Ted Stroll Tells Another Little Fib

For quite some time I have been following Ted Stroll and his efforts to get mountain bikes on National Scenic Trails and in Wilderness Areas.  And every time Ted or the Sustainable Trails Coalition makes a claim, I have been checking them out.  And after researching the claims, almost all the time I find out that Ted is exaggerating, misrepresenting or outright fabricating the claim. Check out my other blog on this subject, “The Sustainable Trails Coalition: Just Making Up Stuff”

Screen shot of the Frontlines Podcast webpage

Ted continues his streak of misleading claims in a recent interview on the Frontlines Podcast with Brent Hillier.  In the interview Ted talks about the Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota.  You can listen to the podcast here: http://frontlinesmtb.com/2017/10/27/ep-26-bikes-in-wilderness-part-3-interview-with-ted-stroll-of-the-sustainable-trails-coalition/

Here’s what Ted said

“The Maah Daah Hey is cut off for mountain biking at the north and south extremes because those areas are wilderness. And in the northern cut off, the wilderness is something like, I can’t remember, it’s a half-mile long, or something like that, but to get around it, you're not even allowed to walk your bicycle in a Wilderness Area under Federal Regulations, people have to drive their car 20 or 30 miles out of their way on these gravel roads to avoid this half mile stretch. It is just a crazy situation.”

So, let’s fact check Ted’s statement.  Ted says the Maah Daah Hey Trail goes through the Wilderness for “a half-mile long, or something like that.”  Take a look at the map I have provided from the National Park Service.  It clearly says the section through the Wilderness is 1.8 miles long.  I could see if the section in the wilderness was .7 or .8 miles long, that would be "something like a half mile long," but this is 1.8 miles.  It’s closer to 2 miles than it is 1/2 mile.

Then Ted says

“People have to drive their car 20 or 30 miles out of their way on these gravel roads to avoid this half mile stretch.”  Here is a quote on about the alternative route which is on the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association website: “Some riders will by-pass the Park exiting the MDHT on to Forest Service Road 825 near the intersection of the Long-X Trail traveling south and east 5 miles to US Highway 85, then south 1 mile to Forest Service Road 824, then 5 miles west to Bennett Trailhead.”

 

Screen Shot from the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association Website

Let’s see, you go 5 miles on FS825, then a mile on Hwy 85, then 5 miles on FS824 to the Bennett Trailhead.  That sounds like only 11 miles to me, not 20 or 30 miles.

If you take that 11 mile bypass, you would missing out on 12 miles of Maah Daah Hey Trail, which is a shame. But it’s not nearly as bad as Ted Stroll is making it out to be.  The Maah Daah Hey website even says “Some riders will just avoid the Park by starting from Bennett Trailhead.” In fact, there are only five miles of the Maah Daah Hey Trail north of the bypass. 

The Maah Daah Hey Trail Association website goes on to say about the northern unit  “MDHTA has worked for a number of years to acquire an easement for a by-pass trail but without success.”

MTB Project Rates the Buffalo Gap Trail as a 5 star Mountain Biking Trail

And in the southern Theodore Roosevelt National Park Unit, all you have to do is take the Buffalo Gap Trail to bypass the Wilderness.  The Buffalo Gap Trail Trail is rated a 5 star mountain biking trail by MTB Project.  It is actually 7 miles longer than taking the Maah Daah Hey Trail through the southern unit.  So, mountain bikers will be encountering many miles of wonderful trail which will not have very many hikers on it, because the hikers will be taking the Trail through the park.

Also, you may have noticed that Ted Stoll made another pitch on the Frontlines Podcast for people to send money to the Sustainable Trails Coalition.  Given all the fibs Ted Stroll has been telling, I’d say a better use of the money would be donating to the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association so they can purchase an easement around the Wilderness Area in the Northern Unit.

IMBA blatantly gives the wrong information to the Forest Service

Incorrectly Quotes Participation Study
In a letter to the Alleghany National Forest in support of mountain biking at Tracy Ridge, IMBA gives the Forest Service totally incorrect information.  The whole letter can be viewed here: http://tmanshikes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Tracy-Ridge-Shared-Use-Trails-EA-Comments-Google-Docs2.pdf 

The letter written by Anthony Duncan, Altantic Region Director of IMBA says the following:

Screen shot from IMBA Letter to the Forest Service

 Let’s take a look at page 11 of the 2016 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report.

As you can clearly see,  “Road Biking, Mountain Biking and BMX” COMBINED is the Third Most Popular Activity by Participation Rate and Second in Frequency.

Anthony Duncan clearly writes that mountain biking has those statistics, which is not even close.  He also writes that mountain biking has shown an increase in participation over the most recent three year period, which is also completely wrong.  When you take a look at the individual sport breakdown on page 34 of the report, you find a different story.

It clearly says that mountain biking participation was at 2.9% in 2013, and 2.8% in 2014 and 2015, which were the last three years covered by the study.  And as you can see from the breakout, even backpacking, which is listed two rows above mountain biking, has better numbers than mountain biking.  That's right, people would rather lug a backpack into the woods than go mountain biking.

Impacts to Wildlife

In the “Impacts to Wildlife” section of the letter, it mentions a study by Audrey Taylor and Richard L Knight is favorable to mountain biking.  It says the study notes “a general lack of difference between wildlife responses to hikers and bicyclers..." But here is a quote about that study.

Screen shot from Taylor and Knight study

That's right, since Mountain Bikers cover 2 to 3 times more ground than Hikers, they are disturbing 2 to 3 times more wildlife.  This all seem rather logical.


STC's Gig
Misinformation has always been the Sustainable Trails Coalition's Gig.  Right from the get go, when you visit their website they are lying.

Screen shot from STC's website

Really? Do they have just ONE quote from President Lyndon B Johnson that he never intended to ban bicycles in Wilderness Areas?  NO THEY DON'T.

While the Sustainable Trails Coalition is "Just Making Up Stuff," it's sad to see that IMBA is blatantly giving out the wrong information.