IMBA's Comments on the BLM's National OHV Management Strategy

August 23, 2000
Attn: OHV Comment Managers
Correspondence WO-615
Washington Office, BLM
1849 C St. NW; LSB 406-C
Washington, DC 20240

Dear BLM,

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has two primary concerns regarding the management of OHVs on BLM lands: Bicycling should not be included within OHV management and ATVs should not be allowed on singletrack trails. More detail follows.

IMBA is a national and international education and advocacy organization with 400 member clubs, 32,000 members, and more than 100 corporate partners. The mission of IMBA is to promote mountain bicycling opportunities that are environmentally and socially responsible.

In the travel management planning system of BLM (and all other public land agencies) bicycling should be treated as clearly distinct from motorized recreation. Bicycling is a form of nonmotorized travel, not a human-powered form of off-highway-vehicle. Bicyclists are less like motorcyclists without engines; more like hikers with wheels. Without motors, bicyclists exert far less stress on soils and thus cause less degradation of trails. Bicyclists are much less likely than motorized users to travel off trails; cross-country travel is rarely feasible on a bicycle. Without motors, bicycles make no significant noise. Bicycling offers major health benefits.

We request that BLM does not include bicycling in its OHV management strategy.

Bicyclists often are willing to share roads and some trails with motorized users. However, the only motorized users that should ride singletrack, narrow trails are motorcyclists. All-terrain-vehicles should be prohibited from all singletracks, because the width of those machines causes singletracks to grow much wider. The paths created by ATVs are essentially roads. Trails should not be widened into roads.

Bicyclists and most other trail users highly value the narrow character of singletrack trails. Unfortunately, we have seen that character repeatedly harmed on BLM lands throughout the West as ATVs and even full-size 4WD vehicles have traveled on and widened singletracks.

IMBA asks the BLM to either pass a national policy, or to strongly encourage its field managers to prohibit the use of wide motorized vehicles on narrow trails.

We are attaching our document, "The Importance of Singletrack," which further explains why the singletrack issue is so meaningful, even passionate, for bicyclists.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.

Sincerely,

Gary Sprung
IMBA Advocacy & Policy
PO Box 1212
Crested Butte, CO 81224