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IMBA priority bills could become law this year

IMBA priority bills could become law this year

Urge lawmakers to pass BOLT, BSTAA, and AORA

Posted: December 13, 2022
Bike loaded with packing gear, with desert background
Photo courtesy of: Patrick Hendry

This year has been monumental for mountain biking legislation and IMBA priority bills! With your help, we could see these bills signed into law and have an even bigger reason to celebrate in 2022.

Just yesterday, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Advancement Act (BSTAA) passed the House of Representatives, making it the second IMBA priority bill to pass in the House this 117th Congress after the Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act. America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) also made strides this year, passing out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. All three bills await a full Senate vote.

IMBA, alongside numerous partners, has worked on these pieces of legislation for years, driving the bills from concept to text, negotiating with stakeholders, and seeing the legislation through committee and onto final passage in the House. Thank you to everyone in the mountain biking and outdoor recreation community who responded to our action alerts, sent letters to lawmakers, shared IMBA’s social media posts, and helped move these bills forward. We are one step closer to seeing these bills signed into law, thanks to your support.

Now, we need your help to get these bills over the finish line before the year ends. Urge your lawmakers to support mountain biking and outdoor recreation by passing the BOLT Act, BSTAA, and AORA through an end-of-year package.

About the bills

The bipartisan BOLT Act will identify at least 10 existing long-distance bike trails and identify at least 10 areas where there is opportunity to develop or complete such trails. The bill will also allow federal land management agencies to publish and distribute maps, install signage, and distribute promotional materials.

The BSTAA would further the long-distance dream for Utah’s famed Bonneville Shoreline Trail, while increasing opportunities for more trails close to home in Utah’s growing Salt Lake Valley. When completed, the trail will run 280 miles from the Idaho border to Nephi, Utah.

AORA includes additional bills IMBA has helped draft and supported alongside Outdoor Alliance, including the SOAR Act which would streamline the recreation permitting process for guides and outfitters, and Wild Olympics, which protects world-class recreation in Washington state. The Act also includes several strong components of the bipartisan Recreation not Red Tape Act, such as directing federal agencies to promote greater volunteerism; increasing recreation opportunities and seeking to extend seasonal recreation activities on federal lands; increasing youth recreation visits on federal lands; and increasing outdoor recreation opportunities for service members and veterans.

Take action

Write your lawmakers and urge them to support mountain biking and outdoor recreation by passing the BOLT Act, BSTAA, and AORA through an end-of-year package.

We have made the process easy. Simply fill out the form below to send a letter to your representatives.

 
About the author
jali

Jali's passion for cycling and the outdoors began in Philippines where she was born and raised. She shared her love for the outdoors by accompanying students on environmental research trips and facilitating youth camps on marine conservation. Her love for cycling was reignited when she moved to…

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