The Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, The North Country Trail Association, National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, American Hiking Society, and many other national hiking trail organizations are strongly opposing any hostile takeover efforts to ‘shred' the landmark federal Wilderness Act of 1964 by allowing any mountain biking anywhere within any unit of America's National Wilderness Preservation System, now or at any point in the future.
They expressed their opposition in a letter to members of the U.S. Senate.
The groups’ efforts are a response to a rogue organization called the “Sustainable Trails Coalition” (STC) attempting to turn the spirit and intent of the Wilderness Act on its head simply in order to suit their own selfish purposes.
They have convinced a lone U.S. Senator to take up their idea, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), who is pushing S. 1695, the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act.
The groups write, in part--
“Opening our nation's treasured wilderness areas to bicycles would irrevocably redefine wilderness — and the very intent of the Wilderness Act. This would profoundly and forever change the experiences provided on many of our nation's national scenic and national historic trails, and not for the better. User conflicts will arise. High-speed bikes and slow-moving hikers will clash with greater frequency, and the casualty will be everyone's safety."
“Our nations’ wilderness areas include only 5 percent of our nation’s public lands. In the lower 48 states, it’s merely 3 percent. The remaining 97 percent is open to motorized and mechanized recreation.
“Designated wilderness areas have a fundamentally different purpose than providing for motorized and mechanized access. In fact, that is the very purpose of the Wilderness Act – to provide for a few remote, pristine areas where nature prevails.”
"As a 20-year member of the North Country Trail Association, past NCTA board member, and member of the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, I applaud these trail groups' strong efforts to protect the integrity of the Wilderness Act," said Kirk Johnson of Warren, who is executive director for Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, a local nonprofit organization. "Bicycles do not belong on hiking trails anywhere.”
Locally, the S. 1695 bill would open up the existing Hickory Creek Wilderness in southcentral Warren County and its 13-mile foot-traffic-only hiking trail to mountain biking.
It would also open up many proposed wilderness areas in the Allegheny National Forest at Tracy Ridge, Minister Valley, and elsewhere, to mountain biking once those areas are designated as wilderness under the Wilderness Act.
"Tionesta native and Wilderness Act author Howard Zahniser; and Republican Congressman John P. Saylor of Johnstown, who first introduced the Wilderness Act into Congress, would be rolling over in their graves if they knew about these obtuse and viperous efforts by mountain bikers to utterly ruin the good work for wilderness they labored for in good faith their entire lives," Johnson continued.
Click Here for a copy of the trail groups' full letter to the U.S. Senate in defense of wilderness.
Visit the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness website for more information on initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved.
[Posted: December 5, 2020] PA Environment Digest
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