RIDERS SAY 'WHOA'

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Feb 18, 2005 | by Schott, Kate

A comprehensive plan for Hixon Forest was placed on hold for a month Thursday after a group protested a proposed ban on riding horses in the park.

The group, associated with Friendship Farms stable, told the La Crosse Board of Park Commissioners they only recently learned horses would not be allowed in Hixon Forest under the plan. Nancy Gerrard, who boards at Friendship Farms, said the forest has been open to horseback riding for 40 years. She said riders clean up after their animals, and would be willing to work on a compromise so trails used by cyclists and hikers aren't damaged.

But Adryan Slaght, the city planner who is project leader on the plan, said meeting notices were published in the newspaper and he tried to contact those associated with Friendship Farms.

He said the 44-page comprehensive plan includes input from three public hearings, 16 steering committee meetings, a focus group, meetings with at least 20 interest groups and an extended public comment period.

Someone from the stable attended at least one meeting early in the planning process, Gerrard said, but she was unaware of the other hearings.

The Hixon Forest Comprehensive Plan sets guidelines for managing prairie, forest, invasive species and wildlife. Initiated in 2003, it is the first comprehensive plan in the park's 92-year history.

Brenda Haug, a steering committee member and executive director of the Hixon Forest Nature Center, said she feared other groups might come forward late in the process as well if the equestrians were given special consideration.

"If the people who put this together had to worry about every 15-person group, it would never happen," she said. "I'm sorry to have to say it that way, but it's the truth. There are many, many groups who don't like pieces of this plan, but it's for 50,000 people we serve every year and for the hundreds of thousands who will use it year after year."

Commissioners took public comment for more than an hour before deciding to postpone their decision. Commissioners Roger LeGrand and Dave Lange said they agreed the riders should have attended earlier meetings but since this was Hixon's first comprehensive plan, they would prefer all sides be heard now.

The plan includes:

* Actively manage (reduce) the deer herd within Hixon Forest;

* Continue to manage invasive species within the forest;

* Manage for old forest (80 to 120 years) and old growth forest (120-plus years);

* Restore and retain existing remnant prairie;

* Limit the development of additional recreational facilities.

Public comment will be taken until March 3, and can be directed to Slaght at slaghta@cityoflacrosse.org or (608) 7897512.