Over 150 mountain bike advocates at the biennial summit of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) descended on D.C. in June to support, among other things, a new Virginia wilderness bill.

The bill would establish nine new Wilderness areas and two National Scenic Areas. The current interpretation of Wilderness designations prohibits mountain biking in Wilderness areas, which has led to bitter controversy in states like California where mountain bikers and Wilderness advocates have been at odds about how to protect their wild areas.

So why were mountain bikers supporting this pro-Wilderness bill?

“Today, IMBA encouraged our members to support the Virginia Wilderness Bill because wilderness advocates worked hard to accommodate our needs and used conservation solutions that IMBA is seeking, particularly National Scenic Areas,” explained IMBA Senior National Policy Advisor Gary Sprung.

These National Scenic Areas would protect land from development and prohibit road building, logging, and motorized vehicle use while still allowing bicycling. In effect, they are Wilderness areas that allow biking. Like many mountain bikers, Sprung thinks “bicycling belongs in protected areas-but not in all protected areas…a categorical ban is wrong, but since it exists, we must work around it.” The Jefferson National Forest Wilderness and Scenic area bill is actually precedent-setting in that it is the first land protection bill containing designated wilderness areas that IMBA has supported. Sprung is optimistic that joint protection ventures such as this may open the door to protecting more land more quickly.

Another top priority was to lobby for support of the House version of the Transportation Enhancement Bill, which would, if renewed at this level, re-allocate $503 million to the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). The RTP has been an important means of gaining funding for new and existing multi-use trails open to mountain bike access. For example, Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA) President Jay Franklin said his organization has successfully tapped into over $800,000 of RTP funding for trails in the Southeast.

-Sue George