SOME SHAWNEE AREAS BANNED TO HORSES

HARRISBURG, Ill. -- Horseback riders who flock to the Shawnee National Forest from all over the country will be in for a shock this summer when they find some of their favorite trails closed.

U.S. Forest Service officials have announced they will start banning horseback riding in nearly 10,000 acres of the 265,000-acre Southern Illinois forest because the hooves tear up the ground. The prohibition was included in the agency's 10-year forest plan, which was signed in May 1992 but delayed by lawsuits and budget cuts.

Equestrians say some of the most scenic trails will be closed. Forest Service officials agree, but say riders still will be able to tether their horses and hike into delicate areas.

"Yeah, they're the best, and we're trying to keep them the best," Raymond Smith, Forest Service biologist and botanist, said Tuesday. "We're seeing them being loved to death."

Forest Service officials held open houses in Harrisburg and Murphysboro recently to explain which trails and areas would be closed. Other meetings were planned for Wednesday in Elizabethtown and Thursday in Vienna.

The Forest Service has delayed enforcing the ban because much of its long-range plan has been under appeal by environmental groups and budget cuts have hampered the agency, said Allan Green, the Shawnee's recreation staff officer.

The delays also have affected trail maintenance and construction and timber sales, among other projects, Green said. No other parts of the plan that have been help up are on the verge of being implemented, officials said.

A big reason the trails galloped to the top of the Forest Service's list was prodding by the Illinois Department of Conservation, which "urged the Forest Service to delay no longer," Forest Service spokesman Tom Hagerty said.

IDOC is expected to supply about $5,000 worth of signs to mark prohibited areas within the next few months and enforcement in some areas could start by summer, officials said.

Some horse enthusiasts say the ban is unfair.

"I really don't think a horse tears up the forest any worse than five or six hikers do," said Barry Buchanan of the One Horse Gap Trail Ride in Golconda, which organizes week-long riding expeditions into the Shawnee twice a year.

"They've taken the scenic routes out," said Bill Barnett, who runs the Hayes Canyon Campground in Pope County. "Nobody wants to destroy anything. But what's it for if no one can see it?"