A coalition of groups is opposing legislation that would allow mountain bikers to access trails in wilderness areas/Kurt Repanshek file
A coalition of groups is pushing to stop legislation in the U.S. Senate that would open wilderness areas to mountain bike use.
The coalition, which includes the American Hiking Society, Appalachian Trails Conservancy, National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, and Pacific Crest Trail Association, maintains that there are enough trails open to mountain bikers without the need to allow them access to official wilderness.
"We strongly oppose S. 1695, and encourage subcommittee members to oppose this legislation as well," the group said in a letter to U.S. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, which has been considering the measure. "S. 1695 seeks to open federal wilderness areas to mountain biking, a clear violation of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the nation’s seminal conservation law. Most importantly, S. 1695 would threaten the character of the entire National Wilderness Preservation System by undermining our nation’s bedrock landscape conservation tool."
Introduced by Lee in 2019, the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act would redefine "human travel" in official wilderness as that which does not involve a "propulsive internal or external motor with a nonliving power source." When Lee introduced the measure, he said the access was needed to "enrich Americans’ enjoyment of the outdoors by expanding recreational opportunities in wilderness areas.”
Under the legislation, federal land managers -- including the National Park Service -- would be given the authority to decide whether to allow and how to regulate non-motorized travel in wilderness areas within their jurisdictions.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 prohibits the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, motorboats, and other forms of mechanical transport in officially designated wilderness.
In arguing againt the bill, the groups said the Wilderness Act "is more relevant today than ever before."
"Our nation's wilderness areas include only 5 percent of our nation’s public lands. In the lower 48 states, it’s merely 3 percent," they noted. "The remaining 97 percent is open to motorized and mechanized recreation. Designated wilderness areas have a fundamentally different purpose than providing for motorized and mechanized access. In fact, that is the very purpose of the Wilderness Act – to provide for a few remote, pristine areas where nature prevails."
They also pointed out that "(T)here remains a nearly inexhaustible supply of non-wilderness federal lands that are open to mountain biking and where additional mountain bike trails and opportunities continue to be created. In the last decade, new mountain biking trails have been developed at a historically rapid rate."
Allowing today's mountain bikes into wilderness would transform those areas, the letter claimed.
"Proponents of S. 1695 argue that bikes are human powered and should be allowed to go everywhere a hiker can go. That is no reason to amend the Wilderness Act. A closer look at the capability of these machines says otherwise," they wrote. "Today’s mountain bikes, with their disc brakes, shock absorbers and climbing-gear-oriented drive trains are technical machines designed to take their riders further and faster than ever before.
"Where a backpacker or horseback rider might take an entire day to climb 10 miles into the wilderness, a mountain biker can do it in two hours. Simply put, S. 1695 would open a Pandora’s box to other forms of mechanized travel by future Congresses. It would forever change the primitive, backcountry experience enjoyed by millions of Americans each year."
You can read the entire letter here.
With few weeks left in the current session of Congress, it's questionable whether the bill will be acted on.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association's position is that it "will continue to respect both the Wilderness Act and the federal land agencies' regulations that bicycles are not allowed in existing Wilderness areas. This 2016 position strategically aligns with our well-established and relevant mission to create, enhance and preserve great mountain biking experiences.
"When proposed Wilderness areas include mountain biking assets and opportunities, IMBA advocates for and vigorously negotiates using a variety of legislative tools, including boundary adjustments, trail corridors and alternative land designations that protect natural areas while preserving bicycle access," the group adds in a position statement on its website. "IMBA can support new Wilderness designations only where they don't adversely impact singletrack trail access for mountain biking."
Comments
I oppose allowing mountian bikes in Wilderness areas.
What were they thinking??? Mountain biking and trail-building destroy wildlife habitat! Mountain biking is environmentally, socially, and medically destructive! There is no good reason to allow bicycles on any unpaved trail!
Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1996: https://mjvande.info/mtb10.htm . It's dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don't have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else -- ON FOOT! Why isn't that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking....
A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it's not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see https://mjvande.info/scb7.htm ). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.
Mountain bikers also love to build new trails - legally or illegally. Of course, trail-building destroys wildlife habitat - not just in the trail bed, but in a wide swath to both sides of the trail! E.g. grizzlies can hear a human from one mile away, and smell us from 5 miles away. Thus, a 10-mile trail represents 100 square miles of destroyed or degraded habitat, that animals are inhibited from using. Mountain biking, trail building, and trail maintenance all increase the number of people in the park, thereby preventing the animals' full use of their habitat. See https://mjvande.info/scb9.htm for details.
Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the area, and, worst of all, teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it's NOT!). What's good about THAT?
To see exactly what harm mountain biking does to the land, watch this 5-minute video: http://vimeo.com/48784297.
In addition to all of this, it is extremely dangerous: https://mjvande.info/mtb_dangerous.htm .
For more information: https://mjvande.info/mtbfaq.htm .
The common thread among those who want more recreation in our parks is total ignorance about and disinterest in the wildlife whose homes these parks are. Yes, if humans are the only beings that matter, it is simply a conflict among humans (but even then, allowing bikes on trails harms the MAJORITY of park users -- hikers and equestrians -- who can no longer safely and peacefully enjoy their parks).
The parks aren't gymnasiums or racetracks or even human playgrounds. They are WILDLIFE HABITAT, which is precisely why they are attractive to humans. Activities such as mountain biking, that destroy habitat, violate the charter of the parks.
Even kayaking and rafting, which give humans access to the entirety of a water body, prevent the wildlife that live there from making full use of their habitat, and should not be allowed. Of course those who think that only humans matter won't understand what I am talking about -- an indication of the sad state of our culture and educational system.
It's about time that we restore sanity and break the backroom deals cut by the hikers and horse riders. Apparently, the Federal Agencies also agree that cycling is compatible with the intent of Wilderness, just like the Wilderness founders did.
One of the most useless, stupid and selfishly motivated pieces of legislation ever introduced.
Mike Lee has no idea what Wilderness recreation means and does not regularly participate in Wilderness recreation.
The bill needs to die and go away - simply put.
First the fat tire bikes will come, then the power-assisted ones will trespass, and the tracks are nearly impossible to distinguish from an enforcement standpoint. Trails in Wilderness Areas are already in horrible shape due to lack of trail crews, mountain bikes will cause greater damage.
I'm a mountain biker and I oppose MB access into wilderness areas, the damage will add up much too quickly. I prefer to walk into my favorite areas of Idaho.
How mountain bikers use trails is fundamentally different that hikers and equestrians. When polled, hikers and horseback riders say their primary concern is the appreciation of nature, quiet, and solace from the modern world. Mountain bikers, when polled, say their primary concern is thrill-seeking and challenging trails. Mountain bikers view trails and nature as a thing to be used for their own enjoyment, and if trails don't meet the desire for thrills, modify trails and build illegal trails. The entire mountain biking ethos is at odds with the purpose of Wilderness areas-nature for its own sake.
All I see is is slippery slope arguments. What a joke! Mountain bikers do belong in Wilderness. For example, the Boulder Cloud Wilderness used to be open to MTBs. Restoring access makes perfect sense. Long live mountain biking.