Nameless Range
Well-known member
I wanted to just tack this on to the end of another thread about mountain bikes and Wilderness, and it turns out the most recent one was locked. This is not a thread for a devolving back and forth on that issue, but I read something that was kind of alarming to me the other day, and wondered about it.
Mike Lee introduced this bill last year, and there was a hearing on it a couple weeks ago to the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee. From the description of the bill:
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to authorize their respective local offices to determine all permissible forms of nonmotorized travel over routes within wilderness areas. 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.
Giving an ultimatum to resource starved agencies seems like a feature, not a bug.
In the hearing, representatives from both the BLM and the USFS commented:
Chris French, Deputy Chief of the USDA Forest Service, testified: “The USDA supports increased access to the national forest system lands and thus supports the bill’s intent.”
Michael Nedd, Deputy Director for Operations for the Bureau of Land Management: “The administration has placed a high priority on increasing public use and enjoyment of all federal lands. S.1695 aligns with this priority by providing greater access and recreational opportunities on public lands and the department supports the bill.”
So if I am reading this right, the position of the BLM as well as the USFS is that they should be allowed to let bikes into Wilderness where they see fit. I did get most of this information from a mountain biking group whose chief goal is bikes in Wilderness, so I don't know how much of it is wishful thinking. Short Youtube clip of that testimony here:
A couple questions I have:
Is this attitude likely to change with administration?
Does this bill have any hope?
Mike Lee introduced this bill last year, and there was a hearing on it a couple weeks ago to the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee. From the description of the bill:
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to authorize their respective local offices to determine all permissible forms of nonmotorized travel over routes within wilderness areas. 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.
Giving an ultimatum to resource starved agencies seems like a feature, not a bug.
In the hearing, representatives from both the BLM and the USFS commented:
Chris French, Deputy Chief of the USDA Forest Service, testified: “The USDA supports increased access to the national forest system lands and thus supports the bill’s intent.”
Michael Nedd, Deputy Director for Operations for the Bureau of Land Management: “The administration has placed a high priority on increasing public use and enjoyment of all federal lands. S.1695 aligns with this priority by providing greater access and recreational opportunities on public lands and the department supports the bill.”
So if I am reading this right, the position of the BLM as well as the USFS is that they should be allowed to let bikes into Wilderness where they see fit. I did get most of this information from a mountain biking group whose chief goal is bikes in Wilderness, so I don't know how much of it is wishful thinking. Short Youtube clip of that testimony here:
A couple questions I have:
Is this attitude likely to change with administration?
Does this bill have any hope?
