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Our U.S. senators from Utah have stirred up a hornet's nest with their Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act. They would ride bicycles into our protected wilderness areas — where they have never been allowed.

The Back Country Horsemen of Utah (BCH Utah) opposes S3205, the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act, and are disappointed that Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee have introduced this bill for consideration. So far as we can tell, there was no outreach to Utah wilderness users by the senators' offices to gather input or support regarding this measure from their constituency. The legislation appears to be in behalf of a very small number of mountain bike users outside of Utah who are upset over losing access to some trails in another state when wilderness boundaries were drawn and enacted recently by Congress. S3205 has not received notable endorsements of support from national or international biking associations.

The Wilderness Act, originally supported by Utah Sens. Wallace Bennett and Frank Moss, has been used by Congress for over half a century "to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness." Under this act the nation's land managers have administered wilderness use under a mandate to protect these national resources for the long term conservation and use by us and by our succeeding generations.

Now Lee and Hatch would upend the bipartisan unity that lay behind the Wilderness Act and the laws every Congress and president since have used to protect more wild treasures. That includes 33 wilderness areas across Utah — wild sanctuaries which equate to only approximately 3.5 percent of Utah's public land.

S3205 would increase the burden on already overstretched land managers to re-examine and review existing restrictions on the use of wilderness trails. Especially troubling is the fact that if the land managers cannot meet the two-year deadline for determinations on each trail in each wilderness area, then bicycles will be permitted by default. The request to allow bicycles on these trails will cause conflict and acrimony between user groups whether the request is granted or not.

If granted, the nature of the current wilderness experience will change. As trails are maintained for bicycle use, the wilderness will become easier to access, tamer and less wild. Use by mechanized transport will grow and over time these local decisions under S3205 will undermine our nation's bedrock landscape conservation tool, the 1964 Wilderness Act, and ultimately lessen the wilderness experience we are able to leave those who come after us.

S3205 is also unnecessary because the Wilderness Act already allows land managers to use mechanized and wheeled tools in those cases where doing so would be consistent with the agencies' mandate to preserve wilderness character. So the argument for this bill that we need mechanical transport — bikes and a wagon — to get into our wilderness areas to fix up the trails is disingenuous.

Sen. Hatch and Sen. Lee, this bill is not needed and does not reflect the needs, desires and wishes of your Utah wilderness users.

We respectfully request you retract your introduction of S3205.

Craig Allen lives in Hooper and is chairman of Back Country Horsemen of Utah.