Pioneering Arizona Trail Advocate Steve Anderson Elected IMBA President
For Immediate Release
August 8, 2000
Contact: Tim Blumenthal
303-545-9011
Steve Anderson of Tucson, Arizona, was recently elected president of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). Anderson succeeds Ashley Korenblat of Moab, Utah, who served from 1996 to 2000.
Mary Monroe of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, and Hill Abell of Austin, Texas, were re-elected IMBA vice presidents. Carl Birkelbach of Chicago, Illinois, was re-elected secretary-treasurer. The election was held during IMBA's mid-July board meeting in Boulder, Colorado.
Anderson, 39, has been the trails and open space coordinator for Pima County (Arizona) since '95. He became IMBA's Arizona state representative in '92 and was elected to IMBA's board in '96.
A lifelong resident of Tucson, Anderson holds a master's degree in public administration. He has been an enthusiastic cyclist since elementary school, and was a part of the first wave of BMX racing that began in the early 1970s. He started mountain biking in '87, and immediately became involved in trail advocacy.
Anderson is currently leading IMBA's National Park Service Initiative and is coordinating the development of the Association's new Advocacy Handbook.
Anderson said, "During the past five years, IMBA has developed a strong professional staff, instituted a variety of innovative and highly successful programs, and established a financial base.
"Our next phase will focus on strengthening IMBA's advocacy program by increasing our presence in Washington, D.C. and pursuing several national initiatives. We also plan to grow our membership, increase volunteer participation in trail maintenance activities, and connect mountain bikers with land conservation initiatives."
IMBA is the world's largest non-profit mountain bike advocacy group. IMBA works to keep trails open for mountain bikers by encouraging responsible riding, volunteer trailwork and cooperation among trail user groups.
Additional information:
As a mountain biking advocate and trails proponent, Anderson has engineered a long list of accomplishments. A few highlights:
- In 1991, his work led to the approval and creation of the 2.5-mile Cactus
Forest Trail in Saguaro National Park - the first designated shared-use
singletrack mountain bike trail in the U.S. National Park system. The
success of the Cactus Forest Trail, which will soon celebrate its tenth
anniversary, has helped inspire other mountain biking opportunities in NPS
units.
- In 1993, Anderson co-founded the Arizona Trail Association, a nonprofit
group dedicated to securing the completion of the 780-mile, cross-state
Arizona Trail. As one of the group's principal fundraisers, Steve has raised
more than $300,000 for the Arizona Trail, which is now more than 73%
complete.
- In 1994, he created the Pima Trails Association's "Share the Trails Team
Triathlon," an innovative (and often imitated) event that combines runners,
mountain bicyclists and equestrians to enhance cooperation among trail user
groups.
- In 1996, Anderson coordinated IMBA's first National Mountain Bike Advocacy
Summit at Biosphere II in Oracle, Arizona. This landmark event inspired the
creation of IMBA's national network of state representatives. As Pima
County's trails and open space coordinator, he managed the master planning
process for the 21,000-acre Tortolita Mountain Park.
- He has been a leader in the creation of Pima County's Mountain Park and Natural Preserve System, and has been a major contributor to the county's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan - one of the most comprehensive natural and cultural resource protection planning efforts ever undertaken in the U.S. Anderson also laid the groundwork for the new 190,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument, which was established by President Clinton in May 2000.
