During these tough economic times when many folks have tightened their budgets and are spending less, Back Country Horsemen of America members have been donating more of their time, effort, and resources to preserving our heritage of equine use on public lands.

BCHA is proud to announce that its national volunteer value for 2009 was $7.5 million. That includes 345,700 hours of manual work; skilled labor; use of heavy equipment; hauling equipment, animals, and people to work sites; as well as Leave No Trace education and attendance at public meetings.

As the leading organization in saving public lands trails for equestrian use, each one of these Back Country Horsemen of America groups is happy and eager to accomplish all these tasks and more; not just for users of pack and saddle stock, but for everyone who loves wild lands as much as they do.

It’s an unfortunate truth that federal, state, and local public lands managers simply don’t have the budget to maintain the majority of the trails under their jurisdiction. That means that the burden falls on the backs of dedicated and hard working volunteers across the country such as Back Country Horsemen of America.

Another difficult reality is that more trails, properties, and whole wildernesses are being designated “No Horses.” Without a unified voice such as that of Back Country Horsemen of America, our heritage of equine use and our right to ride on public lands is in serious jeopardy.