SierraClub.org - Full Article
Do they just damage trails, disturb wildlife, and endanger hikers?
BY CHRISTOPHER KETCHAM | JUN 29 2020
After you’ve labored to summit a hill on a human-powered bicycle, there’s an ineffable joy in riding the force of gravity down the other side, free and easy. Electric bikes offer a wholly different experience, as e-bikes are typically fossil-fuel-powered machines. (Although they can also be powered by renewable energy.) There is no work required to climb the hill; a battery pack charged by a coal-burning power plant or a natural gas facility does the work for you. That battery-powered motor allows you to race at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, simply by getting on the e-bike.
E-bikes are all the rage in Donald Trump’s Department of the Interior. Last summer, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt issued a directive to national parks that “simplifies and unifies regulation” of the machines by asking “whether e-bikes should be treated [as] motor vehicles.”
Bernhardt’s answer? No, they aren’t motor vehicles. Therefore, all is well with more e-bikes in the parks. “Use of e-bikes will increase access to recreational opportunities,” states the National Park Service on its website. E-bikers will now be able to access “park roads, paved or hardened trails, areas designated for off-road motor vehicle use, and administrative roads where traditional bikes are allowed.”
No problem, right?...
Read more here:
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/e-bikes-national-parks-they-re-riding-slippery-slope
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Friday, June 26, 2020
Get Off Your High Horse About Poop
SignalSCV.com - Full Article
JUNE 25, 2020
Judy Reinsma
This is regarding the letter in the June 21 edition of the Sunday Signal about horse poop on the San Francisquito Canyon trail.
The dirt path next to the asphalt walking, jogging, biking trail is a BRIDLE TRAIL. A bridle trail is specifically there for HORSES, not for unmounted humans.
Horses poop. Horse poop does not stink, does not contain any harmful germs and actually improves the soil as it dries out and is incorporated into the surrounding natural area.
Getting off one’s horse and scooping up a pile of horse poop, and then putting it into a grocery bag (it’s that large) isn’t easy. One would also have to carry a rake or shovel on horseback and that’s not possible.
So yes, it is too much to ask horse owners to use horse diapers or clean up like dog owners are required to do.
That’s one reason why there are bridle trails, so horseback riders are not riding their horses on the asphalt trails where people and bikes want to go...
Read more here:
https://signalscv.com/2020/06/judy-reinsma-get-off-your-high-horse-about-poop/
JUNE 25, 2020
Judy Reinsma
This is regarding the letter in the June 21 edition of the Sunday Signal about horse poop on the San Francisquito Canyon trail.
The dirt path next to the asphalt walking, jogging, biking trail is a BRIDLE TRAIL. A bridle trail is specifically there for HORSES, not for unmounted humans.
Horses poop. Horse poop does not stink, does not contain any harmful germs and actually improves the soil as it dries out and is incorporated into the surrounding natural area.
Getting off one’s horse and scooping up a pile of horse poop, and then putting it into a grocery bag (it’s that large) isn’t easy. One would also have to carry a rake or shovel on horseback and that’s not possible.
So yes, it is too much to ask horse owners to use horse diapers or clean up like dog owners are required to do.
That’s one reason why there are bridle trails, so horseback riders are not riding their horses on the asphalt trails where people and bikes want to go...
Read more here:
https://signalscv.com/2020/06/judy-reinsma-get-off-your-high-horse-about-poop/
Thursday, June 25, 2020
New Mexico: Conflicts on Talpa Traverse Trail turn dangerous
TaosNewscom - Full ArticleTacks found on Talpa Traverse trail recently present a hazard to mountain bikers, horseback riders and hikers.
Posted Tuesday, June 23, 2020 10:40 am
By Cindy Brown
For Taos News
A rise in people out on the trails this summer can lead to more conflicts between trail users such as hikers, mountain bikers, runners and horseback riders. On at least one trail near Taos, the rise in conflicts recently took a dangerous turn.
In mid-May, 50-75 small tacks with sharp needle points possibly upholstery tacks were found on the Talpa Traverse Trail about half a mile from its intersection with Ojitos Trail in Taos Canyon. The tacks were carefully laid in the dirt in a horizontal line across the entire trail at the bottom of a set of rock stairs which is at a blind corner on the trail. Just last week, a series of approximately 11 obstacles constructed of stones and sticks were discovered on the trail by horseback rider Karen Soomekh.
The Talpa Traverse also known as the Talpa Foothills Trail is an unofficial trail across Carson National Forest land. It was built by horseback riders and others, creating an access from the Weimer Foothills area to the forest across an easement given 30 years ago for a bridle path. Today it is a favorite particularly among mountain bike riders and equestrians for its views, rolling terrain, and proximity to town...
Read more here:
https://www.taosnews.com/stories/conflicts-talpa-traverse-trail-dangerous,64478
Monday, June 22, 2020
Senate passes major lands conservation bill
TheHill.com - Full Article
By Rachel Frazin - 06/17/20 12:26 PM EDT
The Senate passed a major public lands bill on Wednesday, voting to set aside hundreds of millions of dollars each year for conservation efforts.
The Great American Outdoors Act, which passed in a 73-25 vote, would permanently provide $900 million in oil and gas revenues for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which helps secure land for trails and parks.
The legislation will also put $6.5 billion toward addressing a maintenance backlog at national parks.
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“Permanent LWCF funding will help improve access to public lands, including providing important access for hunting and fishing opportunities, and will ensure the program remains an important contributor to a strong and growing outdoor recreation economy that will benefit state and local economies throughout our nation,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who was part of a bipartisan group that introduced the bill, said in a floor speech...
Read more here:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/502376-senate-passes-lands-conservation-bill?utm_source=1500+CWP+List+Daily+Clips+and+Updates&utm_campaign=70ff7a4691-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_06_18_11_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4369a4e737-70ff7a4691-84222569
By Rachel Frazin - 06/17/20 12:26 PM EDT
The Senate passed a major public lands bill on Wednesday, voting to set aside hundreds of millions of dollars each year for conservation efforts.
The Great American Outdoors Act, which passed in a 73-25 vote, would permanently provide $900 million in oil and gas revenues for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which helps secure land for trails and parks.
The legislation will also put $6.5 billion toward addressing a maintenance backlog at national parks.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Permanent LWCF funding will help improve access to public lands, including providing important access for hunting and fishing opportunities, and will ensure the program remains an important contributor to a strong and growing outdoor recreation economy that will benefit state and local economies throughout our nation,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who was part of a bipartisan group that introduced the bill, said in a floor speech...
Read more here:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/502376-senate-passes-lands-conservation-bill?utm_source=1500+CWP+List+Daily+Clips+and+Updates&utm_campaign=70ff7a4691-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_06_18_11_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4369a4e737-70ff7a4691-84222569
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