FAMB E-Bike Survey Featured in Outside Magazine Article

On August 29th, 2019, the Secretary of the Interior issued a Secretarial Order stating that e-bikes should be allowed anywhere regular bikes are allowed in National Parks and on BLM land, and giving the relevant governmental agencies 30 days to promulgate rules. While this doesn't impact us much here in the Flathead Valley, there are questions about whether the US Forest Service might implement such changes sometime in the near future. For more on this issue, check out this article appearing in Outside Magazine, featuring statements from FAMB Board Member Noah Bodman: https://www.outsideonline.com/2402117/public-lands-ebikes 

On September 1, FAMB conducted a brief survey to gauge public opinion on how e-bikes should be looked at by land managers for purposes of deciding access. 79% of respondents said their primary trail use was mountain biking, and 15% said their primary trail use was on foot. The e-bike question was almost a dead heat: 38% thought e-bikes should be viewed as motorized vehicles, 27% thought e-bikes should be treated just like mountain bikes, and 35% felt that e-bikes deserve to be looked at as a new and separate category of trail use.