Federal Highway Administration Clarifies Horse Use

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has publicly clarified that “Equestrians and other non-motorized recreational use may be allowed on shared use paths and trails that use Federal-aid transportation funds.” The notice, posted on the FHWA website, is a positive step forward in acknowledging equestrian activity on public land.

“Under current federal law, equestrians are not specifically listed as potential users of shared-use transportation paths. Many riders believe that some land mangers use this to deny equestrians access to these paths, even though that is not the intent of the federal law,” said AHC President Jay Hickey. “This clarification should eliminate that potential hurdle.”

During consideration of the recently-passed SAFETEA-LU legislation, the Omnibus federal highway funding bill, the AHC attempted to include language that specifically provided that horses were allowed on shared-use paths and trails that use Federal-aid transportation funds. The Senate version of the highway bill included this language in a broad section that listed equestrians, among other users, as permitted shared-use trail users. The House version of the bill did not include this provision. Unfortunately, it was removed during the negotiations in the Conference Committee formed to work out the final bill sent to the President, despite the industry’s efforts to have it retained.

When that occurred, the AHC met with the FHWA to discuss alternative ways to clarify the original intent of the statue, which was meant to include horses among other non-motorized users. One solution proposed was FHWA posting language on their website specifically addressing equestrians on shared-use paths. The statement was recently posted by the FHWA and the language strongly supports the industry’s goal of preserving and expanding the right of horseback riders.

The FHWA notice states, “The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) encourages trail management practices to serve a wide variety of trail users, including equestrians. This philosophy of trail sharing should extend to other trail projects using Federal-aid highway program funds.” (Emphasis added.)

The AHC will continue to work with the FHWA and other federal agencies to promote long-term regulatory changes that will support equestrian use on federal land.

A copy of the FHWA notice can be found on the FHWA website at:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/allow_uses.htm