This page
will keep you updated on what is happening on the trails, work days and
other information you will find useful concerning trails in our area.
Just a reminder if you are riding the trails and have a problem, please
submit a quick and easy LBHA Trail Comment Form available in PDF and
Flash format. We are keeping a data base of incidents, both good and bad
of what is happening out on the trails in our area.
closure of flsra
campground, road to Beeks Bight & rip Rap at Twin Rocks and Boulder Road
For more
information, please
click
here for on the closure and more.
TRAIL WORK DAY
A work day ( Spring of 2011) to remove the
illegal bike jumps and do trail work on the illegal bike trail in the
area of Mile38 and 38.5 is being set by State Parks. As soon as we have
a date, we will be asking for volunteers, horsemen as well as other
trail users to help. if you would like to help, please contact
lbha@garlic.com
TRAIL
TOOLS NEEDED FOR TRNR
Most of the maintenance on the
Traylor Ranch Nature Reserve comes from volunteers. Many times
volunteers want to help but either do not own proper tools or just do
not know what to bring. In order to be better prepared, the Traylor
Ranch Committee is accepting donations of good quality new or used tools
which we will store for use on TRNR. Some of the tools needed would be
hand sheers, loppers, high performance weed eaters, flat and round
shovels, garden rakes, pick mattock, wheelbarrow, tree hand saws and
leather gloves.
If you have something you would
like to donate, please bring it to our monthly LBHA meetings or to the
TRNR work day on the 4th Saturday of the month.
If you have any questions,
please give me a call or send an email.Thank you for your support of
Traylor Ranch Nature Reserve.
4/1/09 - Betty Pfiefer as out ‘patrolling’ (wearing my running
shoes), found the first rattlesnakes of the season – several actually,
big ones. I think a den was just opening up, and all the snakes heading
out for a snack. RIGHT AT the mile 41 marker on the main trail, there
is a big jumble of rocks right there. Trail patrol members use caution
‘round there for a few days until they have all disbursed!
HORSE
CHASED BY LOOSE DOG, INJURIES
Horse and rider survive dog attack
Veterinarian: Horse suffered bite wounds ‘too
numerous to count’
By Gus Thomson
Journal Staff Writer
Gus Thomson/Auburn Journal
Veterinarian Langdon Fielding tends to multiple wounds on this
Arabian after it was attacked by a dog on a trail in the Folsom
Lake Recreation Area. Its 61-year-old rider was also injured, as
well as a 3-year-old girl.
On Tuesday,March 31, Newcastle’s Carol Davis was
just starting to worry about herself instead of her horse.
Her 11-year-old Arabian was attacked by a dog on a
trail Sunday near Folsom Lake, suffering numerous dog bites.
The horse is now in an animal shelter with wounds
a veterinarian described as too numerous to count.
An off-leash German shepherd attacked the horse as
Davis was riding it on a Folsom Lake Recreation Area trail in Granite
Bay. Davis said that she was bucked off the horse during the melee
Sunday and ended up cracking her helmet on a rock.
Also limping from a hip injury, Davis – who said
she’s been riding horses for 57 of her 61 years – said she’s been
suffering from headaches and pain. She said the fall might have also
caused a concussion and she was expected to have that looked at by a
doctor Tuesday.
Davis said her riderless horse – a mare named
Katie – galloped off and was chased for a mile by the dog before being
stopped. As the panic-stricken horse moved along the narrow trail, it
struck the 3-year-old daughter of the couple who had let their dog run
free, she said. The girl suffered a broken collarbone.
Davis was riding with a friend as a member of the
volunteer Folsom Lake Trail Patrol, when the dog charged up and started
jumping and chewing at Katie’s hip. They were on the Pioneer Express
Trail, which is linked to the Western States Trail.
The horse was chased off the side of the trail and
down an embankment, where she bucked Davis off. Davis said that only the
presence of her riding helmet prevented a more serious injury.
The horse’s run was stopped by a group taking part
in a fun run at Twin Rocks Road, about a mile away.
“They were having a run that day and the people at
an aid station caught her and the dog,” Davis said.
The attack occurred at about 11 a.m. Davis was
taken to hospital in Roseville for treatment of her injuries. The
injured horse is continuing to be cared for at the Loomis Basin Equine
Medical Center.
Veterinarian Langdon Fielding said the bites were
too numerous to count but luckily, were fairly superficial. Katie had
trouble walking on one front leg and was expected to remain at the
Loomis clinic until the end of the week.
“She’s been doing really well,” Fielding said.
“She’s been eating better and appears much happier.”
Davis said the owner of the dog was cited by the
state Parks Department for having it off its leash. The owner is also
paying for veterinary bills, which are expected to run well into the
thousands of dollars.
Davis said her story is emblematic of the dangers
that occur when dogs are allowed by unthinking owners to run free in
parks and other areas where horses are.
“It was a moment’s bad judgment on the owner’s
part but it shows what can happen,” Davis said. “I want to see people
keep their dogs on a leash to prevent this happening again to someone
else.”
January 3 trail
incident INFO
DIVERSE RECREATION STAKEHOLDERS JOIN
FORCES TO CHAMPION RESPONSIBLE TRAIL ETHICS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDS
On January 3, 2009 at
approximately 11:30 a.m. Jeri Sust and Barbara Heyward, both from
Newcastle, CA, unloaded their horses at the Sterling Point Staging Area
near Loomis to ride the Folsom Lake trails.
As the two rode the lower trail by the lake, the horses bolted and both
riders were thrown when three unknown riders on off-highway motorcycles
apparently frightened the horses. According to a witness, the riderless
horses continued up the trail at a fast gallop. After a short pause, the
motorcyclists continued on the trail after the running horses rather
than assisting the fallen riders. There is the possiblility that the
riders did not see the horses. The accident is being investigated.
Sust hit her head in the fall, breaking her helmet, and both women
suffered bruises. Two other trail riders stopped and stayed with the
thrown riders until help arrived.
About a ¼-mile away, Toby, Jeri’s 4-year old horse was found. In his
attempt to escape the speeding bikes he was injured with a fractured
hind leg. Two hours later, Toby was euthanized by local veterinarian,
Dr. Abrahams, DVM. Richard Preston, the supervising ranger at
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area said, “We have a report in progress,
we’re investigating and we’re working on a couple of leads.
This is the actual site of the
accident. Both gals were thrown at the curve where the larger tree is
located
Photo by P. Gibbs
Park rangers said it is illegal to operate off-road dirt bikes in any
part of the park and said that lower lake levels have contributed to an
increase in this type of activity.
This incident is the latest chapter in the ongoing safety problem with
illegal motorized and mechanized bike riders on Folsom Lake trails.
Equestrian groups have requested State Park Rangers be assigned to hot
spots on the trails where speeding bikes are causing conflicts.
As a result a new working group of national, state, and local
recreation organizations and the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation
Division of California State Parks have joined forces in a collaborative
venture to champion responsible trail use on public and private lands.
This partnership has been convened in response to a recent incident
between OHV riders operating in an illegal manner and equestrians at the
Folsom Lake Recreation Area near Sacramento, California that resulted in
minor injuries to two equestrians and the death of one horse.
The working group comprised of equestrian
interests, OHV groups, non-profits including other trail user groups,
and State Parks strongly condemns the illegal use of motorized vehicles
at the Folsom Lake Recreation Area or any other area closed to OHV use.
Initiated by the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource on behalf of the
Loomis Basin Horseman’s Association, this new local collaborative effort
is committed to finding solutions that will reduce user conflicts on
trails and provide a safe environment for all recreational activities.
Kathy Dombrowski, spokesperson for the Loomis
Basin Horsemen’s Association, states, “I am encouraged by the energy and
commitment of this new working group to help find solutions that will
reduce conflicts on the trail, create additional recreational
opportunities on public and private lands, and support the appropriate
level of law enforcement and educational outreach that will hopefully
prevent the kind of tragedy that occurred at Folsom Lake.”
Dave Pickett, President of AMA District 36, states, “I think we can use
the heightened awareness of potential conflicts this incident has
generated to improve communication and cooperation between
recreationists at the national, state, and local levels. There are
many examples of such collaboration in certain areas and we just have to
do a better job of championing trail ethics and responsible land use
throughout the country. I believe we are headed in the right
direction.”
Daphne Greene, Deputy Director of the California OHMVR Division, states,
“State Parks is deeply saddened by this tragic incident and in no way do
we condone this illegal use. This incident could have been prevented if
the OHV riders had taken advantage of legal riding opportunities
provided nearby at Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area instead
of illegally trespassing into a non-motorized area.”
Greene concludes, “There are solutions to
prevent situations such as we saw occur at Folsom State Recreation Area.
I am encouraged that various trail groups are coming together to find
creative solutions to these challenging issues.”
