Mount Hood trails need our help
Mount Hood Wilderness action alert
Boulder Creek drainage from Forest Creek Loop trail
Oregon mountain bikers need to take action and ensure important trails around Mount Hood are protected with bicycle-friendly designations. Representative Earl Blumenauer has proposed a comprehensive plan for Mount Hood, one part of which would close the beloved Boulder Lake area to bicycling. This important detail is a key divergence from the proposed Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act, which the mountain biking community supports. Go to: IMBA's June 07 Press Release
In total, the new proposal would close 123 miles of singletrack to bicycling. The lands around these trails deserve special protection and mountain bikers want to help Mr. Blumenauer craft a final plan that preserves the land and our quiet use. This is a great opportunity for Mr. Blumenauer to exemplify the Oregon tradition of innovative and creative solutions to difficult public lands and public policy issues.
Bicyclists value primitive areas like Boulder Lake for the same reasons as hikers, equestrians, backcountry skiers and other quiet users. We seek the solitude, challenge, clean air, clean water and healthy forests that bring us closer to nature. Because our activity is a quiet, low-impact, human-powered use compatible with wild settings, we are asking Mr. Blumenauer to provide lasting protection for Boulder Lake that allows bicycling to continue.
Take action Write or call Mr. Blumenauer and tell him you strongly endorse a National Recreation Area designation that protects the entire Boulder Lake and Twin Lakes areas and allows bicycling to continue. IMBA link: https://secure2.convio.net/imba/site/Advocacy?pagename=..... or go to Congressman Earl Blumenauer's webpage directly to send the Congressman an e-mail regarding the Mount Hood wilderness: http://blumenauer.house.gov/
If you do not live in Mr. Blumenauer's district, the online comment form may not work. If this happens, please call either his Portland office at 503-231-2300 or Washington, DC at 202-225-4811. Be sure to ask for the staff person who handles environmental affairs, tell them you support bicycle-friendly protection for Boulder Lake and Twin Lakes, and include in your request that you travel to, or would like to travel to, Mount Hood for the great mountain bicycling. Please forward this alert to all mountain bikers, bike shops and industry employees you know.
Additional Information
A National Recreation Area protects against resource extraction, road construction and development. It allows quiet uses like bicycling and, like Wilderness, it requires an act of congress to change.
Important trails at Boulder Lake include:
463- Boulder Lake
464- Crane Prairie
478- Crane Creek
We also ask that critical trail connections in Bonney Butte and Twin Lakes areas already protected by Wild and Scenic River and National Recreation Area designations remain open to bikes. Important trails in these areas include:
471- Bonney Butte
482- Palmeteer
482A- Devil's Half Acre
Local mountain bicyclists were actively involved (see: http://imba.com/resources/land_protection/oregon/index.html) in creating a previous bicycle-friendly Mount Hood Wilderness proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives. This new plan would mirror many aspects of that bill, but the closure at Boulder Lake simply goes too far. This special area should be protected from resource extraction, road construction and development. It does not need to be protected from bicycling.
Learn more (go to: http://imba.com/resources/land_protection/oregon/index.html) about IMBA and the Oregon Mountain Biking Association’s (ORMBA) work to protect Mount Hood’s best lands and singletrack.
New Hood plan raises concerns
Here's an article from the Hood River News
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/News%20stories/2008/037_news_1.htm
Ryan
Seeing your congressman
I found Congressman Blumenauer at the Obama campaign headquarters last night. After he was done speaking to the crowd, I got a moment with him. I introduced myself as a constituent, thanked him for his efforts over the years to promote biking, and told him that I thought this bill needs to be fixed. He assured me that biking is always a priority for him, and I thanked him for his time.
One visit is worth 10 letters.
One letter is worth 10 phone calls.
One phone call is worth 10 emails.
One email is worth more than a million blog posts that he'll never see.
That said, the best place to find Congressman Blumenauer in town these days is at Obama events. If you have it in you to support Obama, that's a good path towards helping our agenda. If you live in Earl's district, find him and tell him how you feel about this bill. He'll listen, and the more he hears the better our chances are when it's time for a vote.