IMBA Club and Rep eNews: June 2006

* Do You Ride in Forest Service Recommended Wilderness?
* Bikes Belong Funds Mountain Biking Projects
* New Trails Coming to Houston Area
* Mountain Bike Trails Make Front Page News in Sawyer County, Wisconsin
* Help Expand Mountain Biking at the New River Gorge National River
* NPS Rivers and Trails Update
* National Park Service Study Examines Trail Impacts and Solutions

Do You Ride in Forest Service Recommended Wilderness?
IMBA needs your help to identify "Recommended Wilderness" areas where riding currently occurs. Recommended Wilderness is a zone of Forest Service land that has the potential to become congressionally designated Wilderness. In many cases, the Forest Service allows existing uses to continue and mountain bikers have been riding trails in many of these areas for years. Several national forests, though, are now considering banning bikes in Recommended Wilderness. If this becomes a national policy, we could lose access to hundreds of thousands of acres. Contact Drew Vankat if your national forest allows or prohibits riding in Forest Service Recommended Wilderness zones.

Bikes Belong Funds Mountain Biking Projects
Bikes Belong, the national coalition of retailers and suppliers, handed out $42,000 in grants in May, including $17,000 to three mountain bike-related projects. Mountain bikers in New York, Utah and Vermont are looking forward to better trails and facilities thanks to these generous grants. Visit the Bikes Belong website if your club is interested in applying for a quarterly grant.

New Trails Coming to Houston Area
Two hundred acres of pine forest in Carl Barton Jr. Park outside of Conroe, Texas, will soon be home to three miles of shared-use singletrack, with the possibility for seven more. The Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association (GHORBA) and Texas Trail Doctors will celebrate the groundbreaking with a volunteer workday later this summer. Approval for the project took only six months, thanks to dedicated local advocates and an enthusiastic parks department and city council.

Mountain Bike Trails Make Front Page News in Sawyer County, Wisconsin
The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) knocked Brett Favre off the front page with its latest trail project. This accomplished club has built and opened miles of trails throughout its northern Wisconsin stomping grounds in the last seven years, but had yet to reach Sawyer County. On May 3, the County Forestry Commission approved a new eight-mile shared-use trail through the forests of Hatchery Creek Park. A true four-season community resource, CAMBA also expects the trail to be a popular snowshoe route.

Help Expand Mountain Biking at the New River Gorge National River
Known primarily as a world-class climbing and paddling area, West Virginia's New River Gorge National River also permits some mountain biking. As this National Park Service unit revises its General Management Plan, local cyclists are asking for nationwide support in their quest for greater trail access. Park management has recognized the lack of adequate shared-use trails as a major issue and your comments could open the door for terrific new mountain biking opportunities in the Mountain State.

NPS Rivers and Trails Update
IMBA received a tremendous amount of help from reps, clubs and riders last month in the campaign to protect the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program. We sincerely thank everyone who called their senators! It is great to know our network mobilizes quickly and we appreciate the willingness of so many riders who stepped up and got involved. In all, 20 senators signed a "Dear Colleague" petition to show support for RTCA. We'll keep you posted as the Senate subcommittee reviews next year's budget.

Senators who signed the Dear Colleague letter include: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), James Jeffords (I-VT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ron Wyden (D-OR).

National Park Service Study Examines Trail Impacts and Solutions
All mountain bikers should be familiar with a newly completed study, "Assessing and Understanding Trail Degradation: Results from Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area," by Dr. Jeffrey L. Marion of Virginia Tech University. The research was conducted on 78 miles of shared-use and single-use trails at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, located in Kentucky and Tennessee, to assist the park with their Road Trails Management Plan. Dr. Marion's research quantifies the trail impacts of different user groups and offers objective guidance on sustainable trail design, construction, maintenance and management. The study also provides state-of-the-art trail assessment and monitoring procedures.