In advocacy, it's important to be able to diferentiate between allies
and opponents. Take something as seemingly noncontroversial as
National Trails Day, which is put on by the American Hiking Society.
Despite some lip service and claims to the contrary, the AHS is no
friend to mountain bicycling.

When I thought about this a few years ago I came to the conclusion
that it was not in mountain bikers' interest to support National
Trails Day. I believe mountain bikers should celebrate trails on
other days, such as National Public Lands Day in September.

Below is an article from the AHS newsletter that represents the AHS
atttitude toward mountain biking, and illustrates the fact that AHS
is anti-bike. They have made similar statements about mountain biking
on "footpaths," as they like to define trails, in other articles and
presentations.

--mark

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Stuck in the Ruts: Protecting Footpaths from Mountain Bikes


Over the fall, American Hiking Society became increasingly alarmed at
the coordinated effort by the International Mountain Bicycling
Association (IMBA) to open national parks and national scenic trails
to mountain bikes. Following hard upon IMBA's opposition to new
wilderness designations in California, including in places little-
used by mountain bikers, mountain bikers hope to open new areas, many
of which are inappropriate, to that activity. IMBA hopes to sign a
Memorandum of Understanding with the National Park Service (NPS) this
spring, easing the way for increased mountain bike use in national
parks and on national scenic trails, particularly the 4,600-mile
North Country Trail.

AHS has expressed its strong concerns to the NPS director and has met
with the deputy director. We urged them to uphold current
restrictions on mountain bicycling off-road in national parks to
protect park resources and the experience of more than 280 million
annual national park visitors.

American Hiking Society's policy on mountain bikes, formulated in
1998, states that mountain biking is a legitimate activity but one
that merits restrictions because of its impact on the experiences of
other park users as well as on the resources. We believe the purpose
of a trail should be considered first, followed by decisions about
the types of travel appropriate to the purpose; then travelers should
be accommodated using techniques that enhance the purpose. Those who
are mutually interested in multi-use trails have much to gain by
working together to build and maintain them. At the same time,
working together does not mean that every new use that is invented
should be on every trail. One argument is that mountain bicyclists
are being denied access to certain public lands, when, of course,
mountain bikers are welcome- just not their equipment.

Hiking represents one of the most popular recreational activities-73
million Americails hike regularly or occasionally. Hikers treasure
national parks for myriad reasons, including the ability to enjoy
majestic views, breathe clean air, observe and appreciate diverse
flora and fauna, and to experience quiet, slow travel and the
enjoyment of nature away from mechanical conveyances and other
reminders of our fast-paced industrial society.

AHS works with IMBA on a number of national policy issues, including
the fee demo program and recreation funding for the federal land
managing agencies. However, the hiking community and the mountain
biking community differ on how national parks and national scenic
trails should be enjoyed and exolored
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