During recent years, some of Colorado\u2019s elk herds have been declining, if not collapsing, due to the proliferation of outdoor recreation \u2014 including mountain bikes and, more recently, e-bikes \u2014 on public lands. Unfortunately, a recent move by the Trump administration (Secretarial Order 3376) will open millions of acres of public land trails to motorized e-bikes, threatening intact fish and wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with e-bikes, they\u2019re motorized (battery-driven) mountain bikes. \u201cThe new policy benefits primarily the makers of electric mountain bikes, whose websites encourage riders to blast throughout our backcountry trails and set new speed records,\u201d said Darrell Wallace, chairman of the Back Country Horsemen of America. A travel newsletter, the RobbReport, recently had this to say about e-bikes:<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the untrained eye, Moto Parilla\u2019s Ultra Carbon looks just like a gas-engine motorcycle. Instead, it\u2019s actually a powerful electric mountain bike more than tough enough to tackle any trail its fuel-burning cousin can \u2026 it can turn any peak, no matter how steep and winding, into something that can be conquered with ease. \u2026 It may not be a motorcycle, but \u2026 still packs plenty of punch \u2026 a max speed of 50 mph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today some 98% of the lower 48 states is within one mile of a motorized route. Ninety-two percent of all national forest lands in Colorado lie within one mile of a road, and there are over 17,000 miles of roads in Colorado\u2019s national forests. In the San Juan National Forest alone, motorized road miles increased from 2,817 in the late 1990s to more than 6,400 miles in 2008. How many miles of motorized routes are enough?<\/p>\n
Countless studies have shown that more roads and trails mean fragmented habitat and fewer elk. As Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers founder David Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) said: \u201cThe three-part formula for assuring a rich elk hunting future \u2026 could hardly be simpler. \u2026 Those three essential elements are: habitat, habitat, and habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n