President Barack Obama signed the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” a.k.a. the stimulus bill, into law in mid-February. The bill appropriates $1.7 billion (with a B!) for the National Park Service, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to use for public lands improvement.

Now, the American Horse Council wants the agencies to use some of the stimulus money to make public lands more accessible to equestrian activity. AHC wrote a letter to the agencies urging use of the money to address “the current backlog of needed improvements.

“The recreational horse industry contributes $11.8 billion a year directly to the economy and directly employs 130,000 people nationwide. Indirectly the industry contributes an additional $20.1 billion and generates another 307,000 jobs. That is significant and extremely important in these economic times,” said AHC President Jay Hickey.

The agencies will identify projects locally earmarked for spending. In the meantime, the American Horse Council is urging horse lovers to contact their local Ranger Districts, Forest Supervisors, BLM field or District offices and NPS Superintendents to identify local projects.

“This is a great chance to improve trails for equestrians and stimulate the economy,” said Hickey.