Amidst National Bike Summit, IMBA Testifies on Colorado Wilderness Bill

For Immediate Release
03-12-10
Contact Mark Eller
IMBA Communications Director
markeller@imba.com
303-545-9011 ext. 115

The National Bike Summit began this week in Washington, DC. IMBA staff joined with volunteer delegates from around the nation to ask for increased funding for urban bike parks, enhanced support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the increased use of bike-friendly land protection bills. Organized by the League of American Bicyclists, the 2010 Summit will drawn more than 700 participants to Capitol Hill. As a title event sponsor, IMBA offers sessions and workshops designed to help mountain bike advocates address trail access and a variety of mountain-bike specific issues.

Joining with transportation-oriented cycling advocates, IMBA's staff and delegates will attend dozens of meetings with Congressional offices during the week. The National Bike Summit opened on Wednesday, with much fanfare generated by an announcement from Google that it has added a bike route mapping function to its popular Google Maps service.

Amidst the National Bike Summit events, IMBA Government Affairs director Jenn Dice provided testimony for the U. S. House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. Speaking as an expert witness on an eight-member panel, Dice told the committee that a Wilderness bill sponsored by Colorado Representative Diana DeGette (H.R. 4289, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2009) can be improved by making better use of bike-friendly companion designations to supplement Wilderness parcels. "There are places in this bill that IMBA can support for Wilderness status," said Dice, "But we will also be asking the Committee and the sponsor to make use of a variety of public land protections that allow mountain biking to continue."

Dice opened her remarks by inviting Congressional leaders to join IMBA for a mountain bike ride in Colorado -- an offer that Congresswoman DeGette later said she would like to fulfill. Dice cited 13 parcels -- including Thompson Creek, Bangs Canyon, Unaweep, Handies Peak and McKenna Peak -- where designations like National Scenic Area, National Conservation Area and National Protection Area could be substituted for Wilderness. "Colorado has a long history of protecting public lands through collaborative processes that bring many interest groups to the table," said Dice. "We believe this bill needs to go through more community vetting to make sure those closest to the land have been involved in drawing the boundaries and writing robust protections. IMBA’s 30 affected clubs throughout Colorado stand ready to participate."

Dice also told the committee that land protections other than Wilderness should be strengthened and used more frequently. "The Forest Service needs better management tools to address our quiet, low-impact sport," she said. "We hope to work with Congress, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others to write stronger public land protections that give land managers better forest and recreation management tools, and are inclusive of our human-powered use." Congresswoman DeGette voiced her approval and agreed to help IMBA work with the Forest Service to improve its management policies for mountain biking.