You don't have to be a forest management expert to know that horses, snowmobiles, bicycles, turkey hunters, campers and fishermen don't mix. Not well, anyway.
A new management plan for the Pigeon River Country state forest now under review is supposed to do all those things while ensuring access to everyone from campers to snowmobilers.
So far, reaction to the new plan has been tepid, with some asking for even tighter controls over where and how various user groups can do their thing. That's a fine line to walk. Tighter restrictions almost inevitably limit access; it's imperative that the good of the forest and maximizing benefits for users remain paramount.
One use issue that got particular attention in user responses to the draft plan is the increasing popularity of horseback riding and the potential effects of too many horses on the state forest.
Bob Jacobson, president of the Michigan Conservation Foundation, says his group is concerned about unenforced snowmobile regulations and the lack of restrictions on bicycle riders. But he said there is also concern about the effects of increased horseback riding.
Jim Maturen of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association said the forest is losing its distinction as the "last wild place left in the northern Lower Peninsula" and is worried about the increasing use of roads and trails by horseback riders.
"You don't see elk tracks anymore. You see horse tracks. There are horses, horses everywhere," he said. "We want specific trails for them or eliminate them altogether," Maturen said.
That's a pretty drastic line in the sand. Horse riding, after all, isn't the only use that could be responsible for the lack of elk sightings or the only use that could impact turkey hunting.
Some new approaches to where horses are allowed seem inevitable. Department of Natural Resources field coordinator Bill O'Neill said that while all uses must be balanced, there are legitimate concerns about horses.
"We're trying to identify how many horses we can have in the Pigeon without having a detrimental effect on the wildlife habitat or the recreation experiences of others," he said. "We don't want to harm the ground or run everybody else out."
Heavy horse traffic can be a problem on trails meant for hiking and in sandy or dusty areas. Restricting horse traffic in those places is as necessary as restricting ORVs, which are limited to county roads within the state forest.
Given the seeming focus on horseback riding, however, both the DNR and the Natural Resources Commission need to ensure that any new restrictions on horseback riding are reasonable and in proportion to the number of riders and other users.
As in nature, balance is everything.
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