Colorado Mountain Bikers Seek to Influence 600,000-Acre Wilderness Proposal
For Immediate Release
08-01-08
Contact: Drew Vankat, Policy Analyst
drew@imba.com
303-545-9011
A proposed 600,000-acre Wilderness area in Colorado could impact mountain biking access near communities such as Aspen, Vail, Glenwood Springs and Breckenridge. Spearheaded by a coalition of Colorado environmental groups, the "Hidden Gems" proposal first came to IMBA as a working draft in 2007, when proponents identified and mapped several dozen potential Wilderness areas in the heavily visited White River National Forest. Since then, the Hidden Gems plan has helped spur the creation of one new mountain biking club and led to the revitalization of another.
Wilderness advocates asked IMBA and Bicycle Colorado to assist in gathering input from local mountain bikers. A series of meetings helped identify areas with existing shared-use singletrack. The sessions also galvanized the local mountain biking movement - high-country cyclists decided that they value strong land protection, but would champion continued access to trails that have been open to shared-use travel for years.
Today, local mountain bikers from the newly formed Roaring Fork Mountain Biking Association (RFMBA) and the hibernating Summit Fat Tire Society (SFTS) are leading the charge. The clubs provide an official voice for the mountain biking community and a platform for negotiating with Wilderness advocates on the Hidden Gems proposal.
At the first SFTS meeting in several years, almost 100 mountain bikers packed the room to discuss Wilderness and mutual support for protection of backcountry singletrack riding. In Aspen, close to 50 attended the first RFMBA meeting and set to work getting the local bike and tourism industry involved.
Hidden Gems has proven a catalyst for improving club capacity beyond the issue of land protection. This spring, RFMBA received a $4,000 grant from Aspen Skiing Company's Environmental Foundation. The money will be used to jumpstart the development of a regional mountain bike trails master plan project, a benefit to all trail users.
What will become of those 600,000 acres? Advocates now have two well-organized clubs who can speak for the local mountain biking community when trail access, parcel boundaries and other details are discussed. Both sides have identified a number of areas where mutual support exists - and others where creative solutions are still needed. Bicycle-friendly designations that carry the permanence of Wilderness have been identified as a solution to lands where traditional mountain biking routes exist. IMBA hopes the Hidden Gems proposal can bring together many groups to create a truly collaborative public lands protection bill for Colorado.
