Among the areas open for walk-in visits only are some of the most ecologically sensitive areas in Illinois. They're known as natural areas, and they're being protected by the Shawnee National Forest because they contain the last handfuls of struggling species which happen to be struggling because modern civilization has trampled their habitat to death. There are more than 300 species of threatened and endangered plants found in Illinois. Many of them can be found in Shawnee natural areas which have been set aside specifically for their protection. But protection doesn't mean all of us our left out.
Natural areas are still public land, open to the public.
And that's for the simple reason that intensive horse traffic causes real damage to these sites, turning plants and soil into muddy soup. Anyone who's been on a trail ride knows this. This setting aside of public land to preserve it for the future isn't an altogether complex moral issue. We collectively do it because it's right. Well, there's one group which comes to mind.