Nearly 3,000 public comments were made on draft trail plans for Mammoth Cave National Park.

As a result of those comments, the park has chosen to go with Alternative 4, which includes construction of a new trail east of Green River Ferry Road-North for bicycle and hiking use.

Park management had actually preferred a different plan but changed its mind after listening to public comment, said Superintendent Patrick Reed.

“You have spoken and we have heard you,” Reed said. “Of the 2,905 comments received, only seven supported the park’s preferred Alternative 5; 2,043 comments specifically stated they opposed the preferred alternative.”

Linda Starnes, a board member of the Mammoth Cave Equine Trail Riders Association, said she is thrilled that hers and other voices were heard.

The public input process has “been excellent,” she said.

The now-recommended plan also calls for the Sal Hollow trail to revert to horse and hiking use, following an implementation period.

Starnes said her organization made itself known in the park by helping maintain some of the other trails used by horses, something which she thinks played a factor in getting this trail restored for horses.

Multiple groups and individuals ride horses in the park.

“It gives me a chance to go places in the park that I probably couldn’t hike all the way to,” she said. “I have health issues off and on that would prevent that and I have friends that there would be no way for us to see the backcountry trails if we didn’t have horses.”

The park first decided to close the trail to horses in 2004 because of the damage the animals caused during wet weather to a trail mostly maintained by volunteer bicyclists, said Ken Kern, management assistant at the park.

Kern said the trail can open to horses again since the park plans to add a new trail for bikes and last year opened the 9-mile trail from Park City to the visitors’ center for bikers, walkers and runners.

A trail monitoring system also will be established, and in response to public comment, a trail stewardship program will be initiated.

“We haven’t yet developed an implementation plan for the proposals,” Kern said. “Those things will come soon as we meet with user groups. We will probably have those at the end of the 30-day public comment period.”

Those user groups include the Bowling Green League of Bicycles, Mammoth Cave Equine Trail Riders Association and Mammoth Cave Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Kern said park staff first began work on the trail plan in 2006, something which it renews every 10 years.

The proposed new trail will be six miles long.

“Obviously the park does not have a secure source of funding for that initiative now,” Kern said. “We would like a partnership either with a group such as the International Mountain Biking Association. There is also a potential for a Centennial Project initiative. Volunteer work would play a big role in getting the trail done.”

The park currently has 85 miles of trails, both back and “front” country near the visitors’ center. Fifty miles of the trails are open to horse.

Kern said about 28 miles of trails, including some of the administrative roads, are open to bikers.

The plan also calls for areas of improved parking for trucks with horse trailers, and to implement a study that would look at what it would take to expand entrance trails. There is interest from Brownsville and Cave City to have a trail similar to what exists to Park City.

In 2007, more than 624,000 people visited Mammoth Cave. Nearly 44,000 people used the trail system either on foot, bike or horseback, according to the plan. There also are 31 miles of river in the park, which is not included in the plan.

— The draft plan with more specific details is posted on NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment Web site at parkplanning.nps.gov for 30 days.