February 17, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

Effective immediately the Equestrian Trails 357 Mounted Assistance Unit will no longer be functioning as a part of Corral 357. The unit is being suspended due to the lack of manpower required to fulfill its commitment as outlined in its Policies and Procedures and/or the Equine Evacuation Plan. This decision was made by the ETI Board of Directors and we will move forward with the changes that will be outlined below.

We know many receiving this notice were instrumental in the development of MAU and the success of our Equine Evacuation Plan. We thank each of you and recognize many positive results came out of MAU; most notably the equine evacuation plan which resulted in the safe relocation and return of many Canyon horses during the 2007 fires.  We plan to make little change to the process of the plan and will continue to offer ourselves as a resource to the community. You will receive the revised evacuation plan when it is completed. If you have in your possession a copy of the MAU 2008 Policy and Procedures or the Equine Evacuation Plan dated summer of 2008, please know they are no longer in effect and should not be referred to as procedure. If you have forwarded a copy of the MAU 2008 Policy and Procedure or Equine Evacuation Plan to other agencies, please follow up with a copy of this notice.

 Additionally, based on the 2008 series of meetings with Animal Care and Control, ETI 357 Evacuation Plan pages 6-10 were added as an “addendum” to the Orange County ACAC Emergency plan. Effective with these changes we ask that the addendum be removed from the county document as we will not be able to perform the duties as outlined in the plan. We consider it an honor that we were called upon in the past. The importance of the agencies embracing volunteer groups has been instrumental to the progress we have made in this area.

An important aspect of the MAU mission was to bring emergency preparedness to the community by offering training and evacuation drills. This legacy will continue in the canyon and the club as ETI modifies the plan and endorses it as part of the existing Emergency Response Team of ETI/357. You will receive a revised copy of the Equine Evacuation plan along with a phone tree of ETI/357 members who wish to remain on standby to respond locally in case of an emergency or evacuation.

ETI members who are also Adopt a Park volunteers will continue to patrol the parks on horseback and report to park rangers any issues on the trails. We also have members certified in LAR who may be available to assist if summoned.

Thank you for your continuing support and consideration of this notice.

ETI/357 Board of Directors