A proposal by the Sustainable Trails Coalition would allow bikes in some wilderness areas. ย Oregon Wild’s Erik Fernandez says allowing mountain bikes in wilderness areas should never be allowed. ย The former owner of Cog Wild Mountain Bike Tours Woody Starr says in some cases there might beย merit to the proposal. ย Hear their comments in this Sourcecast report. ย ย ย
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 6, 2016.
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Keeping bikes out of the wilderness is a no-brainer. The bikers have done enough damage outside the wilderness. Bikes scare wildlife, they turn trails into sand, and they bring Yahoos into natural places.
The “honor system” is not working for mountain bikers, according to mountain bike advocate Woody Starr, and that is his basis for allowing mountain bikers into our most sensitive natural areas? Allowing irresponsible and noncompliant trail users into designated wilderness would certainly cause greater resource damage and disrupt the peaceful environment. The “honor system” applies to all wilderness users because of the remote nature of wilderness, and land managers have to rely on user’s compliance to the rules to protect resources such as water, wildlife and ground cover. With over 1200 miles of inventoried mountain bike trails here in the Central Oregon area there is truly no need for mountain bikers to encroach with their impact on the already overused wilderness. This proposal to modify the Wilderness Act represents only one self-benefiting point of view of a small group of mountain bikers. Our wilderness areas need more protection, not more exploitation.