The following is IMBA's letter commenting on the Forest Service's Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in response to President Clinton's Roadless Initiative. We believe that no roads should be built into Roadless Areas within America's national forests. IMBA is an international education and advocacy organization with 325 member clubs, more than 80 corporate partners, and a network of more than 50,000 individual mountain bikers. IMBA's mission is to promote mountain bicycling opportunities that are environmentally sound and socially responsible. Summary The following is a summary of IMBA's comments on the President's Initiative.
More detailed analysis follows.
Roadless areas are important to mountain bicyclists because they are undisturbed and natural. Roadless areas are ideal for bicycling because they contain singletrack trails that provide the types of experiences mountain bicyclists prefer. Roads and road use make forests less natural and more noisy, which can detract from the quality of the mountain biking experience. IMBA sees the Roadless Initiative as an opportunity to create and implement a new, effective method of protecting land, while allowing mountain biking. Local land managers and the public must continue to play a role in recreation management of roadless areas.