The compromise in earlier versions was historic, showing you as a leader in figuring out how to manage multiple conflicting interests while protecting land from development, and reflecting well on your legacy. It is my view that much of the political support that coalesced behind the earlier versions was contingent upon this compromise. I know mine was: I wrote a number of letters to the editor supporting your earlier proposals, urged many other cyclists to do the same, conducted numerous exploratory rides of the area and posted photos and information to the public. Despite the fact that as a mountain biker I would lose access to some of the less well-known trails on the mountain, I supported this legislation because I felt protecting the land from development and destruction was even more important.
So to learn that the provision that ensured my earlier support had been removed -- and that the clean, quiet, environmentally friendly and perfectly compatible activity of riding a bicycle will be banned from 130 miles of trails -- feels like a hammer to the chest. It is simply heartbreaking for me to learn that this brutal loss is the first direct consequence of our wonderful and historic victories in November.
I regret that I must vehemently oppose the Wilderness bill in its current form, and I urge you to do the same unless it is fixed.
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