IMBA participates in high-profile hiker/mountain biker roundtable

IMBA Trail News
Volume 11, Number 4
September-October 1998

IMBA executive director Tim Blumenthal was a featured speaker August 14 at a hiker-biker roundtable discussion at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show in Salt Lake City. Blumenthal joined American Hiking Society president David Lillard and National Park Service assistant director Destry Jarvis as opening speakers. This trio then fielded questions for the next hour from a select group of newspaper and magazine journalists. The event was coordinated by Backpacker Magazine, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Among the participating journalists were Backpacker editors John Viehman, Thom Hogan and John Harlan, Mountain Bike magazine publisher Nelson Pena, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Paul McHugh, Salt Lake City Tribune reporter Tom Wharton, and Mark Fenton of Walking magazine. Bob Woodwardjournalist, mountain biker and mayor of Bend, Oregonspoke about his work with the IMBA-affiliated Central Oregon Trails Alliance.

Blumenthal characterized the forum as, "constructive and useful, but just not long enough to fully explore the key issues." He said, "I was encouraged by the many reasonable comments expressed by participants on IMBA's Wilderness positions as well as the positive words about IMBA's work made by Destry Jarvis of the National Park Service."

Look to IMBA's web site for Blumenthal's opening comments, which provide a concise statement of basic mountain bike advocacy positions.