We will also have voting at the general meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2020 for members who do not vote by electronic ballot.
Sincerely, NCBCH Nomination Committee
Joe Casisa, Bob Hopta. Larry Swerdloff
NCBCH February News
Greetings
The weather has been absolutely wonderful for riding. I hope everyone has had the opportunity to enjoy riding the trails!
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Brooksville Country Club located at 23446 Links Dr., Brooksville, FL 34601. Brooksville Country Club has a buffet for $10.99 which includes a salad and dessert for all to enjoy. The business meeting will start at 6:15 for those that aren’t interested in dinner.
Protecting Your Horse and Property. In light of the recent horse thefts and slaughter we are going to have two speakers address these issues. The speakers will discuss issues of trespassers, liability of confronting people on public right of ways while being armed, horses being considered property and ways to protect our property.
James Terry, Major (Ret.). He has served the people of Hernando County for 22+ years in several capacities in the Hernando Co. Sheriff’s Office. He currently is the Manager of Hernando Co. Animal Services.
Peyton Hyslop, a Brooksville attorney and former Hernando Co. Judge. He specializes in criminal law and has represented countless clients in cases of felonies, criminal traffic and misdemeanors just to mention a few. He is a former horse owner well versed in what we deal with being horse owners.
We will be holding our annual elections for the board at this meeting. We welcome all nominations. Please contact Joe Casisa if you would like to be a nominee. JoeCasisa@att.net
Our current list of nominees:
Becky Card-Swerdloff for President; Donna Black for Vice President; Lorraine Kindberg for Treasurer and Ann Hopta for Secretary.
We have four board positions: The current candidates are Donna Allen, Martha Casisa, Charlie Kemp and Lee Adams.
Withlacoochee & Seminole State Forests will be hosting their 2020 Volunteer Appreciation Celebration & Luncheon on Saturday, February 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Withlacoochee Training Center. This is a great time for personnel in forestry and volunteers to meet and socialize. It is always nice to be able to put faces to the names of people you have heard about and/or have spoken with. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
We recently opened up the trail reroute around the severely eroded area on the trail from Tucker Hill to Spirit Mt. As this trail was engineered we are hopeful it will be sustainable for years to come. Charlie Kemp spent an extensive amount of time mapping and went back and forth with FFS to get a trail approved by all. Bob and Ann Hopta, Bill Ehrlich and Fred Perry spent a good part of a day clearing the trail Charlie had created. We hope you all enjoy this new trail.
Another item in the forest that you will see is changes to the Smith Prairie Trailhead. Many of you already know that FFS had a lime rock base put down last year. In hopes of keeping this area suitable for horse trailers we are in the homer stretch to install fencing, a new kiosk and new signage during February. Look for these changes soon.
It has been decided that we will forgo the Shindig this year. There simply was not enough time to pull everything together for a well-organized event. We hope everyone understands and look forward to an event later this year for all to enjoy.
Sharon Wilkerson’s husband Richard was recently hospitalized with serious injuries after falling off a roof. Sharon is one of our snowbird members and a recon for the Cracker Trail. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
There is a ‘Florida Horse Watch Group’ on Facebook which can be updated by anyone having unwanted trespassers on or near their property acting suspiciously. Be vigilant and alert and report any suspicious activities to the authorities immediately.
Remember to check our Facebook page: ‘Nature Coast Back Country Horsemen’ and our website: www.naturecoastbch.org for current news and happenings. Any questions can be directed to the Facebook page.
Happy trails to all!
Becky Card-Swerdloff
President, Nature Coast Back Country Horsemen
One Day Chainsaw Training
If anyone would like to take the new version of the Chainsaw Training which is a PowerPoint presentation, a video, and written exam which can all be completed in one day please let me know. We will also try and schedule some hands on training if the opportunity presents itself. We are tentatively planning to hold this training at Rock Lake Lodge and I am building a list of names currently. We will let you know when the class gets scheduled.
Mark Lewis
Recreation/Volunteer Coordinator
Florida Forest Service
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Muzzleloading Oct 19-21 General Gun Nov 2-24 Small Game Nov 25 to Mar 8 Fox, raccoon, bobcat opossum Dec 12 to Mar 8 Spring Turkey
Mar 24-26, Apr 7-9, Apr 21-23
Lake Townsen Preserve by Becky Card-Swerdloff TOGETHER WE WON. This morning (May 15), the Hernando County Commissioners heard from all the emails you sent in, myself and other horse owners from NCBCH, the hikers, and local homeowners asking that Townsen Park remain as an equestrian and hiking park. We asked that the county continue with removing the dead trees but leave shade along the trails. Commissioner Dukes and Commissioner John Alloco made a motion that no more clearing be done on the trails at Townsen Park and to put hardwood trees back on the initial phase of clearing. The motion passed unanimously. The Tortoises will be able to be re-homed in the first phase of the restoration and on our trails we get shade! This is a win win for all! Thanks to everyone for participating with emails, speaking and attending. You made the difference!
Papa Joe’s
Italian Restaurant, River Ratz, Luigi's Pizza of Brooksville, Mykonos II, Beef O'Brady's, Mallie Kyla’s, Country Kitchen, Glory Days Grill, Publix
Florida Forest Service
Please patronize
these generous
donors that support our local community
Congratulations!
to
Volunteer of the Year 2019
Friends of Florida State Forests Annual Day Pass
Good for all Florida state forests that have fees at the trailheads. The day use fee at Croom's Tucker Hill trailhead is $2 per person. The annual pass is $45 which is good for any day of the year for up to 6 people. To order the annual pass on-line go to:
Read both pages, particularly the highlighted area, print, fill it out, make a check payable to Hernando Cnty Recreation Department, & mail to 205 E. Fort Dade St., Brooksville, FL 34601, or go to their office at same address to purchase one. Call 352-754-4027 for further info.
Equisure Liability Insurance is Now Available to BCHA Members!
Dear BCHA Member,
The Back Country Horsemen of American has added to its value to members by offering excess equestrian liability insurance through Equisure. The liability policy is available to current BCHA individual and family members in good standing and covers excess personal liability up to $1 million dollars! The cost for the policy through BCHA is $20 for individual BCHA members and $40 for family BCHA members.
