Message from the Natural Resources Policy Director

20th Annual Governor’s Trail Ride : a formula that works

The annual event covering the state for 20 years and bridging the agency gap

Two decades ago, C.L. “Butch” Otter was serving in his first term as one of Idaho’s elected representatives to the United States House of Representatives. During his time in Washington D.C., he noticed a disconnect between those who made land management decisions in our nation’s capital and the land to which those decisions applied. This juxtaposition was nothing new to ICA. It had long been our frustration that Idaho ranch-

The intent behind the trail ride was to invite decision-makers in Washington to come to Idaho and meet with ICA and state leadership while getting their shoes a little dirty.

ers frequently bore the brunt of burdensome laws and regulations that government leaders enacted. Those federal actions, while often well-intended, often resulted in hardships on land users and managers while failing to achieve the purpose for which they were enacted. A primary cause for this was that those calling the shots had never even set foot on the land for which they made the management decisions, nor did they ever have a chance to see the practical application of those decisions. And so out of this frustration, combined with the creative, outside-the-box-thinking of Representative Otter and ICA leadership at the time, the ICA trail ride event was born in 2002.

The intent behind the trail ride event was to invite decision-makers in Washington to come to Idaho and meet with ICA and state leadership while getting their shoes a little dirty on a trail ride and at a campsite in a setting as contradictory to crowded halls of government in DC as possible. The formula proved itself successful as previous walls in communication evaporated and bridges were built on horseback and around a campfire, all while being out of the demands of cell phone range. Born from the success of the inaugural event, the trail ride became an annual occurrence. When Representative Otter made the move back to Idaho and become Governor Otter, the event did not die but rather morphed into the Governor’s Trail Ride, carried out in partnership with ICA. From the Joseph Plains in north central Idaho to Grays Lake in southeastern Idaho and many out-of-the-way locations in between, the event has covered the state for 20 years and proven its effectiveness time and again in bridging the divide between regulators and ranchers, political leadership and industry leadership, and has tackled the tough issues of the time— often resulting in meaningful change.

As you would suppose, outfitting government officials who typically have little to no horse-riding experience can be a challenge. Consequently, we intentionally keep the trail ride itself to a manageable size by limiting participation to ICA leadership, the

BY KAREN WILLIAMS ICA Natural Resources Policy Director

AARON GOLLADAY

governor, heads of state agencies, and key officials from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior. We expand the opportunity for greater participation on the afternoon of the trail ride by hosting a discussion and dinner gathering at the campsite for additional agency staff, elected officials, and local ICA members. It is often at this discussion that we really get into the meat of key issues impacting Idaho ranchers and natural resource use and management in Idaho. Participants are invited to stay for dinner and camp overnight. Each year, I continue to be impressed at the productivity of discourse that occurs in the informal setting of a campfire. When people are removed from the formalities of meetings in boardrooms and offices, mutual understanding and the resulting creativity in solutions is much easier to be found.

It is fortunate that Brad Little, who had participated in several trail rides as lieutenant governor, chose to keep the event going when he was elected governor. In keeping with the tradition, we just wrapped up our 20th annual Governor’s Trail Ride. This year’s event was hosted by ICA President Mark Pratt and his family on private range ground owned by the Eastern Idaho Grazing Association since 1916. The area proved to be the ideal setting for the event’s selected focus on the increasing impacts of recreation on public and private land. In fact, when we arrived to set up the camp, we found an RV that had been parked and set up right at the location of our campsite, in spite of the fact that it was on private land and no permission had been sought or given. The Pratt family and other member of the grazing association in attendance relayed that on weekends, that particular location is full of campers. To further illustrate the problem, a new trail had recently been carved out of the hillside by motorbikes and ditch banks had been damaged. This type of scenario is played out across Idaho throughout the summer and hunting season. Recreators often errantly assume that if the location is remote and undeveloped, it must be public. This, in and of itself, does not necessarily create problems but when gates are left open, drainages are mud bogged and scarred, infrastructure damaged, ATVs go off trail, and other irresponsible recreational use, the landscape and its users all suffer. During the trail ride event, we discussed these types of scenarios and focused on ways that ranchers, agencies, recreationalists, and others can work together to develop solutions to land management challenges associated with

a growing Idaho population and the related increase in recreational use of Idaho lands. In the discussion circle, we had the heads of key agencies that play a role in this issue including Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Fish and Game, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, along with other agency representatives. It was a general consensus amongst the group that there is a lack of enforcement related to recreation infractions. This only serves to breed more problems as new people move into the state and mimic the behavior of recreators before them, often ignorant of their violations. Some of this lack of policing is due to limited staff and funding. Some of it is due to incomplete or unenforceable recreation-related guidelines. The differing signage and rules across the various jurisdictions upon which recreators cross further adds to the problem. So where do we go from here on this issue? As a result of discussions held at the trail ride event, ICA is in the process of meeting with Idaho Parks and Recreation, other agencies, and recreation groups in a solution-finding effort. Meanwhile, Governor Little is convening discussions between the responsible agencies. It is our goal that the momentum on this issue started at the trail ride The Oldest Ranching Job Board on the Internet will lead to meaningful solutions on the ground. Idaho’s population • Post a job or search job listings continues to grow which further • Since 1998, based in the USA underscores the need for a serious upgrade on recreation management and oversight in our state. Across the

WEBSITE TRAFFIC: OVER 50,000 VISITS MONTHLY landscape, public land management problems are complex. It is precisely this complexity that the trail ride was created and has continued for 20 years. And it is precisely why ICA continues to not only find a seat at the table but create the meal for which the table is set in a consistent Visit www.RanchWork.com or scan the QR code effort to protect Idaho’s cattle industry and promote its longevity.