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"THE LAST BOTTLE"
Awarded by South Dakota's Jim Allen
| | Thank you Chairman (Past), Mark Himmel, For A Term Well Served | | |
NDOUBLE DIAMOND AWARD
2025 WINNER OF THE DOUBLE DIAMOND AWARD GOES TO....
LAST CHANCE BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN
Watch Award Presentation Below
TING - Registration Open
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LETTER FROM CHAIRMAN
Dear Members,
I would like to thank everyone who was able to attend this year's National Board Meeting! It was wonderful having everyone in my backyard in Prescott (Preskitt) Arizona. I hope you enjoyed the views.
I heard from many attendees that this year's NBM was one of the best ever. I would like to thank all the volunteers and spouses who helped make that so! Very much appreciate all the hard work that went in behind the scenes!
Official business on Monday and Wednesday was mostly uneventful, budget was debated and approved. Newly elected Officers and Executive Committee members were elected as follows. Chairman; Craig Ferdig, Vice Chairman; Latifia Rodriguez, Treasurer; Heather Schultz, Non-Director; Greg Schatz, Director; Jim Allen. The big highlight out of our budget was the newly created Disaster Relief Fund is now officially part of our budget. More on that coming soon.
With the great weather on Tuesday we were able to have some outstanding lessons outside! Mack provided a demonstration on packing, Colleen provided a lesson on knot tying and everyone was able to do some hands on practice, and Connie demonstrated how to get a complete kitchen in a small box! Everyone rotated between station so nothing was missed.
After a short break, the real fun began with the "competition cross saw event" Entertained by all, except Mark who teamed up with Ally Pike to show the rest of us "How It Is Done". Several of us were quite concerned about Mark's heart after they completed their cut, but Ally was ready to run a marathon.
I would like to personally thank Mark for working with me the last few years and making this transition very easy.
To the rest of you, keep up the great work. You may not realize how unique BCHA is with the services we provide to the Public Lands agencies out there, but they do! They need us now more than ever, so please, keep working hard and be safe out on the trail.
Thank you
Craig Ferdig, BCHA Chairman
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The US Forest Service recently released an update of their Trail Maintenance and Construction Notebook. It can be accessed here.
The updated notebook includes new techniques, photos, diagrams and resources covering topics like collaborative trail planning, trail design for different recreational uses, and the science behind building and maintaining durable trails. With information on conducting trail assessments, developing maintenance plans and understanding the lifecycle of a trail, this user-friendly resource is a valuable tool for BCHA volunteers involved in managing or maintaining equestrian trails.
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BCHA celebrates the introduction of a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate to fully fund the long-standing Recreational Trails Program (RTP). The bill, S. 811, is titled the RTP Full Funding Act of 2025. BCHA is a member of the Coalition for Recreation Trails, which has worked many years to promote this legislation.
Each state that opts into the program distributes RTP grants to non-profit organizations and local and federal agencies for the construction and maintenance of public trails. The RTP is funded via federal gas taxes paid by persons who drive their rigs, light duty trucks and off-road vehicles for recreational purposes off of federal highways. As such, it’s considered a “user-pay, user-benefit” tax system that benefits recreational users.
Sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the RTP Full Funding Act would increase funding for the Recreational Trails Program from its current annual funding of $84 million to over $281 million annually. The bill also would increase the accuracy and transparency of RTP funding, including regular studies to determine the total amount of gas tax collected each year for off-highway recreational purposes.
TAKE ACTION!
BCHA encourages members in Minnesota, Idaho, Vermont, Utah, North Carolina and Oregon to call or email the senators listed above and thank them for championing the RTP Full Funding Act. Contact information for your senators can be found here.
CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO COSPONSOR S. 811
If your US senators are not listed above, BCHA encourages you to reach out to them to ask them to: “Please co-sponsor the RTP Full Funding Act (S. 811).” Again, contact information for your senators can be found here.
Visit the Coalition for Recreational Trails website to learn more about this important legislation.
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US Forest Service Guide to Low Impact Pack Stock Use
The US Forest Service recently announced a website dedicated to guidance on low-impact stock use. It’s good to see one of our partners acknowledge the fact that “pack stock remain an essential tool for accessing and stewarding remote wilderness and backcountry areas.” Their interactive story map offers a practical guide and film series on low-impact pack stock practices, blending tradition with stewardship to support sustainable wilderness use. Check it out when you have a moment or two.
Best,
Randy Rasmussen
Director, Public Lands & Recreation
Back Country Horsemen of America
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We had another amazing Back Country Horsemen of America, Back Country Horsemen of Colorado saw training this past weekend in Salida, CO. With the help of Rex Alford from Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen, Mark Himmel, past BCHA chair, and John Chepulis, current BCHA delegate and national committee lead, Ally Pike, BCHA Youth Committee Chair and amazing C evaluator sawyer, as well as myself, we certified and trained many folks from not only BCHA but two other user groups. PLUS, our Forest Service district office in Salida, prepped and dropped trees for us in our cut site location, got our agreements in place without a hitch, had our classroom ready for us, all to ensure we had adequate material to work with.
We had the ability, and did, successfully train folks for chainsaw, crosscut and BOTH. Be excited about the fact that BCHA is paving a path for our organization to be around for another 50 years, helping our agencies maintain our public lands, with the help of, and on the backs of, our precious pack and saddle stock. Not to mention teaching and training other user groups to help in this effort. Traditional skills and traditional uses are imperative to maintain and preserve. Thank you to all of you who support and promote our mission.
I believe that our public lands agencies and user groups will be coming to BCHA to get sawyer training done for their members, volunteers, and even agency employees now and in the future. This is how my journey started...my FS rec guys needed certification because they couldn't get it. BCHA answered the call, and we got our CO program going. You are all amazing and the work you do is epic. Keep it up and pay it forward.
| | YOUTH GRANT - 2025 APPLICATIONS OPEN | | |
BCHKS Spring Murder Mystery Ride
Six teams of six riders rode the Blackhawk Trails at Pomona Lake in Kansas on an April weekend looking for clues to solve a ‘who dun it’. This was the third Murder Mystery Ride sponsored by the Kansas Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of America, and both new and experienced participants continued to enjoy the fun of a Clue-like game on horseback. The Wild West theme of this spring ride encouraged several riders to dress in their finest western wear. It was a fun weekend of good friends, good food, and great riding! The benefits of this type of BCHKS-sponsored weekend are numerous: we fill a campground and showcase one of our Kansas public trail systems; we promote the work of our BCHKS chapter and encourage new memberships; we raise funds for our BCHKS treasury; and we show that BCHKS isn’t just all work and no play!
| | EDUCATION, EXPANSION, and OTHER | | |
MOBILE INCIDENT REPORTING FORMS
You might have seen the request to submit “incident report forms” for e-bike interactions and horse camps occupied by non stock users, to help provide record of the issue. Of course it is always great to talk to people directly if you can do so safely, however submitting a report can demonstrate a pattern of issues to help change rules or encourage enforcement.
Did you know that you can add these forms to the home screen of your smartphone? Instructions on the website here https://www.bcha.org/incidentreportingform/
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Hello Members,
BCHA Volunteer Hours Committee has updated the volunteer hours reporting form. The reason for this change is because we feel we are missing out on opportunities through the USFS and other organizations by not providing trail information that you all have volunteered to maintain. By collecting trail names we open the doors for potential grants and other funds paid to BCH states for their time.
The updated form is available by clicking the link below. And please reach out to the volunteer hours committee if you have any questions. volunteer@bcha.org
| | 2025 Equisure Equine Insurance | | Keeping Trails Open for All | | |
SHARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!
Does your chapter have a trail, project or great story you would like to share? Please send them to michellewade@bcha.org. We will do our best to include them here.
- Please send as Word doc and pictures as attachments not in the word doc.
- Provide description: project, place, purpose, etc.
- Please include the name of person and chapter submitting the pictures.
| | 2025-2026 BCHA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE | | | Craig Ferdig | Chairman | | Latifia "Tif" Rodriguez | Vice Chairman | | Heather Schultz | Treasurer | | Mark Himmel | Past Chairman | | Brad Pollman | Director | | Jim Allen | Director | | Heather Cox | Director | | Dana Chambers | Non-Director | | Greg Schatz | Non-Director | | | | | |
