News Briefs

IMBA Trail News
Volume 14, Number 3
Summer 2001

1. Game on or Game over in PA?

   Pennsylvania mountain bikers are campaigning to keep a large chunk of state land open for riding. On May 3 the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) released draft changes to its recreational use management policy. As proposed, these changes could ban mountain bicycling and horseback riding on most trails located on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands. In response to the potential closure, the recently created Keystone Mountain Bike Association (KMBA, representing mountain bikers throughout Pennsylvania), is negotiating with the PGC to change the draft plan. The main point of contention is whether the PGC will designate trails "closed unless specifically open," which the current draft plan states, or "open unless specifically closed," which KMBA and IMBA support. IMBA and KMBA issued an action alert to Mid-Atlantic state mountain bikers urging them to submit comment letters to the PGC. As of press time, no official decision has been made, but sources report that the number of submitted comment letters is high. For more info check out www.patrails.com.

2. Boise Boisterous Over Open Space

   Idaho received the top grade in the 2000 IMBA report card, but that doesn't mean local trail advocates have gotten complacent. Led by the Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association (SWIMBA), recreationists and conservationists convinced Boise voters to pass a $10 million levy to preserve open space in the foothills surrounding the city. A citizens committee will work with private landowners to acquire trail easements and protect this valuable land. When secured, the foothills trail easements will provide a valuable link between trails in Boise City Parks and Boise Ridge, which lies 4,000 vertical feet higher. There are currently three trails that connect the city to the ridge, but they hinge on private permission and could close at any time. The Boise open space levy was supported by 60 percent of voters. SWIMBA garnered door-to-door support, contacted voter by phone, hosted fundraisers and focused media attention on the issue. More info: www.swimba.org.

3. IMBA's UK Programs Taking Shape

   A task force has formed to develop IMBA programs and partnerships in the United Kingdom. An IMBA advocacy meeting was held in Coed-y-Brenin, Wales, at the end of June, bringing together riders, land managers, journalists and Jen and Rich Edwards of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. Task force members include Dafydd Davis of Forest Enterprise, Guy and Sarah Kesteven of Mountain Bike UK magazine, Phil Lee of Singletrack Mind Cycling Club and Graham Foote of British Dirt Riders Association. Four IMBA trailbuilding schools will be held this August and September in Wales, England and Scotland. These projects will lead to other advocacy and access projects that will benefit UK mountain bikers. More info:

4. New CLIF Bar Grant Program

   Mountain bike groups will soon benefit from a new grant program that will support trail restoration and preservation projects. In 2001, IMBA and CLIF Bar will award ten $500 cash grants to IMBA affiliated clubs to fund projects that promote environmental education and inspire conservation in the mountain biking community. IMBA affiliated clubs are invited to apply for five summer awards (application deadline: Aug. 1; announcement Aug. 15) and five autumn awards (application deadline Oct. 1; announcement, Oct. 15). The CLIF Bar-funded Trail Preservation Grants program further enhances their outstanding support our efforts to promote mountain biking opportunities that are environmentally sound and socially responsible. CLIF Bar has been an Above-and-Beyond IMBA corporate supporter since '98 and has donated more than 50,000 delicious CLIF Bars for IMBA club trailbuilding and maintenance projects. More: www.imba.com/resources/grants/

5. TCC Golden in California

   The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew recently completed a successful three-week tour of California marked by high-level land manager meetings and well-attended trailwork sessions. In 22 days, the crew worked in 20 different locations in San Diego, Crestline, Orange County, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Marin County and Berkeley. Highlights of the tour included a seminar for 60 local and regional land managers in San Diego, and leading a 103-person trailwork extravaganza - the largest in the three-year history of TCC #2 - in Santa Barbara. The statistical summary of the TCC 2001 tour of California is impressive: land managers met - 120; trails visited - 40; trail assessment hours - 270; California State Parks visited - 8. More info: www.imba.com/tcc.

6. Hasenauer Named to CA Trail Group

   California mountain bikers are now represented on a committee that makes decisions regarding trail access statewide. IMBA board member Jim Hasenauer was recently named to the California Recreational Trails Committee (CRTC), a group that coordinates trail planning and development among cities, counties and districts. Hasenauer, who served as IMBA's president from 1991-1996, is one of five members appointed by California Governor Gray Davis to this influential committee which advises California State Parks and helps coordinate trail planning. California has more mountain bikers than any other U.S. state, and California IMBA members represent about 20 percent of the organization's total membership. The state's large, outdoors-minded population has contributed to crowded trails and challenging trail-user conflicts. For more info email Jim Hasenauer at or call IMBA headquarters at (303) 545-9011.

7. Federal Employees Donate to IMBA

   IMBA is proud to be an eligible participant in the federal government's 2001 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Federal employees can now contribute to IMBA through voluntary payroll deductions this October, November and December. Last year, 1.4 million federal employees donated more than $223 million to non-profit organizations like IMBA through the CFC. Be sure to look for IMBA (#1051) in the organization index of the campaign catalog you receive this fall. This is a another easy way to support IMBA and mountain bike trail access. More info: Erik Esborg, IMBA Finance Director, .

8. IMBA Reviews Wilderness

   IMBA is expanding its work on the issue of bicycling and Wilderness. IMBA staff and volunteer leaders are meeting with conservation group leaders to discuss proposals for new Wilderness designations. Federal agencies have prohibited cycling in Wilderness areas since 1984. Thus far, IMBA staff has traveled to Washington, DC, San Francisco and Sacramento, California, for this project. We've met with The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, California Wilderness Coalition and California Wild Heritage Campaign. Ahead are visits to Idaho, Georgia and elsewhere. When a new Wilderness area is proposed, IMBA and our grassroots leaders analyze its boundaries to see whether or not the proposal conflicts with trails used for bicycling. If a conflict does exist, we negotiate with the Wilderness proponents to try to find a compromise. REI is sponsoring the work of IMBA and The Wilderness Society on the bicycling/Wilderness issue.

9. San Diego Singletrack in the Works

   Thanks to the efforts of the San Diego Mountain Biking Association (www.sdmba.com), the scenic 25,000-acre Cuyamaca Rancho State Park outside San Diego may soon offer additional mountain bike trail access. The park has recently formed a "Trails Evaluation" task force to assess and possibly expand trail access for mountain bikers and equestrians. The assessment team includes park staff and hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. A decision should come within a few months; look for updates on the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park's webpage at www.cuyamaca.statepark.org. The park is located 40 miles east of San Diego, and currently offers more than 100 miles of trails and dirt roads.

10. Ohio Trail Group Formed

    Ohio's mountain bike clubs have formed a new statewide coalition, the Ohio Mountain Bike Association (OMBA). The goal is to unify Ohio's mountain bikers, increase local club membership, and to build and maintain trails throughout the state. This newly formed association's founding clubs include the Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization, Cincinnati Off Road Alliance, Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association, Mohican/Malabar Bike Club, Wittenberg Cycling Club, and the Athens Bicycle Club. All are IMBA affiliated clubs. Ohio mountain bikers can thank James Buratti (former Ohio IMBA State Rep) for organizing this coalition of clubs before he moved to Texas. Visit the OMBA website at www.joinOMBA.org.