Tamra Plaga
NSCA Chairperson 2019
These are my Quarter Horses, Traveler and Pop. We’ve been riding our local trails together for about 12 years. The wide variety of recreational opportunities is something that brings folks like us to the north state. Over the past years, the quality of those opportunities has been greatly diminished due to the more frequent and ferocious wildfires. We live on edge spring through fall watching the sky for smoke. And when it comes, sometimes we have to evacuate, but we always suffer from unhealthy air quality.
On windy days, the risk of falling ruined trees makes it too dangerous to be on the trails. Given time, those trees would feed the soil and encourage new growth, but with the horrific warming of the planet, the area will likely burn again before it can recover.
Traveler and I once rode with exhilaration and joy. Now, the trails are mere ghosts of what they once were, and we ride with a sense of sadness and loss that comes from the knowledge that today’s young people will never know the beautiful, lush trails of the past…..unless we act. Action on climate change is why I donate my time to NSCA and why I hold out hope for the future.