If you want to have reasonable access to Wilderness trails and other backcountry trails where you cannot ride today, please call, write a letter, or send an email to your United States senators and your member of Congress.

The first thing is to find them. The two buttons below will help.  Everyone who lives in a U.S. state has (a) two U.S. senators and (b) one member of Congress, also known as a representative. Please write to all three.

Once you know where to send your communications, you need to write them.

The most important thing is to speak plainly and from the heart about the problem you want to fix.  In this case it’s the federal government’s misinterpretation of the Wilderness Act and resulting blanket bicycle ban.

Here’s a letter template. Use it if you’d like, and please add your own comments, as lawmakers often disregard form communications:

Dear [U.S. Senator or Member of Congress],

I live in [city and state] and am writing to request that you support reversing the regulations that ban bikes in all federal Wilderness areas.  

The Wilderness Act shows Congress had two goals. One was to preserve “Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence.”  The Act has accomplished this nicely.  The second was to protect land for “solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.”  Those are my goals as a biker, but if I want to ride my bicycle I’m banned on every Wilderness trail 100% of the time.  There is no good reason for so broad a ban.   S. 1695 (the “The Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act”) will reverse the blanket ban and give local rangers leeway to allow, or prohibit, bikes on a trail-by-trail basis.

Please support S.1695, the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

If you would like some help in communicating with your two U.S. senators and your member of Congress, take a look at “How to Talk So Your Lawmaker Will Listen.”   Or send your drafts to info@sustainabletrailscoalition.org and we will help you fine-tune them.

In the past 11 months we have raised over $130,000 have had our proposed legislation introduced in the Senate.

Now we need to get the bill through the Senate, through the House, and signed by the President.

So we are now hoping to raise an additional $125,000 to make this bill into a law.  All money raised will be spent on DC advising and grassroots public-relations and political work.  We are all volunteers, so none of your money will go towards our salaries, retreats or lunch.  All of your money will be spent trying to make the Human Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act a law.

Please be aware that the Sustainable Trails Coalition is formed as a 501(c)(4).  As such your donations are not tax deductible.  Sorry.

If you’re worried about your name being publicly disclosed as a contributor to the Sustainable Trails Coalition, please be assured we won’t disclose this information unless required by law.

Lastly, we cannot guarantee success.  We can however guarantee that our elected representatives will hear our case and we will start a serious discussion about fixing some slightly flawed legislation.

If you would like to donate more, and maximize the effectiveness of your donation by avoiding the credit card fees, please feel free to contact us at info@sustainabletrailscoalition.org.  Or, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask or check out our frequently asked questions page, and if that doesn't help, shoot us an email.

The more people that know about our efforts, write letters, donate, and tell three more friends, the greater the chance of success.

So please, tell three of your friends to help.