Dear HCN,
In his Bulletin Board
story on the BLM’s OHV Strategy (HCN,
1/29/01: Agency will try to track trails), Matt Jenkins
wrote that the Strategy “will now include … possibly even
human-powered vehicles like mountain bikes.” It’s important to note
that BLM chose to not include bicycling in its OHV Strategy. BLM’s
decision came after thousands of people wrote the agency to protest
that proposal.
The Code of Federal Regulations
defines off-road vehicles as motorized. We bicyclists are not and
don’t want to be OHVs.
Among the opponents of
calling bicycles OHVs were some conservation groups, notably The
Wilderness Society. We welcome this support and we want the
conservation movement to include us. Too often, environmentalists
push mountain bikers away, while OHV proponents continuously court
us. Cyclists support open space, land preservation, and good
recreation management. International Mountain Bicycling Association
strongly supported the Forest Service Roadless Initiative. A
designation of bicycles as OHVs would not assist those conservation
projects.
Mountain bicycling, like all forms of
recreation, has its share of problems. We agree that BLM needs to
do a better job of managing bicycling, and we think BLM needs to
look at its management of hiking and equestrian uses, too. It’s
time for BLM to develop a non-motorized recreation strategy to
complement the OHV strategy.
We want to be
managed. Let’s work together to do that wisely.
Gary Sprung
Boulder,
Colorado
The author iss a consultant for the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bicycles still not OHVs.
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