Trails Plans” to “We need to address some of these issues in the new Plan”. We made connections with other user groups, community leaders and the public. A great big thank you to the equestrian and horse-drawn vehicle participants: Dan Marsh and others from the Back Country Horsemen, who cleared the Wheeler Gulch trail that hadn’t been passable in 15 years; Joe Yoder, of the Gallatin Saddle and Harness club, who drove a 4-up team of warmbloods; and Kris Werner and family, who rode on two different days to make critical connections. “Ride On!”
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
www.gallepmt.org
GallEP: helping to safeguard our western heritage by restoring our vanishing equestrian landscape.
June 2009
The Preparation for Urban Riding Safety Clinic was well attended and very helpful. Jess Holloway of Holloway Stables helped us uncover areas we needed to work on before going for an urban ride. Thanks go to Jen Mohler, Lori Kascht, and Sandy Kypfer, who assisted from the ground, and boy did they get some exercise!
Ride into Town
We just got permission to use City trails and from Sue Shockley at the Fairgrounds for stalls so that we can do another Ride into Town! Please RSVP to Marianne at 920-0888 if you plan on joining us on Wednesday, July 15th (the safety clinic or former parade/Ride into Town participation required). The route will be the same as last year (ride from Patterson/Fowler to Sundance Springs; ride trails to library; cross Main at Wallace; cross Rouse at Oak; enter Fairgrounds at Oak). We will meet at my house no later than 8:30 am and ride out by 9:00 (I’ll give you directions when you RSVP). We should arrive at the Fairgrounds by 11:30. We can stall our horses and have some lunch. We will depart by 1:00 and return by the same route to my house, arriving by 3:00. (A GallEP T-shirt will be required, long-sleeve, cost is $25).
Other Summer Events
We have a new opportunity to raise awareness in the community by participating in the County’s Interconnect Challenge. Various trail user groups will come together to circumnavigate the county without using a car during the week of July 20. Marianne will be helping stage this event. We need GallEP volunteers to do a 2 hour trail ride in the Big Sky area, or a ride down Madison River Road on Tuesday, July 21st. We are hoping to get Backcountry horsemen volunteers to do a 17 mile ride from Big Bear Creek/FSR 890 to Wheeler Gulch to South Cottonwood Rd. Ideally, they would meet up with Gallatin Valley Saddle and Harness Club members on S. Cottonwood, who would then drive down Cottonwood and over to Goldenstein to the Sourdough Creek Trail. Please pass this information on so that we can secure volunteers. Anyone interested should contact Marianne Amsden at 920-0888 or via email at gallepmt@yahoo.com.
We also hope you’ll participate in this year’s Sweet Pea Parade, Saturday, August 8th. Applications are available at the Sweet Pea Office on Main. They will have a horse-only staging area.
We hope to see you this summer at these fun events.
Publicity
The Equestrian Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) sent out a national news release detailing our successful bid to pass SJ17. It is attached for those of you who would like to read it.
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
www.gallepmt.org
GallEP: helping to safeguard our western heritage by restoring our vanishing equestrian landscape.
May 2009
Wow, summer here we come…finally!
We are pleased to announce a free Preparation for Urban Riding Safety Clinic on Saturday, June 6th, with local trainer Jess Holloway. The clinic is sponsored by GallEP and the Montana Horse Sanctuary and will be required for anyone who plans to ride with GallEP in the Ride Into Town for the County Fair or the Sweet Pea parade. The Clinic will run from 9-1 at Holloway Stables, 770 McReynolds Road, Gallatin Gateway. Jess will help horses and riders gain confidence as they become acquainted with a wide variety of objects likely to be encountered in town. The stables require a current negative coggins and EWT, Flu/Rhino, & Strangles vaccines. Snacks and water will be provided. Our new light-weight, long-sleeved waffle-T will be available for purchase for $20, as well as bumper stickers for $3. For more information and to RSVP (by June 3), call 388-5668.
A flyer is attached. Please pass it around!
Other Summer Events
This year’s county fair is July 15-19 and we are planning to do another Ride Into Town on Wednesday 15th to kick off the fair and raise awareness that we are losing ground for this culturally significant recreation. We hope you’ll consider joining us. (A GallEP T-shirt will be required).
We also hope you’ll join us for this year’s Sweet Pea Parade, Saturday, August 8th. The theme will be, “Sweet Pea celebrates our roots: arts, culture, and community.” What could be more appropriate for horse/wagon entries!! We are in touch with the Director about how to make the staging area and parade more inviting and safe for equine entries. Please let me know if you have ideas regarding this, or email Lorie directly at: admin@sweetpeafestival.org.
We hope to see you this summer at these fun events….Let’s Ride! (and drive!)
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
gallepmt@yahoo.com
April 2009
YES!! Spring is here (really, it is..) and the update is short!!
Events
- We hope to have a “Preparation for Urban Riding” mounted workshop with Jess Holloway in May or June—we’ll keep you posted.
- We plan to have another Ride Into Town for the fair, and have a Sweet Pea parade entry.
- The Back Country Horsemen are hosting a free safety clinic this Saturday, May 2 at the County Fairgrounds. A flyer is attached.
- The Wild Pink Yonder Charitable Society has invited our membership on an epic wagon train adventure this summer. All the info is at www.WildPinkYonder.com, but the gist of it is this: they will leave Lethbridge, Alberta, on June 20th with 100 horses and their riders/drivers and head to Calgary, then Red Deer, then Edmonton.
Advocacy
Senate Joint Resolution 17, sponsored by Sen. Gary Perry passed the House 74-26!
It will be sent to Montana Department of Transportation for its consideration and to the Montana League of Cities and Towns and the Montana Association of Counties for distribution to their members. The final language is attached. Please take time to thank those that voted for it and perhaps let those know that voted against it that we want equine activities protected:
Those who voted yes! Thank you for voting yes on SJ17! Your support will help us safeguard our western heritage.
Rep. Mike Phillips mikephillips@montana.net
Rep. JP Pomnichowski pomnicho@montanadsl.net
Rep. Franke Wilmer franke.wilmer@gmail.com
Rep. Brady Wiseman brady@bradywiseman.com
Sponsor - Gary Perry PERRYSD35@AOL.COM
Those who voted no. We were disappointed to learn that you voted no on SJ17. We hope you’ll support future efforts to safeguard our western heritage. For over a year GallEP volunteers have been trying to get our voice heard locally, and although the current City and County Commissions voted to include our proposed text into the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan, the Transportation Commission still does not want to include equine activities in their plans, nor are we included in Bozeman’s Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails plan. We would have liked your support because this was an important first step in getting equine activities recognized before it's too late - before our rural roads are paved and we are landlocked. We hope you recognize that including equine activities in planning is a good way to integrate our heritage with growth preserve an important sector of our local economy. There are over 25 equine organizations in the Gallatin County that supported (SJ17) and those organizations represent hundreds of horse owners who want their voices heard.
Rep. Michael More Mp_more@yahoo.com
Rep. Ted Washburn red@tedwashburn.com
Gordon Vance vancehd67@gmail.com
Scott Sales - you have to use the website to contact him - http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/61st/legwebmessage.asp
We hope you are all finding ways to enjoy this beautiful spring.
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
gallepmt@yahoo.com
February 2009:
Wow, this year is “off like a shot” for GallEP. We have many new exciting developments to share with you regarding:
- The adoption by the City and County of the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan
- Resolution SJ17.
- Volunteer opportunity to receive designation as a recipient of monetary proceeds of the “Run to the Pub”
- New pasture management class being offered by board member Jennifer Mohler (see attachment also)
Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update (GBAT Plan)
As you know, the Transportation Commission refused all of our requests, however, unbelievably, at the January 20, 2009 Bozeman City Commission meeting, the Commissioners voted to include most of the language we had ask for from the TCC (after hearing only one three-minute public comment)! They also included a new sentence in Chapter 5.5: "The Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan acknowledges that equestrians are users of the transportation system and does not make any recommendations to restrict equestrian access on trails, paths, or roadways..." This is a very important and powerful statement, and is more than we asked for with the map. The City Commissioners gave a clear signal that they don't want to lose the equine presence in Bozeman and feel that equestrian and horse-drawn vehicle needs ought to be included in the planning process. This represents a tremendous turn-around in their thinking. You may want to send them a thank you via email at: www.bozeman.net.
We also appeared at the February 10 County Commission meeting to ask that the rest of our text additions and map be included in the County’s version of the GBAT. The County Commissioners diligently considered and debated the pros and cons of including equestrian access. Commissioner Steve White was concerned that including equine interests would be a “step back” for the community and that it would be contradictory to the Growth Policy’s goals of public health and safety. He recounted a story of horses near Joe’s Parkway last week scaring everyone off the sidewalk and then leaving waste. He also talked of how unsafe it is to pass horse-drawn vehicles on Gooch Hill. Even so, they voted unanimously to include all our language requests, including the complete streets guidelines. They declined the map, since it had not gone through the same public input as the rest of the maps in the document. (We pointed out that it was too bad the consultants weren’t allowed (by the TCC) to do this.) Please take time to thank the Commissioners, and perhaps reassure Commissioner White that this won’t be a step back for the community. You can reach them at commission@gallatin.mt.gov.
Letters to the editor thanking both the City and County Commission (for their willingness to look at the larger implications of transportation planning for the community) would help further our cause. Please consider writing a letter!
Resolution
Our effort to get a Resolution passed during the current Montana legislative session has already passed in the Senate, and has been transmitted to the House of Representatives! It is sponsored by Senator Gary Perry (you can email him a thank you at: perrysd35@aol.com). It asks that city, county and state officials plan for safe equestrian and horse-drawn vehicle access when planning and designing transportation and recreation corridors. It is very important that you contact people around the state who can email or call their representatives and ask them to support the resolution. Representative contact information can be found on-line at: www.leg.mt.gov According to Senator Perry, the shorter the message, the higher the impact. My message was, "Keep Montana the "Last Best Place" for Montanans and preserve that "Montana Experience" for visitors… vote yes on SJ17 to support the historical, cultural, and economic value of horse activities." Please advise them to state the name and number of the Resolution, as I did in the example above.
Unfortunately, we won’t know when the Resolution will be presented to the House subcommittee until within a week of the date. However, it will most likely be within the next three weeks. If you want to see the actual draft and track the progress, go to: http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws09/law0203w$.startup and type in: SJ17 (that’s the resolution number).
Run to the Pub
In exchange for getting the word out about Pub 317’s St. Patty’s day “Run to the Pub” happening in Bozeman on Saturday, March 14, and operating a runner’s aid station, GallEP will be one of three non-profits designated to receive all the profits from the race! The more people we tell about this, the more sign-ups there will be, and the more money we will make to recover costs, so please let people know about it! Also, if you want to help Marianne run the station, let her know via email!
You can sign up for the race (and win a trip for two to the Dublin Marathon) at www.pub317.com.
Small Acreage Pasture Management Class
GallEP is pleased to announce a Pasture Management for Small Acreages class. It is a 6 week workshop that gives land owners the necessary tools to develop a sustainable pasture management plan for their property. Topics covered are: Water, Soils, Weeds, Grasses, Poisonous Plants, & Grazing Systems
Wednesday Nights: April 8 - May 13
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
@ Gallatin Gateway Community Center
(145 Mill Street across from the school in downtown Gallatin Gateway, just west of highway 191.)
Class fee: $99 for 2 people! Class size is limited to 20 registered participants.
This class is being sponsored by Montana Horse Sanctuary & Gallatin Equestrian Partnership.
For more information and to enroll contact:
Jennifer Mohler of Bridger Scientific, Inc.
388-5668 or jenmohler@hughes.net
Parting Shots
In order to be good ambassadors of our cause, we ask that if you plan on riding in town, please stay off the sidewalks, pack your poop and make sure your horse isn’t spooky in urban environments! We want our community to want us around!
Hope you are all getting out in the warmish winter weather—“Let’s Ride!”
For those of you who read these, follow through with emails and other requests and pass information along, WE THANK YOU!! Your efforts make a difference (as stated to me by the County Commissioners!).
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
www.gallepmt.org
GallEP: helping to safeguard our western heritage by restoring our vanishing equestrian landscape.
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January 2009:
Happy New Year to all of you! Hopefully you were able to take a little time to enjoy your families and horses over the holiday season.…Following is an update on
- the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan (please note important dates to testify),
- information on a resolution we have supplied to Senator Gary Perry to submit in this legislative session (please note that we need letters and/or testifiers to go to Helena), and
- new committee information.
Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update (GBAT Plan)
Many thanks to the 30 people who showed up to testify at the November meeting. Pressing on, we met with County Commissioner Bill Murdoch, who then emailed all the TCC members requesting they adopt our requests. At Gallatin County Planning Board President Kerry White’s behest, we presented to the Gallatin County Planning Board. They unanimously approved everything we asked for. We also met with City Commissioner Jeff Krauss, who was open to our requests, Andy Epple, Bozeman Planning Department Director, and Rick Hickson, City Engineer.
The TCC met again on December 17th to consider public comment and finalize the Plan. The majority of the public comment was from the equestrian community (great work!!). They began with the GallEP proposal. Kerry White introduced the Planning Board’s recommendation. They discussed it at length. Kerry made a motion to approve it, even when it was apparent that he might not get a second. The only two votes in favor were Kerry and Doug McSpadden. Please take time to thank Mr. Murdoch, Mr. White and Mr. McSpadden.
Although the TCC elected not to include the language and map that we requested, they did agree with the consultant’s response: “...the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan acknowledges that equestrians are users of the transportation system and does not make any recommendations to restrict equestrian access on trails, paths, or roadways..." This is a very important and powerful statement that we feel should be incorporated into the text in Chapter 5.5. The only opportunity we have for this is when the City, County and Belgrade Commissions have the GBAT Plan on their agendas. Please take time to come and testify. Dates, times and locations are as follows:
City Commission
6:00 PM Tuesday, January 20
Commission Room
City Hall, 121 N. Rouse |
Belgrade City-County Planning Board
7:00 PM Monday, January 26
Belgrade City Hall
91 East Central |
Gallatin County Planning Board
6:00 PM Tuesday, January 27
Community Room
Gallatin County Courthouse
311 W. Main |
County Commission
9:00 AM Tuesday, Feb. 10
Community Room
Gallatin County Courthouse
311 W. Main |
TheGBAT Plan is online at: http://www.rpa-hln.com/bozeman/bozemantransplan_files/page5.htm
Resolution
Our next effort will be to get a Resolution passed at the upcoming Montana legislative session. It is being sponsored by Senator Gary Perry. It will ask that city, county and state officials plan for safe equestrian access when planning and designing transportation and recreation corridors. We need six testifiers to go to Helena, so please let us know if you are interested by emailing me. Also very helpful will be written testimony to submit to the subcommittee. Please send letters (on your letterhead) as soon as possible to: Marianne Amsden, 5588 Patterson Rd., Bozeman, MT 59718. Your letter should recount how equine interests were left out of transportation and recreation plans in Bozeman and how you’ve lost safe spaces to ride as growth has happened in and around Bozeman. Make it your story, give examples. You can also email me the letter, preferably a PDF attachment of it on your letterhead. If you are unable to do that, a simple email will do.
Unfortunately, we won’t know when the Resolution will be presented to the Senate subcommittee until within a week of the date. However, it will most likely be within the next three weeks. If you want to see the actual draft and track the progress, go to: http://laws.leg.mt.gov/laws09/law0203w$.startup and type in: LC1801 (that’s the resolution number).
New Committees
The board has met and established goals for 2009. Now that these major city/county document revisions are close to completion, we will get back to planning an equestrian park, safe equestrian trails and community events and education. Let us know if you are interested in the following committees: Equestrian Park, Community events, Trails, Membership, and Fundraising.
Thanks for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
Co-founder, GallEP
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November 2008:
A huge thank you to all the equestrians who showed up in force to the Wednesday, October 29th TCC meeting to give public comment on why equestrians should be included in the new Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update. They shared their own heartfelt and moving stories about how they've lost safe places to ride. GallEP prepared and submitted the following comments, click here to view: Two GallEP members, Nancy Creel and Sandy Kypfer came to the meeting on their horses, which made quite an impression! Channel 7 news came and covered the event. Our televised interview can be viewed for two weeks only on www.kbzk.com. Scroll down their featured videos to: "Horse Enthusiasts GallEP into Bozeman."
Despite all the incredible testimony, the situation looked bleak for us as Andy Epple, Chairman of the TCC (Transportation Coordinating Committee) expressed that the TCC had already given us all they were going to give us, which amounts to a few sentences in one chapter. Then, thankfully, County Commissioner Bill Murdoch came to our rescue and voiced his support of our requests to the TCC. Also to the rescue was Ted Lange of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. He produced a GIS version of Bozeman's PROST (Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails) map showing desired equestrian trails and provided it to the TCC. We now have a chance at being included in the Update! This opportunity wouldn't have been possible without equestrians feeling strongly enough to take time off of work to come and testify, combined with help from GVLT and a County Commissioner who believes in our cause.
Following the hearing, we emailed the committee the following additional public comment.
Dear TCC Members:
Thank you for hearing the equestrian public's concerns today. In light of considering our requests (some minor text additions and a map), I invite you to consider three questions:
1. Is there a problem? Yes...the Update is exacerbating a growing safety issue (mostly outside the city limits) by not allowing equestrians on the trails you already have planned in these areas, which forces them to ride on the road with increasing traffic.
2. Does the TCC HAVE to do something? No, but that's the wrong question...the question should be CAN the TCC do something? Yes, it is within your purview to do a very little (for you), that would mean a great deal to us...a few words here and there and a map showing equestrian access (we don't need special facilities). and SHOULD you do something? Yes, because there's a safety problem (system deficiency), it would be consistent with the Update goals (functionality, safety, "respect and ensure the area's natural and historic context and minimize adverse impacts...on existing neighborhoods"), and because equestrians represent a large user group whose needs have not been addressed, not to mention that it is consistent with the City's vision and mission.
3. Who would it benefit? Not only equestrians, but the whole community. With hard economic times coming, diversity may be what keeps this community vibrant--it's good planning to preserve what could become a unique niche in Montana. Equine opportunities are part of what draw people to the area.
There will be coverage of the meeting on KBZK channel 7 at 5:30 and 10:00. If you miss it, it will be available on their website tomorrow or the next day at www.kbzk.com.
For those of you who wish to explore this further, our exact requests are listed below, along with all the reasons for including us. Thanks again for your time.
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
www.gallepmt.org
GallEP: helping to safeguard our western heritage by restoring our vanishing equestrian landscape.
To view exactly what we've asked for, click here.
Click here to see map of trails.
Visit http://www.rpa-hln.com/bozeman/bozemantransplan.htm to view the new “Public Draft” version of the Transportation Plan. They are asking that Public comment be sent to the following:
Robert Peccia & Associates
Attn: Bozeman Trans Plan
P.O. Box 5653
825 Custer Ave
Helena, MT 59604
Or e-mail them to: scottr@rpa-hln.com
The public comment period ends December 5th, 2008.
The project consultant will have to include all public comments in a matrix that will explain whether or not comments were incorporated and why, so please take the time to comment. We are very close to succeeding--"Let's Ride and Drive" the final mile!!
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October 2008:
Hello all you horse enthusiasts. Let us cut right to the chase, as we know you all are busy…GallEP members have been trying to persuade the TCC (Transportation Coordinating Committee) for months to include equestrians in the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update. Our appeals have been falling on deaf ears. They don’t even want to acknowledge us as current transportation system users! Their planning boundary includes the more rural areas surrounding Bozeman and the trails they are planning won’t include equestrian access! We need your help.
- What you can do: show up at the next TCC meeting and speak from personal experience or use one of the comments listed below. We've provided the comments listed below as an attachment to make it easier to read and pass on. We will have them on hand at the meeting also.
- Attachment
- Where: Old Bozeman Public Library, 121 North Rouse
- When: Wednesday, October 29th, 9:30 sharp
The public comment section is always first, so you’ll only be there 15 minutes. We need an army to show up to have any chance of getting included in the plan. Failure means the end of an era and a lifestyle for many of us…not to mention a diminished community.
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August 2008:
Seems like summer just arrived and I don't want to say its over but...we're close, darn it! I'm sure you've all been busy enjoying summer's gifts, and so have we at GallEP.
Two of GallEP's three big summer events wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of the Backcountry Horsemen. We and our community owe a big thanks to Janice Cartwright for her leadership in the Ride-Into-Town and the Sweet Pea Parade.
Our first event was a safety clinic in preparation for the Ride-Into-Town and the parade. It was very well led by Brad Tank. We worked on the ground first, learning how to disengage the hind-quarters in potentially threatening circumstances. Then we rode through and around balls, balloons, bags, flags, fireworks, strollers, bikes, dogs, horses pulling carts (thanks to Donika Shrauger and Joe Yoder for driving their teams over), tractors and other farm equipment. Luckily, our horses and riders learned a lot without any injuries!
You probably know we had our first Ride-Into-Town event on July 16, to help kick off the fair. We received special permission from the City of Bozeman to use their trail system (horses are illegal on all city trails), providing we posted signage (we posted a total of eight signs the day before), published our route to alert users we would be there and help ensure public safety (the Chronicle was kind enough to print it twice) and lastly, clean up the waste (John Amsden handled the poo on the way to the Fairgrounds, the Pooperman handled it on the way back). Luckily, we did not have to get a parade permit. What a bunch of hoops to jump through just to go for a ride!!
Anyway, Janice agreed to be trail boss and led us successfully from South 19th and Fowler to the fairgrounds and back. Maire O'Neill, Ken Yankelevitz and John and Solomon Amsden accompanied us on bikes to help with traffic control. Thankfully both Channel 7 and the Chronicle came and did some great coverage. There were 10 horseback riders that ranged in age from 11 to 70+ including: Janice Cartwright, Sammy Lu Parsons, Nancy Creel, Sandy Kypfer, Suzanna Peters, Lain Kay, Marianne Amsden, Lucy Amsden, Deeanne Hainsworth, and Monica Robinson. We were ecstatic to have made it with no injuries or mishaps, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. We hope to make it an annual event with wider participation.
Our last big summer event was participation in the Sweet Pea Parade. The parade theme was fairy tale and the Back Country Horsemen teamed up with GallEP to recreate the "Princess and the (sweet) Pea." Sammy Lu Parsons and Janice Cartwright led the princesses: Lucy Amsden, Tiffany Messina, Monica Robinson, Deeanne Hainsworth and Chenelle Halvorson (ages 11-13). Suzanna Peters and Ken Yankelevitz were their "Peas." Comments overheard by Janice were: "what well-behaved horses," "wow, look, there are kids riding," "I'm glad they are wearing helmets," and "thanks for making this safe by clearing the road ahead of you."
Switching gears now...our advocacy effort is going strong. We are continuing to pursue an addendum and map revision for the city's PROST (parks, recreation, open spaces and trails) plan. RPAB (the city's recreation, parks advisory board) has agreed to work with us and Ted Lange at GVLT (Gallatin Valley Land Trust) is working on a GIS version of our map for RPAB.
We've appeared several times in front of the TCC (Transportation Coordinating Committee) in an effort to have equestrians recognized as users of transportation facilities in their Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update. We've let them know that equestrians currently ride down many of the more rural roads in their planning boundary and therefore would like access to some of the trails they are planning. Apparently, the Montana Department of Transportation and certain city representatives on the committee do not want to include equestrian access, so our future here is uncertain. We urge you to contact members of the committee and voice your concern that equestrians are left out before the update is adopted in November. A full list of committee members can be obtained by contacting Shoni Dykstra, Administrative Assistant, Planning and Community Development, City of Bozeman, sdykstra@BOZEMAN.NET. The President of the committee is Andy Epple, Director of Planning for the City of Bozeman, and he can be reached at aepple@BOZEMAN.NET. Jeff Krauss, deputy mayor, is also on the committee and can be reached at Jkrauss@BOZEMAN.NET. The main MDT representative is Rob Bukvich, he can be reached at rbukvich@mt.gov, The whole plan update can be viewed at: http://www.rpa-hln.com/bozeman/bozemantransplan.htm . Contact information for the project managers is listed on the website. There will be an opportunity for public input in October, when a public draft is made available at public meetings and on the website listed above, so watch the Chronicle!
On a different front, you may remember from the last update that the County Commissioners were going to vote on the Gallatin Valley Interconnect Resolution. They passed it, giving the green light to members of the Board of Park Commissioners, Gallatin County Planning Board, Gallatin County Planning Department and the Conservation & Parks Coordinator to begin work on updating and merging the County's parks and trails plans. A GallEP representative is on this committee, so equestrian issues will definitely be addressed in this update!
Lastly, we are looking for volunteers to field Secretary and Treasurer positions on GallEP's board of directors. Please spread the word. Anyone interested can email Marianne at gallepmt@yahoo.com. Thanks for your continued interest... "Let's ride--and drive!"
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July 16, 2008:
Ride into Town--Only those who have proven their horses aptitude and rider's ability at the clinic may ride with GallEP.
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June 2008:
Well with the arrival of longer days and sunshine, everything's growing, and so is GallEP! Thankfully, we have a lot to report on this month, but we'll try to be brief.
On the County level, Marianne was able to help create and pass a resolution by the planning board to update and merge the County's parks plan and trails plan. The new master plan will be called Gallatin Valley Interconnect. The Board of Park Commissioners passed the same resolution, and the two boards will be working together over the next year on this plan, if the Commissioners also pass the same resolution. A phone call or email to the Commissioners urging their support might be helpful!
Marianne attended an all-day "Complete Streets" conference in Bozeman with mostly city and state road engineers and designers, the Mayor of Bozeman and the City's planning department director, among others. Marianne made sure that everyone understood how we are on the brink of losing an integral part of our culteral heritage by not planning for equestrian access. She also made sure that throughout the day everyone's new modeling concepts included equestrian access!
GallEP now has a committed team working on our 501c-3 application, event planning and web-design. The web-site should be available to the public in some form within the next few weeks.
Most importantly, we are pleased to announce our first clinic and group ride events (with GallEP t-shirts and helmet covers!) We are organizing a Ride into Town to help kick-off this summer's Gallatin County Fair, July 16-20. Anyone who plans to ride with GallEP, will be required to attend our clinic (see below) and buy and wear our new T-shirt (around $5) and helmet cover (around $4). The t-shirts will help forward our mission by raising awarness of the lack of public facilities for equestrians.
To aid in preparing our horses and ourselves for urban riding, we will be hosting a clinic at the Amsden property on Saturday, June 28th, 5588 Patterson Rd, Bozeman, MT 59718 1 (406) 920-0888. You may arrive between 9:00 and 9:30 so we can begin at 10:00. Bring a sack lunch to enjoy together afterwords. If anyone has a large flash camera or other objects to aid the clinician, please bring them. We plan on having the usual barking/charging dogs, tarps, plastic bags, cans, bike riders, horses with carts (hopefully), maybe a fire truck or other large trucks, balloons, flags, fireworks, etc.
The ride will include many dangers that each rider must acknowledge and assume responbility for, such as: riding on congested trails with strollers, barking dogs, bolting horses, horses riding up behind you or turning around and leaving the group, flashes, obstacles, loud noises, paved surfaces, street crossings with heavy traffic, crossing at street lights, etc. Please do not plan on joining us if you and your horse are not prepared to accomplish this ride safely, and without endangering the public.
The Ride-into-Town event will begin at 10:00 (arrive between 9:00 and 9:30) at the Amsden's on Wednesday, July 16th. We will ride east on Patterson to South 3rd, north on 3rd to Sundance Springs where we will ride the city trail system to the Library. We will cross Main and ride Broadway to Wallace to Tamarack. We will stall our horses for a couple of hours to enjoy lunch and the fair. We will all ride back to the Amsden's together and should arrive by 5:00. We will be resposible for waste removal and repair of any damage that may occur on city trails. Waste management on trail surfaces will include moving it to the side and dispersing very well. For paved surfaces, we plan to contract with the Pooperman...
If you can't ride, perhaps you can volunteer to help out at the busy intersections at Kagy/Tracy and Main/Wallace...please let me know if you are interested!
Depending on the success and participation of this ride, perhaps next year we will add more rides like one from the Painted Hills area, and one from Story Mill.
Please RSVP for the clinic by June 20th. RSVP for the ride day (specify the date/s you are interested in) by July 8th.
Lastly, we are hoping to help facilitate wide participation in the Sweet Pea Parade, so spread the word and look for more information on that later!
Hope everyone is well and enjoying their equine friends! "Lets ride! (and drive!)"
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May 2008 Update
Well it IS warming up a little and the sun is sure to come out tomorrow!
Hello to all you horse-lovers...Not a whole lot to report, but we do need your input on an event...The events committee is trying to gauge interest in some ride-into-town days during the fair. Sue Shockley has agreed to reserve 20 stalls per day, July 16-20 for people who want to ride or drive their horses to the fair, (rather than drive their cars to the fair).
The idea is that whoever wants to ride/drive in on a given day can trailer to a designated place and all ride in together, enjoy the fair for a while and then ride back. Someone could pick you up, however, trailer parking at the fair will be non-existent with the 4-H'ers using every square inch of parking.
We plan on getting matching T-shirts ($5 or so) and or helmet covers to help raise awareness and for good media photo-ops.
It looks like we may get permission from the city to use their trails, as long as they know which trails we plan on using. Three locations that come to mind are:
- Start out South 19th from my place and ride the Sundance Springs trail to the Gallagator, cross Main at the Library and ride Wallace to Oak.
- Ride from somewhere east of town, like Ft. Ellis and use Burke Park
- Ride from Story Mill
So, please email me back with the date you are interested in.
Hope you are all enjoying your equine friends, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Lets Ride (and drive)!
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
GallEP
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March/April 2008 Update
Well I hope you're all enjoying Spring.....Hello again from Marianne. I have a few exciting updates to share with you all...
I just passed an enormous hurdle in our efforts to gain access to public trails. I presented to RPAB (Recreation, Parks Advisory Board) about our amendment requests for their PROST plan and Wow!! The meeting went better than my wildest imaginations!
I started out by sharing my successes as a proponent of PROST as a county planning board member which are many...I've gotten trails on the map, so to speak, in the planning department and the planning board. I've met with Mike Harris, county park/trails coordinator, and Ada Montague, county planner and got an agenda for trails, including using PROST, I've gotten a county trails advisory committee reinstated (anyone want to apply?) which will be reviewing subdivision applications to make sure they include trails, I've purchased PROST plans for myself and the county planning department....all that advocacy for them earned audible thanks and applause before I got started with the presentation!
The presentation went w/o a hitch, so to speak. They even applauded, after which Sandy Dodge, the chair, stated that not only did he support our amendment ideas and the map, but congratulated me on the amount of work that went into it!! This sentiment was echoed by many others, who went on to share anecdotes of how other communities, like Baltimore, with their hunts, have been enriched culturally and economically by equestrian corridors and activities!! They'll review the amendments and get back to us in a few weeks. As for our map recommendations, Sandy said they'd get Ted Lange at GVLT to add our trails and just send it out to everyone, the map doesn't need an amendment!
Other exciting news is that I just returned from the State Trails Conference in Missoula. I got to attend through the planning board, but it was more useful from the GallEP perspective, as I learned of many funding opportunities and got GallEP's name and cause to the ears of many planners across the state and country. Rick Potts, Chief of the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. and keynote speaker, has done many pack trips in the Bob Marshall. He heard of GallEP at the conference and sought me out to offer to help!!
Two more exciting updates are that the non-profit application is moving forward thanks to volunteer Betsy DeLeiris, and the initial web design looks great and should be completed soon thanks to personal friends at DL Technologies in Costa Mesa, CA.
There's still much to be done. Now that hopefully PROST is mostly behind us, I can move forward with helping committee work on trails, fund raising, events, publicity and the park effort. New volunteers are always welcome! Let's Ride!!
Sincerely,
Marianne Jackson Amsden
GallEP
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February 2008 Update
For all of you who missed the public meeting, following is a summary!
The meeting was a success; we had a fantastic turnout. We packed the large community meeting room at the library--over 60 people! They were very enthusiastic and supportive of our efforts, and upset that equestrians hadn't been included in the PROST (Parks, Recreation, Open Spaces and Trails) plan. A big thank you goes out to Ted Lange from Gallatin Valley Land Trust who assisted us with answering some questions, and we appreciated hearing from Ada Montague, a Gallatin County Planner. Unfortunately, no one from the city or RPAB (Recreation, Parks, and Advisory Board) came, however, in subsequent phone calls it is evident the City is looking forward to working with us. Another wonderful surprise was the vocal support of State Senator Gary Perry. Not only does he support the equestrian trails and park idea, but he wants to advocate for us on the state level and facilitate cooperative efforts among various agencies to achieve our goals!
Our meeting agenda consisted of:
- GallEP’s background: petition last summer, lack of inclusion in the city's PROST plan, etc.
- Challenges we face: loss of equestrian lands and roads, lack of awareness among city/county officials of equestrian needs, etc.
- GallEP’s mission: GallEP seeks to safeguard opportunities in the Gallatin Valley for equestrian activities for future generations. We strive to serve as a collective voice for all equestrians in an effort to promote venues for recreation throughout the region, and to preserve equestrian access to safe trails and public thoroughfares.
- GallEP’s goals: advocate for all equestrians at the city/county level for equestrian access to trails and the creation of an equestrian park.
- PROST amendments: proposed trails, equestrian park
- Comment and question period
The attendees expressed support for our goals, mission, etc., and were very enthusiastic about the trails we selected on the PROST plan for equestrian access. The trails form a sort of wagon wheel around Bozeman, with access to the fairgrounds and MSU and an attempt to link the major equestrian areas (barns, arenas, etc.). Overwhelmingly, the public supported mixed-use for proposed trails vs. equestrian only trails. It was good to hear from drivers (horse drawn carts) who want to see their sport included in trail planning and design. Many spoke to the wisdom of working with other groups to achieve common goals.
There was also great support for a multi-discipline equestrian park. Many people from the fairgrounds planning board attended and voiced their concern that the proposed park not compete with or detract from the fairgrounds. After more discussion there was a general consensus that a park would function as a place to do events that the fairgrounds can no longer accommodate, such as 3 day eventing, polo, driving competitions, etc. We also learned that a vast majority would be willing to pay a membership fee to help run the park.
With the little time that remained, we discussed how we can raise awareness of our cause, and we found there was support for the idea of a “ride into town day.” We were pleased that everyone who attended had their voice heard and contributed to the future of GallEP. It’s wonderful to be reminded of the diverse, passionate, and active equine community that resides in this county and motivates us to push on!
As we move ahead, we plan to form committees (trails, area coordinators, equestrian park, etc.) and put the volunteers who signed up to work! First on the list is to formalize the PROST amendments to present to RPAB and then the city. We plan to use email to keep you updated! In the meantime, if you attended and want to help keep our momentum going, consider sending a letter to the editor to any publications such as the Chronicle, Belgrade News etc., or write the city or county and let them know you support “Trails for Horses Too!”
Based on a sign-up sheet, we are forming committees to help us move forward. Review the following and if you are interested, email me back!
-Trails: First on the list is to formalize the PROST amendments to present to RPAB and then the city. We're not ready for area coordinators yet...
-Park: Find appropriate land (and communicate with fundraising)
- Events co-ordinator: Ride-to-town day, parade, etc.
-Publicity: keeping us in the press
-Fundraising: donors, grants, open space bond $$
-Officers:
-Secretary
-Treasurer
Thanks again for your support!
Sincerely,
Marianne Amsden
Jennifer Mohler
Maire O'Neill
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January 2008 Update
Happy New Year!
A hearty thanks to all you "Trails for Horses Too!" signees. Here's a little update on the trails situation. We gathered over 150 signatures and presented them to the city commission. After attending several trails meetings and establishing a formal organization, the city is willing to work with us. Our organization is called GallEP (Gallatin Equestrian Partnership). Over the last few months, we've been meeting with public officials, contacting equestrian organizations, retailers and large animal vets seeking support, and drafting a mission statement, goals and objectives (please see attached). We welcome your feedback through our email address listed below. Also, please mark your calendars for our first public meeting on Wednesday evening, February 20 at 6:30 pm at Bozeman Public Library.
gallepmt@yahoo.com
We're thrilled about the progress we've made already and excited to meet all of you face-to-face. Together, we are going to make a huge difference in the quality of life for generations to come in this valley.
Below, please note the link to the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource. The more contributions they recieve from our region, the more support they'll give us. They are ceasing memberships as of this coming January, but donations of any size will be accepted...
That's all for now!
Sincerely,
Marianne Amsden,
co-founder, GallEP
www.elcr.org/index.php
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