Conservation Actions Performed By Mountain Bikers

Mountain bicyclists are truly a conservation-minded group of people. We not only enjoy bicycling on natural landscapes, we also work to protect those landscapes from harmful development. While bicyclists are a diverse group with many different opinions about political affairs, most of us agree that natural places should stay natural. We particularly value places without roads, places with narrow trails, scenic beauty, clean water, and abundant wildlife. We'll work to maintain and even improve those qualities of Earth's natural places.

Here are examples of the community conservation projects where mountain bicyclists have been a part.

As of 09/21/04

YEAR	PERSON OR GROUP	PLACE	ACTION
2004	IMBA		IMBA sent a national alert to thousands of members and contacts encouraging them to oppose the proposed rollback of the Roadless Initiative that would protect 55 million acres of national forest from development.
2004	IMBA	Virginia	IMBA endorsed HR 4202, the Virginia Ridge and Valley Wilderness and National Scenic Areas Act of 2004. During IMBA's Capitol Hill Lobbying Day in June, 140 mountain bikers asked members of Congress to support and pass this bill.
2003	New England Mountain Bike Association	Boston metro area, MA	NEMBA is raising money to purchase a private parcel at the Headwaters of the Charles River that is threatened by development. Working together with a land trust and two town conservation commissions, NEMBA plans to place the land under a permanent conservation restriction and develop a non-motorized trail system that emphasizes ecological conservation.
2002	Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association	Northeastern New Jersey	JORBA donated funds to the Morris Land Conservancy to support open space and trail preservation, and planted 50 trees for Arbor Day.
2002	www.greatdividecyclery.com	Helena, MT	Cyclists worked with the Prickley Pear Land Trust to buy the 400-acre Wakina Sky Gulch parcel to save it from development.
2002	IMBA	Colorado	IMBA donated $1,000 to the Trust For Public Lands' "High Elk Corridor" project, which seeks to protect lands near Crested Butte. These particular lands have international significance for bicycling.
2002	IMBA	DC	IMBA reiterated its support for the Forest Service Roadless Initiative and helped to lead a coalition of national recreation groups to send a letter supporting Roadless legislation to members of Congress.
2002`	Friends of Haw Ridge	Oak Ridge, Tennessee	Friends of Haw Ridge, a multi-user but primarily cyclists’ organization, stopped the disposal of public land to a proposed manufacturing plant. Users of Haw Ridge Park were concerned about the precedent of giving away city lands and saw that the new utility infrastructure could lead to further development. FOHR met with city council members and established trailhead signs, trail signs, better maps, and maintenance of the trails and shoreline. Use of the park has grown significantly, and no threat to this area is perceived presently.
2002	IMBA	national	IMBA joined Americans For National Parks, a coalition that seeks to help America's parks through increased Congressional funding and business plans for each park.
2002	IMBA	Alaska	IMBA sent letters to hundreds of members of the U.S. Congress endorsing Wilderness protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
2001	Southwest ID Mtn Bikers Assoc	Boise, ID	Leaders of the cycling community in Boise, Idaho, were primary sponsors of a public initiative that passed, raising $10 million to acquire properties in the foothills outside Boise.
2001	IMBA	Washington, DC	IMBA defended the Forest Service Roadless Initiative. IMBA testified at the Colorado legislature against a resolution opposing the Initiative, sent its own letter to Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, and signed on to letters sent by recreation and conservation organizations.
2001	NEMBA	Massachusetts	The Pedro's-Harpoon Mountain Bike Adventure Series had seven events designed to raise money for charities and local parks. The beneficiaries include four state parks and forests, and other charities including the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
2001	Sierra Club	Colorado Springs, CO	The Pikes Peak Group of the Sierra Club's Rocky Mountain Chapter elected mountain biker Michael Merrifield as Chair and principal spokesperson of their Conservation Committee.
2001	BBTC and Washington Trails Assoc	Seattle, WA	The Backcountry Bicycling Trails Club and Washington Trails Association reached an agreement whereby BBTC endorsed expansion of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and WTA endorsed opening a non-Wilderness trail to bicycling.
2000	IMBA	Washington, DC	IMBA strongly supported the Forest Service Roadless Initiative. The group commented in favor of the plan three times, during scoping, during the Draft EIS comment period, and after release of the Final EIS.
2001	IMBA	Winter Park and Boulder, CO	IMBA supported approximately 85% of the proposed James Peak Wilderness, and sought alternative protection for the lands in the proposal that are valuable for bicycling.
2000 and 2001	IMBA	Washington, DC	IMBA worked with a coalition of national recreation groups to lobby Congress for increases in funds for the National Park Service, Forest Service, and BLM to better manage recreation on public lands.
2000	Mesa County Cycling Assoc.	Grand Junction, CO	The MECCA endorsed the Black Ridges Wilderness area. They asked for a small boundary adjustment. Congress designated it Wilderness in 2000, without the change.
2000	Michigan Mountain Biking Association's (MMBA) Potawatomi Chapter	Southeastern Michigan	The MMBA supported NOPE (NO Panda Energy), a grassroots group working to prevent a massive gas generating power plant from being built next to the State of Michigan's Pinckney Recreation Area. After exposure of the potential negative environmental effects the plant could have on the park and the surrounding community, Panda Energy withdrew its application to build the plant in late fall, 2000.
2000	Cape Cod New England Mountain Bike Association	Massachusetts	The Cape Cod chapter of New England Mountain Bicycling Assoc. authored grant requests which resulted in an award of $8,750 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management's Greenways and Trails Program for a wetland restoration and trail rehabilitation project in the Town Forest of Bourne, MA. The project emphasizes that the preservation of sensitive natural resources can co-exist with maintaining the public's right to recreate sensitively and responsibly on open space. It also highlights the benefits that occur when public officials and land management agencies work with private and volunteer organizations to find long lasting solutions to environmental problems.
2000	New England Mountain Bike Association	Carlisle, Massachusetts	NEMBA donated $3,000 to the Carlisle Conservation Foundation for the purchase of an 8.5-acre parcel of land adjacent to Great Brook Farm State Park. NEMBA has volunteered extensively in the park, building new trails, constructing boardwalks and installing erosion control structures. They also operate a bicycle patrol in the park to assist all users.
2000	Three NEMBA chapters	Massachusetts	Blackstone Valley NEMBA, Greater Boston NEMBA and Southeast MA NEMBA each chipped in to make a $500 donation to the Upper Charles Conservation, Inc., the organization that seeks to preserve open space in the communities of Holliston, Hopkington, Milford and beyond.
2000	Blue Ridge Bike Club	Western NC	Cyclists joined forces with other forest users (Sierra Club, equestrians, hikers etc) to form Friends of the Falls, a grassroots group that successfully fought a housing development planned inside of Dupont State Forest. After a six-month campaign, the NC Council of State decided to invoke its power of eminent domain to purchase the land for inclusion in the surrounding state forest.
2000	IMBA	Western CO	IMBA joined a coalition of environmental groups to endorse management principles for the White River National Forest, countering an anti-conservation movement in reaction to the proposed forest plan.
2000 and beyond	Nature Conservancy	Orange County, CA	Bicyclists serve as docents, leading public rides in the Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park, which is managed by The Nature Conservancy. The cyclists also provide the land managers with vital info about conditions on sections of land that are closed to the general public.
1999	Crested Butte Mtn Bicycling Assoc	Crested Butte, CO	CBMBA assisted the Crested Butte Land Trust to build a trail on their newly acquired property, the Lower Loop. CBMBA also raised several thousand dollars and donated the money to the Land Trust.
1999	New England Mountain Bike Assoc.	Leverett and Shutesbury, MA	NEMBA donated $500 to the Rattlesnake Gutter Trust to help with the purchase and trail development of the Roaring Brook Conservation Area. This 51-acre parcel includes a 2,000-foot section of Roaring Brook, and is a major segment of a Roaring Brook Wildlife Corridor, a nature trail that will connect two towns.
1999	Fattrac	Donner Lake, CA	FATRAC helped the Truckee-Donner Land Trust to acquire land west of Lake Tahoe for the 25-mile Donner Lake Rim Trail. Their campaign slogan: "Donate some money to a good cause. This is your ticket to ride."
1997	New England Mtn Bike Assoc	Hingham, MA	NEMBA volunteers assisted the Army Corps of Engineers to rescue spotted turtles, an endangered species, at the Wompatuck State Forest. The Corps was tearing down unsafe WWII bunkers, but did not have enough manpower to separate their project from a nesting location of the turtles. NEMBA erected silt fencing to safeguard the site.
1997	Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	MBOSC raised thousands of dollars and donated it to the Save the Redwoods League to help acquire the Gray Whale Ranch. MBOSC subsequently worked to improve and maintain trail systems on the property. They raised funds for bridges to eliminate sedimentation caused by old trails.
1997	Misc. cyclists	Spokane, WA	Cyclists joined with equestrians, hikers and others to oppose the trade of a piece of Riverside Park to developers.
1997	Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists	Nassau County, NY; on Long Island	A citizens coalition organized initially by CLIMB blocked the construction of a golf course in Bethpage State Park in New York and thereby saved 12 miles of recreational trails. The new golf course would have obliterated the park's last 300 acres of pine and oak woodlands, trails, picnic areas and playing fields. The woods harbor rare pitch pine.
1997	Michigan Mountain Biking Association	Southeastern Michigan	The MMBA, on behalf of its Potawatomi Chapter, successfully spearheaded an effort to prevent part of the State of Michigan's Pinckney Recreation Area from being sold to the University of Michigan. The MMBA felt that the sale, which was primarily a land-for-cash transaction, was not warranted given the limited supply of public greenspace in southeastern Michigan combined with a growing population and user demand for such space. The MMBA rallied numerous other organizations and media to join in opposition to the deal.
1997 - 2001	Cycists in Wellington, New Zealand	Mount Victoria, New Zealand	Cyclists planted more than 12,000 native trees on Mount Victoria and Makara Peak during the course of four years. They also helped to eliminate introduced, non-native pest animals. Their aim is to restore Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park to a native forest over the next 50 years. It was originally covered in tall trees, but was cleared for farming around 100 years ago.
1996-2001	IMBA	Washington, DC	The International Mountain Bicycling Association worked in coalition with recreation and conservation groups to support full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. IMBA repeatedly asked its members to contact their Congressmen in support of LWCF.
1996	IMBA	Park City, UT	IMBA issued a formal position on Utah Wilderness. It stated that ALL of the land in the Utah Wilderness Coalition proposal should be protected, some as Wilderness and some as other types of designations.
1996	Pima Trails Assoc.	Tucson, AZ	PTA leader Steve Anderson, a member of the IMBA board, lobbied in Washington, DC., to upgrade the status of Saguaro National Monument to a national park. The Congress later did take this action.
1995	IMBA	National	IMBA joined the Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society, the National Resources Defense Council and more than 20 other environmental groups in endorsing and publicizing the Environmental Bill of Rights urging the 104th Congress to maintain and strengthen environmental protection in the United States. Several local clubs also endorsed the Environmental Bill of Rights. IMBA published it and a supporting petition in its newsletter.
1995	Portland United Mountain Pedalers	Portland, OR	The Portland United Mountain Pedalers joined a coalition to "Fix the Hole in Forest Park," raising $2,000 to purchase private inholdings slated for development in the midst of a large city park. Their efforts were successful. Friends of Forest Park deemed PUMP an "Exceptional Friend of Forest Park." The award was for raising $2,000 for the Fill the Hole campaign in addition to all the other work the club does on the park, including trail maintenance, cleanups, bike patrols and other fundraising events.
1995	Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association	Bayfield and Sawyer counties, northern WI	CAMBA gained a commitment from local forest regulators to ensure that logging operations respect trails and are done responsibly, using long rotations.
1995	Sierra Club	Orange County, CA	Sierra Club members in Orange County, California, elected mountain bike activist Jim Meyer to serve as Chairman of the Conservation Committee of their local group and to represent them on the Conservation Committee of the 50,000 member Angeles Chapter.
1995 (approx.)	Low Impact Mountain Bikers	Missoula, MT	LIMB gave $500 to a land trust a community effort to acquire 800 acres for open space and recreation.
1995 (approx.)	SHARE	Orange County, California	SHARE, of Orange County, California, raised $1,000 through a festival and gave it to an interpretive association that leads nature hikes through a park important to local riders.
1995 (approx.)	Appalachian Mtn Bike Club	Knoxville, TN	The AMBA sued the state parks department to block the construction of a golf course at Panther Creek State Park. The golf course would have destroyed a hardwood forest. The lawsuit was successful.
1994	Appalachian Mountain Bike Club	Knoxville, TN	Champion Paper Company offered AMBA the use of 7,000 acres of timberlands to create mountain bike trails. AMBA declined the offer because they thought Champion's environmental record was negative, particularly with regard to water pollution.
1992	Crested Butte Mountain Bicycling Assoc.	Crested Butte, CO	As negotiations continued in Congress and across Colorado toward creation of a new statewide Wilderness bill, almost every bicyclist in Crested Butte supported giving up their riding in the Oh Be Joyful Valley in order to protect it from a planned molybdenum mine. The valley had been a prime, excellent area for riding. Today, it's Wilderness.
1992 (approx.)	ROMP and CORBA	California	The Responsible Organized Mountain Pedalers of San Jose and the Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association of Los Angeles actively supported local bond issues to purchase additional lands for the regional open space district.
1990	Utah Mountain Bike Assoc.	Salt Lake City, UT	The Utah Mountain Bike Association endorsed the Utah Wilderness Coalition proposal for 5.7 million acres of Wilderness. UMBA intended to ask for a few boundary modifications to accommodate cycling, but nonetheless issued an unconditional statement of support.
1989	IMBA	Washington, DC	When Rep. James Hansen (R. - UT) introduced a bill to allow bicycling in Wilderness, IMBA did not support it. Bicyclists knew that Hansen's primary goal was to open Wilderness to development.

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