Losing Ground: The Greatest ThreatExhibit Opens at the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, KY
The exhibit Losing Ground: The Greatest Threat, sponsored by EQUUS Magazine and ELCR, opened at the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, KY on October 29, 2012. The exhibit, which will run for three years with periodic updates, consists of an extensive mural, a video film and three interactive kiosks that dramatically show the threat of unplanned development on existing horse lands. As part of the exhibition, visitors receive a complimentary copy of a Losing Ground: The Greatest Threat an EQUUS special report on conserving land and trails for horses, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health.
To view the exhibit video: [ click here]
To view the EQUUS Special Report Losing Ground: The Greatest Threat [ click here]
The Equine Land Conservation (ELCR) is an educational and networking resource for horsemen and communities. Since all land is saved locally, we provide the information horsemen need to protect horse lands and trails in their home town.
ELCR is concerned about the broad range of horse land issues. We ask the question, “Where will you ride, drive, compete, race, raise foals, and grow hay in the future?” We address issues faced by all horse owners regardless of size, breed, and discipline.
Across the country, we are losing 6,000 acres of agricultural, forest and other lands each day. Conservatively, we need 36,000,000 acres to feed the estimated 9 million horses in the U.S. At the 2008 Kentucky International Equine Summit, David O’Connor, President of the US Equestrian Federation and Eventing Gold medalist in the 2000 Olympic Games acknowledged that the loss of land for horse-related activities is the greatest threat to horse sport, industry and recreation in the United States.
ELCR’s educational information and networking topics available to horsemen include:
Primary Issues
- Community Land Use Planning
- Farmland Protection
- Trail Access & Stewardship
Secondary Issues
- Farm & Ranch Land Stewardship & Best Management Practices
- Equine Economic Development
- Liability Issues
Looking ahead, we anticipate that farmland protection and community land use planning issues will explode and consume 65% or more of our time and resources.
Our Conservation Partners program, a membership program for organizations provides the most concerned equine and equestrian organizations with a regular program of educational information, news and advocacy alerts. Our Conservation Partner organizations are comprised of conservation-minded organizations from various sectors of the horse world—breeding; media; competition and discipline; equestrian parks and facilities; land conservation and stewardship; recreational riding and driving; government; and commercial. We provide information, guidance and support to our Partners via five annual conference calls, regional meetings, and on-line bulletin board with model forms.
The Equine Land Conservation Resource updates its website www.elcr.org regularly with educational information, events and news of national, state and regional interest. ELCR is also on Facebook under our name Equine Land Conservation Resource.
ELCR regularly produces educational publications. Recently, we have produced Horses Make Good Neighbors and a Guide to Equestrian Friendly Conservation Easements to assist horse farm owners with land conservation and a White Paper on equine access to Fish & Wildlife lands to assist trail riders when seeking additional riding miles on state and national fish and wildlife lands.
Additionally, the Equine Land Conservation Resource consults with individuals, communities, horse parks, and equine organizations on the conservation of land for horse farms and hay fields, equestrian training and competition sites, trail riding access, and community land use planning and zoning processes. In the past three years, ELCR has been instrumental in the conservation of 55,000 acres of farmland and 1,000 miles of trail.
In 2011, ELCR is beginning the development of a comprehensive equine land conservation education program which will be the basis for a nationwide equine land conservation training program and national/regional conferences with the ultimate goal of placing an equine land conservation expert in every state and in the leadership of trail, breed and discipline organizations across the nations. These "master educators" will, in turn, educate others about how to conserve land and trails for horses in their home communities.
Land is an essential resource for our hobby, sport, and industry. In order to assure our future, we invite all horsemen to become aware and active in land conservation activities in their local community. Your involvement is an essential element in conserving equine hobby, sport, and industry in your community and across the nation.
The Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) is formerly known as the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource. Our name was legally changed in 2010 to accurately represent that we work with the broad array of recreational and competitive horse owners such as riders, drivers, race horse owners and breeders, and the back yard pasture pal.
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