It seems the managers of the Shawnee National Forest could use a screaming environmentalist protest right now, thanks to their recent decision to allow horses to trample through some of our most sensitive natural areas. There's nothing like a good environmental protest sometimes. Say what you will about those idealistic tree huggers, they sure know how to stand up to protect our natural resources.
Environmentalists have guts.
Which is more than can be said about the managers of the Shawnee National Forest who decided it was an agreeable compromise to allow horses to trample through some of our finest and most sensitive natural areas in Southern Illinois. It was an environmental compromise that never should have been made. Someone who's been entrusted with our natural resources isn't showing much backbone when it comes to protecting it. These rare sites, known as Natural Areas, comprise just 5 percent of our total forest. They're also places where the last communities of theatened and endangered species are known to exist in Southern Illinois.