89–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–1032 

TO AMEND THE WILDERNESS ACT TO ENSURE THAT THE USE OF BICYCLES, WHEELCHAIRS, STROLLERS, AND GAME CARTS IS NOT PROHIBITED IN WILDERNESS AREAS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING AND ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 1349] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee Natural Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 1349) to amend the Wilderness Act to ensure that the use of 

bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in 

Wilderness Areas, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. USE OF CERTAIN WHEELED DEVICES NOT PROHIBITED IN WILDERNESS AREAS. 

Section 4 of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133) is amended by adding at the end 

of subsection (d) the following: 

‘‘(8) ALLOWABLE USES.—Each agency administering any area designated as 

wilderness may allow the use of motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized adaptive cycles, non-motorized bicycles, non-motorized 

strollers, non-motorized wheelbarrows, non-motorized survey wheels, non-motorized measuring wheels, or non-motorized game carts within any wilderness 

area. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘wheelchair’ means a device 

designed solely for use by a mobility-impaired person for locomotion, that is 

suitable for use in an indoor pedestrian area.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1349 is to amend the Wilderness Act to ensure that the use of bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts 

is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas. 

2 

1 CRS Report R41610, Wilderness: Issues and Legislation, Katie Hoover. 2 16 U.S.C. 1131(a). 

3 ‘‘Wilderness Accessibility for People with Disabilities: A Report to the President and the Congress of the United States on Section 507(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act,’’ National 

Council on Disability, Dec. 1992. ncd.gov/publications/1992/December1992#8. 4 36 CFR 251.75 (1966). 

5 36 CFR 261.18. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Wilderness Act of 1964 (Public Law 88–577, 16 U.S.C.1131 

et seq.) established the National Wilderness Preservation System 

(NWPS) and reserved to Congress the authority to designate federal lands as a part of the NWPS. The law’s enactment initially 

designated 54 wilderness areas encompassing 9.1 million acres of 

national forest lands. Subsequently, Congress has enacted more 

than 100 laws designating new wilderness areas. Today, the NWPS 

consists of roughly 110 million acres across 765 units managed by 

the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management.1

The Wilderness Act describes wilderness as areas of generally 

undisturbed federal lands and ascribes certain goals for the management of wilderness, noting the lands should be ‘‘administered 

for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner 

as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the 

preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering 

and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness.’’ 2 Generally, the Wilderness Act prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and the building of roads, structures and facilities. However, specific management criteria of wilderness lands can differ between land management agencies and 

acreages because of differing statutorily-prescribed management 

provisions and administrative land management regulations. 

For example, although section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12207) reaffirms Congress’ intent that 

nothing in the Wilderness Act should be ‘‘construed as prohibiting 

the use of a wheelchair in a wilderness area by an individual 

whose disability requires use of a wheelchair,’’ a study by the National Council on Disability found differences across land management agencies in the use of motorized and non-motorized wheelchairs, and in one case a lack of policies regarding persons with 

disabilities in the NWPS.3

Similarly, although the Wilderness Act allows travel across 

NWPS lands on foot and with the use of horses and pack animals, 

the use of bicycles in NWPS lands has had a varied history. In 

1966, USFS banned the use of ‘‘mechanical transport’’ propelled by 

a nonliving power source 4—a definition that made bicycles an allowable form of transportation in wilderness. In 1977, USFS issued 

a new regulation specifically prohibiting the use of bicycles (and 

hang gliders) on NWPS lands.5 However, although the USFS regulations broadly ban the use of bicycles on NWPS lands, the use of 

bicycles is still allowed in some wilderness areas. 

In 1980, Congress passed the Rattlesnake National Recreation 

Area and Wilderness Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–476), which identified cycling as ‘‘primitive recreation’’ and thus an allowable use 

in the Rattlesnake Wilderness of the Lolo National Forest. In 1981, 

3 

6 36 CFR 261.57(h). 

7 51 FR 13835. 

8 ‘‘Demographics of Mountain Biking.’’ International Mountain Bicycling Association, 2005, 

www.imba.com/resources/research/demographics-mountain-biking. 

USFS issued a third regulation declaring bicycles to be permissible 

on wilderness lands unless expressly prohibited.6 Finally, in 1986, 

USFS announced in the Federal Register that the regulation, 

which allows for Wilderness travel by living power sources, should 

be read as prohibiting wilderness travel by certain living power 

sources, including bicycles.7

Annually 40 million Americans participate in mountain biking 

activities, making it the second most popular trail activity in the 

U.S.8 As ordered reported, H.R. 1349 would amend section 4(c) of 

the Wilderness Act to clarify that federal land managers may allow 

the use of motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized wheelchairs, nonmotorized adaptive cycles, non-motorized bicycles, non-motorized 

strollers, non-motorized wheelbarrows, non-motorized survey 

wheels, non-motorized measuring wheels, or non-motorized game 

carts on NWPS lands. 

The legislation is supported by the Sustainable Trails Coalition 

and the Folsom Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1349 was introduced on March 2, 2017, by Congressman 

Tom McClintock (R–CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on 

December 7, 2017. On December 12, 2017, the Natural Resources 

Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R– 

CA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was adopted by voice 

vote. No additional amendments were offered. The bill, as amended, was then not ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives on December 13, 2017, by a roll call vote of 15 ayes 

to 19 noes, as follows: 

4 


Insert offset folio 4 here HR1032.001

Date: 12-13-17 

Committee on Natural Resources 

U.S. House of Representatives 

!15th Congress 

Recorded Vote #: 1 

Meeting on I Amendment on: FC Mark Up on Favorably Reporting H.R. 1349, To amend the Wilderness Act to 

ensure that the use of bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas, and for 

other purposes. 

MEMBERS Yes No Pres MEMBERS Yes No Pres 

Mr. Bishop, UT, Chairman X Mr.Cook,CA X 

Mr. Grijalva. AZ, Ranking Member X Mr. Soto, FL X 

Mr. Young, AK, Chairman Emeritus X Mr. Westerman, AR X 

Mrs. Napolitano, CA X Mr. McEachin, VA X 

Mr. C,ohmert, TX, Vice Chairman X Mr. Graves, LA X 

Ms. Bordal/o, Guam X Mr. Brown, MD X 

Mr. Lamborn, CO X Mr. llice, GA X 

Mr. Costa, CA X Mr. Clay,MO X 

Mr. Wittman, VA Mrs. Radewagen, AS X 

Mr. Sablan, CNMI X Mr. Gomez, CA X 

Mr. McClintock, CA X Mr. LaHood, IL 

M>. 1:wngas, MA X Mr. Webster, FL X 

Mr. Pearce, :>1M X Mr. Bergman, MI 

Mr. H'l{fman, CA X Ms. Cheney, WY X 

Mr. Thompson, PA Mr. Johnson, LA 

Mr. Lowenthal, CA X Ms. Gonzalez-Colon, PR X 

Mr. Gosar, AZ X l\1r. Gianforte, MT X 

Mr. Berer, VA X 

Mr. Labrador, ID 

Mrs. Torres, CA 

Mr. Tipton, CO 

Mr. Gallego, AZ X 

Mr. LaMalfa, CA X 

M>. Ilanabusa, HI X 

Mr. Denham, CA 

Ms. Barrag(m, CA X TOTAL: 15 19 
5 

Later in the same markup, Chairman Rob Bishop (R–UT) moved 

to reconsider the vote by which H.R. 1349, as amended, was not 

ordered favorably reported; the motion was adopted by a roll call 

vote of 22 to 17. Immediately after this vote, on December 13, 2017, 

the bill, as amended, was adopted and ordered favorably reported 

to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 22 ayes to 18 

noes, as follows: 

6 


Insert offset folio 6 here HR1032.002

Date: 12-13-17 

Committee on Natural Resources 

U.S. House of Representatives 

!15th Congress 

Recorded Vote #: 9 

Meeting on I Amendment on: FC Mark Up on Favorably Reporting H.R. 1349, To amend the Wilderness Act to 

ensure that the use of bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas, and for 

other purposes. 

MEMBERS Yes No Pres MEMBERS Yes No Pres 

Mr. Bishop, UT, Chairman X Mr.Cook,CA X 

Mr. Grijalva, AZ, Ranking Member X Mr. Soto, FL X 

Mr. Young, A K, Chairman Emeritus X Mr. Westerman, AR X 

A1rs. Napolitano, CA X Mr. McEachin, VA X 

Mr. Gohmert, TX, Vice Chairman Mr. Graves, LA X 

Ms. Bordallo, Guam Mr. Brown, MD X 

Mr. Lamborn, CO X Mr.Hice,GA X 

lvfr. Costa, CA X Mr. Clay,MO X 

Mr. Wittman, VA X Mrs, Radewagen, AS X 

Mr. Sablan, CNMI X ]Vfr. Gomez, CA X 

Mr. McClintock, CA X Mr. LaHood, IL X 

Ms. Tsongas, MA X Mr. Webster, FL X 

Mr. Pearce, NM X Mr. Bergman, MI X 

Mr. Huffman, CA X Ms. Cheney, WY X 

Mr. Thompson, PA X Mr. Johnson, LA X 

Mr. Lowenthal, CA X Ms. Gonzalez-Colon, PR X 

Mr. Gosar, AZ X Mr. Gianforte, MT X 

lvfr. Beyer, VA :t= Mr. Labrador, ID X 

}drs. Torres, CA 

Mr. Tipton, CO 

Mr. Ga/lef{o, AZ X 

Mr. LaMalfa, CA X 

Ms. Hanabusa, HI X 

Mr. Denham, CA X 

Ms. Barragan, CA X TOTAL: 22 18 
7 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, January 11, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1349, a bill to amend the 

Wilderness Act to ensure that the use of bicycles, wheelchairs, 

strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas, and 

for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1349—A bill to amend the Wilderness Act to ensure that the 

use of bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas, and for other purposes 

H.R. 1349 would clarify that certain nonmotorized vehicles, including bicycles, strollers, and game carts can be used in wilderness areas administered by the federal government. The bill also 

would clarify that the use of motorized and nonmotorized wheelchairs is allowed in those areas. CBO estimates that implementing 

the bill would not affect the federal budget. 

Enacting H.R. 1349 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1349 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 1349 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

8 

of this bill is to ensure that the use of bicycles, wheelchairs, strollers, and game carts is not prohibited in Wilderness Areas. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

WILDERNESS ACT 

* * * * * * * 

USE OF WILDERNESS AREAS

SEC. 4. (a) The purposes of this Act are hereby declared to be 

within and supplemental to the purposes for which national forest 

and units of the national park and national wildlife refuge systems 

are established and administered and— 

(1) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to be in interference 

with the purpose for which national forests are established as 

set forth in the Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11), and the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of June 12, 1960 (74 Stat. 215). 

(2) Nothing in this Act shall modify the restrictions and provisions of the Shipstead-Nolan Act (Public Law 539, Seventyfirst Congress, July 10, 1930; 46 Stat. 1020), the Thye-Blatnik 

Act (Public Law 733, Eightieth Congress, June 22, 1948; 62 

Stat. 568), and the Humphrey-Thye-Blatnik-Andresen Act 

9 

(Public Law 607, Eighty-fourth Congress, June 22, 1956; 70 

Stat. 326), as applying to the Superior National Forest or the 

regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

(3) Nothing in this Act shall modify the statutory authority 

under which units of the national park system are created. 

Further, the designation of any area of any park, monument, 

or other unit of the national park system as a wilderness area 

pursuant to this Act shall in no manner lower the standards 

evolved for the use and preservation of such park, monument, 

or other unit of the national park system in accordance with 

section 100101(b)(1), chapter 1003, and sections100751(a), 

100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, UnitedStates Code, the 

statutory authority under which the area was created, or any 

other Act of Congress which might pertain to or affect such 

area, including, but not limited to, section 3(2) of the Federal 

Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796(2));and chapters 3201 and 3203 of 

title 54, United StatesCode. 

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, each agency administering any area designated as wilderness shall be responsible for 

preserving the wilderness character of the area and shall so administer such area for such other purposes for which it may have been 

established as also to preserve its wilderness character. Except as 

otherwise provided in this Act, wilderness areas shall be devoted 

to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, 

conservation, and historical use. 

PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES

(c) Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to 

existing private rights, there shall be no commercial enterprise and 

no permanent road within any wilderness area designated by this 

Act and, except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for 

the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act (including 

measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety 

of persons within the area), there shall be no temporary road, no 

use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area. 

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

(d) The following special provisions are hereby made: 

(1) Within wilderness areas designated by this Act the use of aircraft or motorboats, where these uses have already become established, may be permitted to continue subject to such restrictions as 

the Secretary of Agriculture deems desirable. In addition, such 

measures may be taken as may be necessary in the control of fire, 

insects, and diseases, subject to such conditions as the Secretary 

deems desirable. 

(2) Nothing in this Act shall prevent within national forest wilderness areas any activity, including prospecting, for the purpose 

of gathering information about mineral or other resources, if such 

activity is carried on in a manner compatible with the preservation 

of the wilderness environment. Furthermore, in accordance with 

such program as the Secretary of the Interior shall develop and 

conduct in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, such 

areas shall be surveyed on a planned, recurring basis consistent 

10 

with the concept of wilderness preservation by the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines to determine the mineral values, if 

any, that may be present; and the results of such surveys shall be 

made available to the public and submitted to the President and 

Congress. 

(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, until midnight December 31, 1983, the United States mining laws and all 

laws pertaining to mineral leasing shall, to the same extent as applicable prior to the effective date of this Act, extend to those national forest lands designated by this Act as ‘‘wilderness areas’’; 

subject, however, to such reasonable regulations governing ingress 

and egress as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture 

consistent with the use of the land for mineral location and development and exploration, drilling, and production, and use of land 

for transmission lines, waterlines, telephone lines, or facilities necessary in exploring, drilling, producing, mining, and processing operations, including where essential the use of mechanized ground 

or air equipment and restoration as near as practicable of the surface of the land disturbed in performing prospecting, location, and, 

in oil and gas leasing, discovery work, exploration, drilling and production, as soon as they have served their purpose. Mining locations lying within the boundaries of said wilderness areas shall be 

held and used solely for mining or processing operations and uses 

reasonably incident thereto; and hereafter, subject to valid existing 

rights, all patents issued under the mining laws of the United 

States affecting national forest lands designated by this Act as wilderness areas shall convey title to the mineral deposits within the 

claim, together with the right to cut and use so much of the mature 

timber therefrom as may be needed in the extraction, removal, and 

beneficiation of the mineral deposits, if needed timber is not otherwise reasonably available, and if the timber is cut under sound 

principles of forest management as defined by the national forest 

rules and regulations, but each such patent shall reserve to the 

United States all title in or to the surface of the lands and products 

thereof, and no use of the surface of the claim or the resources 

therefrom not reasonably required for carrying on mining or 

prospecting shall be allowed except as otherwise expressly provided 

in this Act: Provided, That, unless hereafter specifically authorized, 

no patent within wilderness areas designated by this Act shall 

issue after December 31, 1983, except for the valid claims existing 

on or before December 31, 1983. Mining claims located after the effective date of this Act within the boundaries of wilderness areas 

designated by this Act shall create no rights in excess of those 

rights which may be patented under the provisions of this subsection. Mineral leases, permits, and licenses covering lands within 

national forest wilderness areas designated by this Act shall contain such reasonable stipulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture for the protection of the wilderness character 

of the land consistent with the use of the land for the purposes for 

which they are leased, permitted, or licensed. Subject to valid 

rights then existing, effective January 1, 1984, the minerals in 

lands designated by this Act as wilderness areas are withdrawn 

from all forms of appropriation under the mining laws and from 

disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral leasing and all 

amendments thereto. 

11 

(4) Within wilderness areas in the national forest designated by 

this Act, (1) the President may, within a specific area and in accordance with such regulations as he may deem desirable, authorize prospecting for water resources, the establishment and maintenance of reservoirs, water-conservation works, power projects, 

transmission lines, and other facilities needed in the public interest, including the road construction and maintenance essential to 

development and use thereof, upon his determination that such use 

or uses in the specific area will better serve the interest of the 

United States and the people thereof than will its denial; and (2) 

the grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective 

date of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary of 

Agriculture. 

(5) Commercial services may be performed within the wilderness 

areas designated by this Act to the extent necessary for activities 

which are proper for realizing the recreational or other wilderness 

purposes of the areas. 

(6) Nothing in this Act shall constitute an express or implied 

claim or denial on the part of the Federal Government as to exemption from State water laws. 

(7) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the several States with respect to wildlife and fish in the national forests. 

(8) ALLOWABLE USES.—Each agency administering any area 

designated as wilderness may allow the use of motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized adaptive cycles, non-motorized bicycles, non-motorized strollers, non-motorized wheelbarrows, non-motorized survey wheels, non-motorized 

measuring wheels, or non-motorized game carts within any wilderness area. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term 

‘wheelchair’ means a device designed solely for use by a mobility-impaired person for locomotion, that is suitable for use in an 

indoor pedestrian area. 

* * * * * * * 

(12) 

1 US Forest Service. Forest Service Manual 2300—Recreation, Wilderness, and Related Resource Management: Amendment No: 2300–2007–1. Approved by Frederick Norbury, Associate 

Deputy Chief, NFS, Washington DC: US Forest Service, December 26, 2006. 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

H.R. 1349 is a short bill with a huge impact that cuts right at 

the heart of the Wilderness Act, one of our most unique and successful conservation laws. This bill authorizes the use of bicycles 

and other forms of mechanical transport in wilderness areas—an 

amendment to the statute that is far from a simple technical fix. 

For over 50 years, the Wilderness Act has helped protect our 

most pristine wild places, something that is increasingly important 

as open space and intact natural areas continue to disappear across 

the country. But the promise of wilderness goes beyond conservation and land protection—wilderness provides opportunities for 

‘‘quiet recreation’’ in areas ‘‘untrammeled by man.’’ Bikes are not— 

and never have been—part of the wilderness experience. 

Unfortunately, proponents of this bill are intent on spreading 

misinformation designed to undermine the congressional intent and 

history of the Wilderness Act. It is true that the Forest Service 

made a mistake and allowed bikes for a short period of time, but 

that error was corrected decades ago and the legislative history 

clearly supports the prohibition of bikes. 

Congress debated the Wilderness Act for eight years before it finally became law in 1964. In the Act’s legislative history, there is 

no mention of exempting bicycles from the law’s prohibition on mechanical transportation. In fact, the statute is quite clear that ‘‘no 

form of mechanical transport’’ is allowed in designated wilderness 

areas. 

The one clear exemption from this prohibition is for wheelchairs, 

which Congress expressly authorized to access wilderness areas 

when it passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Federal land management agency protocols and guidelines for managing wilderness areas do not place restrictions on the legitimate 

use of wheelchairs. In fact, the definition of mechanical transportation in the Forest Service manual for Recreation, Wilderness, and 

Related Resource Management clearly states that it does not include ‘‘wheelchairs when used as necessary medical appliances’’.1

Wheelchair access in wilderness is a non-issue and its inclusion in 

H.R. 1349 is a red herring meant to distract from the true purpose 

of the bill. 

Our opposition to this bill is not about blocking access to wilderness or any other public lands. Everyone has a right to experience 

wilderness. However, this bill is meant to undermine the history 

and legacy of the Wilderness Act merely to prove a political point. 

There are plenty of opportunities for biking on federal lands and 

we should be looking at positive ways to enhance that access, not 

rip apart the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

13 

We are not creating wilderness where none exists. Instead, we 

are finding the last remaining wilderness areas and trying to protect them. H.R. 1349 threatens that mission and should be rejected. 

RAU ́ L M. GRIJALVA, 

Ranking Member. 

ALAN LOWENTHAL. 

COLLEEN HANABUSA. 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO. 

NIKI TSONGAS. 

JARED HUFFMAN. 

(14) 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

I wish to clarify my roll call vote on the motion to report H.R. 

1349, as amended, favorably to the House. 

Because I do not postpone votes in committee during markups, 

at the time of the first motion to report H.R. 1349, it was clear that 

many of our colleagues who supported the bill were not present. 

Therefore, I changed my vote from ‘‘aye’’ to ‘‘no’’ so that I could 

later move to reconsider the vote by which H.R. 1349, as amended, 

was ordered reported. 

This was a procedural action only, and was not meant to indicate 

that my backing of this common-sense measure had changed. My 

final vote for the motion to favorably report the bill to the House 

of Representatives reflects my strong support for this measure, 

which I look forward to having considered by the House during the 

115th Congress. 

ROB BISHOP. 

Æ