[pct-l] Forest Service...ban . ..mountain bikes on PCT

[Heather Darnell]

Good Catch, Squatch! If you were referring to the information on the Facebook page called “Sharing the PCT” that shows their rejection letter! 
I’m sure there will be lots of responses to this, and I’m not waiting to read them, just putting in my .02 now!

Mountain bikers are directed how to respond, and I’m urging hikers to follow those same instructions for the hiker point of view. Here are the instructions, quoted:
1) Contact your member of Congress. Tell them who you are and what you want. Make it reflect your personal views. A sample letter is shown below.

 .2) Contact Tom Tidwell, the Chief of the Forest Service, in Washington, D.C. Tell him who you are and what you want. Make it also reflect your personal views. His contact info is here: (direct e-mail address ttidwell at fs.fed.us).
 
Re your letter to your Congressmember, here's a SAMPLE. Since your member of Congress likely won’t know much about the PCT, it’s probably best to start your request with an introductory paragraph along these lines:« Dear [name of Congressmember]:”
 
Here is where the quoting stops. I am re-writing the letter found there, to better suit the purposes of hikers

"I am a hiker who would like to walk at least some part of the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs for over 2,600 miles from Canada to Mexico along the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. In 1988 the Forest Service closed the PCT to bicycles to help preserve the wilderness and keep hikers safe I SUPPORT that closure order.

On February 5, 2013, the Forest Service announced the ban on cyclists remains in effect. and plans to keep safe for hikers and wildlife those portions  already closed to bicycles. Again, I SUPPORT that closure order. 
There are numerous reports of bicycle vs hiker incidents. The hiker is usually seriously harmed, and the careful planning, finances and logistics that went into his or her hike are non-recoverable. (Bicyclists do not necessarily carry insurance to cover loss or damages.) The cyclist and his or her bike are often damaged, as are native flora and the trail itself, due to heavy braking, tumultuous falls, and swerving off-trail. 
Mountain bikers have formed a group called the Pacific Crest Trail Reassessment Initiative (PCTRI) to work on getting the closure rescinded or at least reassessed so that ALL cyclists can more of the PCT. By ALL, I mean to include those who do not contribute to trail maintenance (bicycles can cause serious ruts in the pathway, which destroys planned water run-off and creates very difficult-to-unsafe hiking conditions.) Interestingly, in their petition, they fail to acknowledge how much of the trail is accessible to bikes in certain areas – especially near towns through which the trail passes.  A flaw in their argument is that they will bring more revenue to economically depressed towns near the trails. Which is where they already have access. Opening other stretches of trail will not greatly help those towns.
I am writing to ask you to support the Forest Service in preserving the 1988 order. As even the mountain bikers agree, the Forest Service knows very well how to manage shared-use (for foot traffic and wheeled traffic) trails, and this is why they have chosen to preserve the PCT. The PCT deserves to  be protected,. Please support the Forest Service!
Sincerely,
[Your name] 
In addition to the foregoing and any points you think of yourself, you could mention these items to your member of Congress, the Chief of the Forest Service, and the PCTA (but keep it short!):
1. Any statistics you can provide regarding hours and dollars on the part of trail crews and trail angels in maintaining and preserving the PCT.
2. The Pacific Crest Trail Association admits that it cannot keep up with maintaining the entire trail. It seeks federal funding to do the work. If mountain bikers are sincere in their suggestion that they will support trail maintenance, they need to demonstrate those efforts AHEAD of time, putting into place preventative measures NOW that guarantee to protect the trail, hikers and wildlife, not make promises that may or may not be fulfilled in the future. 
3. Because mountain biking is often quiet, there is no warning when cyclists are about to come flying down hill or around a curve. There are numerous instances of bicyclists riding portions of the trail that are closed to wheeled traffic. There have been many You Tube videos where riders flaunt their violations of safety requirement. Fortunately, there are MANY other places that are both safe and designated for bicycles! 
5. A significant portion of the support for mountain biking is derived from legal representatives and motorcyclists, who have been very open in their desire to “ride on the coattails” of bicyclists to gain more access for motorcycles as well. This cannot be allowed to happen. It is my very grave concern, regarding the PCT and wheeled vehicles, that “if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. ” .Thank you for your support! We hope to end this campaign in such a way that the doors are closed to future such requests, leaving your time and energy for more appropriate and relevant concerns..

Yes, this is lengthy. And that's because I strongly urge you to TAKE ACTION by writing to your representative, and I am making it as easy as possible to do so by including all the information in one place. 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 11:30:23 -0800
> From: "Scott \"Squatch\" Herriott" <yetifan7 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] Forest Service rejects efforts to rescind
> or restrict
>     ban on mountain bikes on PCT!
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID:
>     <CAE+nFzLKr5KWLPN3T4Z-O3ZTum+L+dB-mBaryG3zQZ8sTOV8dg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> Sweet!
> https://www.facebook.com/SharingThePct?fref=ts
> Squatch
> squatchfilms.com