The Mountain Bike Advocate's Guide to Planning and the United States Forest Service
This online toolkit is guaranteed to make you a more effective mountain bike advocate, and may even lead to new trails, improved land manager relationships and awesome riding on Forest Service land near you!
The U.S. Forest Service manages 191 million acres of public land, from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters. National Forests house some of the best singletrack in the world, yet mountain bikes aren't always welcome on Forest Service trails.
We have the right and privilege to provide comments and advice on how the Forest Service manages recreation and the environment. Other people, some mountain biking-friendly and some not, are submitting comments and advice on recreation and trails to Forest Service planners around the country right now. Are you?
Preserving and promoting mountain bike access can be as simple or involved as you desire. Use this resource to learn how national forests are managed, how to negotiate the forest planning process, and how to make effective comments that will help ensure mountain bikes are welcome on Forest Service land.
Look For Three Levels of Detail in Our Toolkit.
Delve as deeply as you wish.
The Bare Minimum: Three quick facts
The Basics: Introductory information for each topic
Additional Info: The most involved, in-depth explanations, tactics and definitions.
Locating National Forests
Want to learn more about your national forest on the web? Visit the Forest Service's homepage at www.fs.fed.us and search by name or state.
Is a National Forest Near Me Currently Revising Its Plan?
A wave of forest planning is currently underway. You can download the forest plan revision schedules for all forests at: www.fs.fed.us/emc/nfma/index.htm.
How to Get Involved.
This toolkit is divided into six chapters:
Chapter 1: What is a forest plan, why should I care and how do I get started?
The important role forest plans play in allowing or prohibiting mountain biking on 191 million acres of Forest Service land and how you can get involved in making sure mountain biking continues in your local national forest.
Chapter 2: Timeline of the forest plan update process
From the formal announcement to public comments to publishing the final forest plan and all the steps in between.
Chapter 3: Reading the plan and making your comments count
The Forest Service is NOT required to respond to all comments - make sure they respond to yours!
Chapter 4: How IMBA does it
Check out sample IMBA comments from various national forests around the country. Learn about what we look for, what raises our eyebrows, and how we structure our letters.
Chapter 5: Other ways to influence the planning process
People outside the Forest Service can influence the agency. Who are they? How can you get their ear?
Chapter 6: Additional resources
A potpourri of helpful information and resources from IMBA, the Forest Service and others to help you keep your trails open.
