House Circulating Sign-On Letter to Ensure Protection for Recommended Wilderness and Preserve Mountain Bike Access

COMMENTARY PERIOD HAS CLOSED

Contact Mark Eller
IMBA Communications Director
markeller@imba.com
303-545-9011 x115

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D – AZ), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, is generating increased Congressional attention on protecting national forest lands that have been recommended for Wilderness designations.

Mountain bicycling is a traditional use in many national forests. Bicyclists value these special lands for the same reasons as hikers and equestrians -- the opportunity for a healthy, low-impact recreational experience. We seek the freedom, solitude, clean air, clean water and healthy forests that bring us closer to nature.

Chairman Grijalva is now circulating a draft letter among members of the House of Representatives. His letter, addressed to the Chief of the Forest Service, urges that the Forest Service issue national guidance to all forests that would prohibit activities -- such as use of motorized vehicles, mining, logging and road building -- that adversely, and significantly, affect the Wilderness qualities of areas of national forests recommended for Wilderness designation.

IMBA worked with Chairman Grijalva to craft substitute language for the letter to the Chief, clarifying that the suggested guidance should not prohibit bicycle access. The new letter is intended to provide the Forest Service with sufficient flexibility to allow continued mountain bicycling in areas where it currently exists. This change reflects current Forest Service policy in many national forests. Forest Service regulations are clear that existing uses may continue as long as they don’t impair the land for future designation. (FSM 1923.03)

IMBA is asking all mountain bikers to call their member of Congress and ask them to support the request from U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva to sign this “Dear Colleague” letter.

Take Action!

1) Call -- phone calls are best!

Call your representatives and urge them to sign the letter from U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva.

2) Email

Use IMBA’s easy online form to send a fast e-mail to your member of Congress.

3) Track Developments

Look for developments by staying tuned to IMBA's website.

Contact the House Natural Resource Committee

If you live in a state with a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, your call is particularly important. Please take the time to send the email to every mountain biker you know in that member of Congress’ district and ask them to make one short phone call or send an email. Key states include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"This petition would encourage the Forest Service to preserve mountain bike access where it's currently allowed," said IMBA Government Affairs Director Jenn Dice. “That's why IMBA is asking mountain bikers across the country to make sure they call their member of Congress and support Chairman Grijalva. The Forest Service is talking about getting more children in the woods, creating future generations of stewards, and making their forests more relevant to today’s youth, and this petition gives them the flexibility to promote mountain bicycling as a way to achieve those goals.”

Talking Points to Use In Your Calls and Letters

Join IMBA in urging members of Congress and the Forest Service to allow continued mountain biking in Recommended Wilderness areas. Important talking points include:

• IMBA supports the permanent protection of natural areas, including (but not limited to) the use of Wilderness designations. Bicycles do not inordinately reduce the possibility of other users having a primitive experience, nor do they alter the land for the next user any more than do hikers.
• Mountain bikers, who number in the millions in the U.S., want to see the land preserved and protected. IMBA's 700 clubs work in partnership with federal, state and local land managers to perform more than one million hours of volunteer service on public lands annually.
• Numerous scientific studies have shown the impacts of bicycles are similar to hiking and far less than horses and off-highway vehicles.

Read the Grijalva "Dear Colleague" Letter

The text of Chairman Grijalva's letter can be seen below. The language was revised on 1/19/2010 to focus on prohibiting activities that have a significant impact on the Wilderness qualities of the recommended areas.

Support America's Last Wilderness Lands

Dear Colleague,

America’s wilderness quality land is a precious resource that continues to vanish at a rapid pace. I am writing to request your support for the attached letter to Chief Tidwell calling on him to administratively protect those lands that the Forest Service has recommended for wilderness designation until Congress can act.

The National Forest System contains over 60 million acres of wilderness quality land managed by the United States Forest Service. As a part of its regular planning process, the agency reviews these lands for their wilderness character and recommends to Congress some of these lands for wilderness designation.

To date, the agency has recommended that Congress designate over three million acres of national forest wilderness nationwide. Stretching from Alaska to Vermont, these lands are truly the crown jewels of the National Forest System and are pending Congressional action.

As Congress considers these areas, is imperative that the Forest Service refrain from taking actions that may undermine Congress from acting on the agency’s recommendations. Unfortunately, agency guidelines currently allow for a wide array of non-conforming uses within their own recommended wilderness areas. These uses—which include widespread use of motorized vehicles—undermine the agency’s recommendations, and may impede Congressional action.

A new direction is needed that ensures that wilderness caliber lands that have received an agency recommendation are properly managed to maintain their wilderness character and values until Congress can act. Please join me in urging Forest Service Chief Tidwell do adopt such a policy.

Sincerely,

Raúl M. Grijalva

Read the Grijalva letter to Chief Tidwell