Where Ted Stroll got it wrong in STC’s Objection to the Bitterroot Travel Plan.

Recently, Ted Stroll and the Sustainable Trails Coalition published a bloated 9 pages of gobbly gook, which is their Objection to the Bitterroot Travel Plan. The Objection is full of misinformation and false statements. The Objection Letter is located here: STC's Bitteroot Objection. I don't have the time and will power to write about all of them but here are a few of them

Relying too much on the Wilderness Act
In the Response, Ted comically writes that the Forest Service relies too much on the Wilderness Act when making their decision. Here it is:

excerpt from STC's Objection to the Bitterroot Travel Plan

Instead, Ted concludes that the Forest Service should be following the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977. But there’s only one problem with that. The actual MWSA of 1977 says that the Wilderness Study Areas created by the Act must “be administered by the Secretary of the Agriculture so as to maintain the presently existing wilderness character and potential for inclusion in the Wilderness Preservation System.” In other words, those Wilderness Study Areas must be managed just like a Wilderness Area until Congress decides on them. The Wilderness Act clearly states “no other form of mechanical transport.”. All agencies that manage Wilderness Areas (National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and even the Forest Service) agree that mountain bikes are banned from Wilderness Areas. Therefore allowing mountain bikes in the WSA’s created by the Montana Wilderness Study Area Act of 1977 would not be maintaining the “Wilderness Character” of those Areas.

Excerpt from the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977

Also, letting mountain bikers continue to ride in these WSAs will make them become more attached to these areas. They will become more opposed to the creation of those Wilderness Areas. This is not maintaining the “potential for inclusion in the Wilderness Preservation System"

And one last thing, Ted and STC seems to think there is an additional category that bikes are placed into. They write: "The Record of decision relies on the the Wilderness Act in placing mountain biking in a separate category, ie, a middle ground that is neither motorized or unaided by mechanical assistance.”   Again, the Wilderness Act does no such thing. There are only two categories. They are items that are considered mechanical transport and items that are not.

Abandonment of Trails.
In the follow passage Ted laments on the Forest Service abandonment of trails.

Excerpt from STC Objection to the Bitterroot Travel Plan

Some of the stuff in that passage is an outright lie. He lists three things as the main causes. In the first reason he writes blames the Forest Service’s refusal to use chainsaws and wheelbarrows and chainsaws “even though the Wilderness Act of 1964 allows for the use of this equipment.” Well, Ted, the Wilderness Act clearly says “no use of motorized equipment” and “no other form of mechanical transport.”

 After the 1999 Derecho the Forest Service use chainsaws to assist the evacuation of people in the interior.

Clearly, chainsaws are motorized equipment and wheelbarrows are mechanical transport. Yes, chainsaws can be used in an emergency situation. Such was the case when a giant windstorm hit the Boundary Waters and people were trapped in the interior regions. But just having some overgrown trails is not an emergency situation. Also, the rules for the Wilderness allow for small handheld devices such as electric shavers and transistor radios. You have to remember that back in 1964 transistor radios were small and not very loud. People used them just to get the weather report.

Cross Cut Saws are used in Wilderness Areas

Chainsaws that can be heard from a mile away are not small hand held devices. Instead, Cross Cut Saws must be used in Wilderness Areas.  They do a good job but are a workout.

On his second reason, I actually agree with Ted. The Forest Service’s Budget and personnel have been strained because of fighting forest fires. That’s why Forest Rangers don’t need the added responsibility and headaches involved in deciding which trails in Wilderness Areas should have mountain bikes. Wilderness Areas are less than 2.7% of the land area in the lower 48 States, and even Ted Stroll has said it will never be over 3%. There just isn't enough pristine land left in the lower 48 States to make much more Wilderness.

Mountain bikers have plenty of places to ride in the vicinity of Blue Joint and Sapphire.

 And mountain bikers themselves are less than 3% of the population. Mountain bikers have never shown any data to suggest they don’t have enough places to ride. We should just leave the Wilderness Areas for their intended purposes: for the preservation of the land and as a wildlife sanctuary.
 

A North Country Trail Work Crew looking clean before heading out to work on the Trail.

And his 3rd reason Ted harps about the inadequate use of volunteers. He says that mountain bikers are “famous for our prodigious and unmatched trail-maintenance effort. “ Everybody should now take a bow to mountain bikers who are god’s gift to trail maintenance. Never mind that the Appalachian Trail, North Country Trail, Ice Age Trail and a host of other trails are maintained solely by hikers, and the Pacific Crest Trail is maintained by hikers and horseback riders. 

Again, mountain bikers are less than 3% of the population and the mountain bikers who maintain trails are a fraction of that. Basically what’s going to happen is if mountain bikers start maintaining Wilderness Trails, well, they are not going to be able to maintain all the trails they already have outside of the Wilderness. Some towns have spent a lot of time, money and hard work creating wonderful mountain biking trail systems. It would be a shame if those systems fall into disrepair because mountain biking trail maintainers are going elsewhere.

Because mountain bikers go faster, they need longer sight lines than hikers.

And here are some more thoughts on Trail Maintenance in Wilderness Areas. Many times mountain bikers claim that trails in Wilderness Areas are not cleared properly. Well, trails in Wilderness Areas are cleared to a “minimum standard.” Mountain bikers need the trail cleared more than the minimum standard because mountain bikers are going faster and need longer sight lines. Also, if Ted Stroll and STC are so concerned about Trail Maintenance, why don’t they sponsor some trail clearing trips. So far to my knowledge, STC has not done one iota of trail work.

Unconstitutional and a Violation of the First Amendment. 

In the last few pages of STC’s objection letter they claim that the Forest Service violated the First Amendment and is unconstitutional. The whole problem with that STC is ignoring is that the Travel Plan really doesn’t affect the Sapphire and Blue Joint Wilderness Study Areas. The rules for those two areas were set by the Montana Wilderness Study Area Act of 1977, and the comment period for those rules happened back then.

Ted Stroll testifies for a the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Sustainable Trails Coalition not suing the Forest Service. Ted Stroll and STC wrote 9 pages of gobbly gook for the Bitteroot Travel Plan Objection. Ted Stroll traveled to Washington DC last year to testify before Congress. But Ted and STC are still unwilling to sue the Forest Service to get mountain bikes into Wilderness Areas. With all the time and effort they've been spending on this, they could have sued the Forest Service ten times. The reason they won’t sue the Forest Service is they know full well they would lose. The Wilderness Act clearly says “no other form of mechanical transport,” and that bans bicycles in Wilderness Area, period.

The Wilderness Areas that are known as Boulders/White Cloud

What needs to happen
Simply put Congress needs to decide on these Wilderness Study Areas.  That's what happened in 2015 when Congress approved the Boulders/White Clouds Wilderness Areas in Idaho.  At that time Congress released 155,000 acres of land from Wilderness Study Area status which can potentially become multi-use.  Of course, I am hoping the decision of Congress will be to approve Sapphire and Blue Joint as Wilderness Areas.  These national treasures deserve the Wilderness designation