GAYLORD -- Changes could be in store for horseback riders and mountain bikers in the Pigeon River Country State Forest if state officials approve new proposed rules.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources wants to keep horseback riders to certain trails and campgrounds, while setting aside other trails for bicyclists. Some forest users contend it will infringe on their right to traverse public land, but state officials say changes will benefit the forest.
DNR Director Rebecca Humphries will decide next month whether to adopt the proposal, after it was discussed Thursday at the Michigan Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing.
Campers who travel by horseback may be restricted to just a couple of places in the forest, and could see a loss of 15 campsites. Also, only the northern spur of the Shore-to-Shore Riding Trail may be open to horseback riders, along with county roads, designated forest roads and certain service trails, for a total of about 280 miles.
That's a far cry from the wide open spaces where horseback riders currently meander in the 118,000-acre state forest.
"People who go there don't want to road ride. They want to be in the woods. They don't cause any more damage than the elk herd," said Connie Kleinhardt of Clare, who has ridden horses in the forest for 20 years.
It feels like the state is clamping down on horseback riders and doesn't want them there at all, she said.
That's not the case, but horse-riders can't run rampant, state officials said.
Lax enforcement there allowed horseback riders to grow accustomed to going cross-country and making unauthorized trails, said Mindy Koch, DNR resource management deputy.
"We know we need to get more control over the equestrian use. We know there's been some abuse, going cross-country and creating new bridle trails," she said.
Numerous trails of any type detract from the wild nature of the forest, which is specially managed to maintain that character and avoid resource degradation, Koch said.
"We're not trying to take anything away, but maintain the Pigeon as a special place," she said.
Also, biking in the forest could be restricted to the High Country, Shingle Mill and Pickerel Lake pathways, plus county roads and designated state forest roads, for a total of about 300 miles.
"I think the new rules will work and accommodate everybody," said Eric Isaacsen of Grayling, president of the northern chapter of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association.
Print this story
E-mail this story
