Oregon Mount Hood Wilderness Bill Introduced in Congress - Wyden Working to Accommodate Mountain Bike Access

For Immediate Release
07-23-04
Contact: Gary Sprung, IMBA senior national policy advisor

303-545-9011

Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D) introduced a bill on July 22 that would designate 178,000 acres of Wilderness in the Mount Hood National Forest. In conjunction with the introduction of this bill, Wyden's staff met with state mountain bike leaders to discuss how the bill would effect cycling.

Wyden's staff committed to a continuing dialogue with mountain bicyclists to create a bill that will keep significant trails open that otherwise would be closed if designated Wilderness. They agreed to make boundary adjustments for some key trails. Initial reports show that as many as 127 of 160 miles of mountain biking trails would receive alternative designations and remain open to cyclists. The senator's staff also cautioned advocates that some trails would be closed to bikers and access curtailed.

Proposed Wilderness designations are challenging for mountain bikers: while new designated Wilderness preserves public land in a natural state, it also mandates a complete ban on bicycle use - the result of a 1984 U.S. Forest Service interpretation of the Wilderness Act.

Wyden's staff and advocates discussed a mountain bike pilot project called the Mount Hood Pedaler's Demonstration Experiment Area, which would manage areas exactly like Wilderness with a few important differences. First, mountain biking would be allowed. Second, chainsaws could be used for clearing trails. A stipulation with these areas is that they would revert to Wilderness status if Congress does not give them an alternative designation within ten years.

"It has always been IMBA's position that mountain bicyclists need to be at the table when proposed Wilderness boundaries are being discussed," said IMBA senior national policy advisor Gary Sprung. "We are encouraged that the senator's staff is working closely with mountain bikers. Oregon really does things differently - they try to bring groups together with common values."

In other Oregon Wilderness developments, IMBA received maps displaying the exact boundaries of the proposed Wilderness. IMBA staff and Oregon advocates are combing through these maps to determine where there are conflicts with mountain bike trails. Stay tuned for more information and a detailed list of what trails will be affected.