Coalition Urges Senate Not To Open Wilderness Areas To Mountain Bikes.
This excerpt is taken from an article by Kurt Repanshek for National Parks Traveler, December 11th, 2020.
A coalition of groups is pushing to stop legislation in the U.S. Senate that would open wilderness areas to mountain bike use. The bill includes this provision:
”Local offices must seek to accommodate all forms of nonmotorized travel to the maximum extent practicable. If a local office fails to make such a determination about a route within two years after this bill’s enactment, then any form of nonmotorized travel shall be allowable on that route.”
“We strongly oppose S. 1695, and encourage subcommittee members to oppose this legislation as well,” the group said in a letter to U.S. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, which has been considering the measure. “S. 1695 seeks to open federal wilderness areas to mountain biking, a clear violation of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the nation’s seminal conservation law. Most importantly, S. 1695 would threaten the character of the entire National Wilderness Preservation System by undermining our nation’s bedrock landscape conservation tool.”
If you cherish true wilderness, you ought to contact members of the Subcommittee. Read the full article here:
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Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
Total Members: 17
| Majority Members (9) | Minority Members (8) |
|---|---|
| Lee, Mike (UT), Chairman Barrasso, John (WY) Risch, James E. (ID) Daines, Steve (MT) Cassidy, Bill (LA) Gardner, Cory (CO) Hyde-Smith, Cindy (MS) Hoeven, John (ND) Murkowski, Lisa (AK), Ex Officio |
Wyden, Ron (OR), Ranking Member Cantwell, Maria (WA) Stabenow, Debbie (MI) Heinrich, Martin (NM) Hirono, Mazie K. (HI) King, Angus S. (ME) Cortez Masto, Catherine (NV) Manchin, Joe (WV), Ex Officio |