Meet IMBA government affairs director Jenn Dice, the woman who takes on Washington in the name of singletrack.
This spring Jenn Dice of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) and the Outdoor Alliance (OA) went to Washington DC, to make the case for more singletrack. She came home to Colorado celebrating a renewed partnership with the National Parks Service (NPS) that may see more mountain biking in the parks. IMBA and the National Bike Summit brought 725 people to the capitol for three days, the largest ever gathering of bike advocates in DC. It’s a day’s work for Dice who as IMBA’s government affairs director convinces Congress and land managers that more bikes and trails make for better public lands. With a new President in DC and the collaborative muscle of the Outdoor Alliance to boost the cause, she sees more good news for singletrack on the way.
What does it mean that IMBA is renewing its partnership the National Parks Service?
For five more years, we will be partnering closely with the NPS to build trails and get more kids and families out. It’s been such a big priority for IMBA because when most people think about pristine places, they think about the parks and we want to make sure that bicycling is a part of that experience. I mean when you drive through a park, how many cars, mini vans, RVs do you see with bikes on the back? We want to make sure they have a place to ride. Previously, there had been no opportunities. That’s why this has been such a high priority for us. We have had a lot of big successes in national parks, at places where you were told you couldn’t bike before and now you can.
Where are your greatest success stories?
The places where park superintendents have said not only do we want mountain biking, but we want more and expanded mountain biking. New River Gorge in West Virginia has been a big success story. We are building a new trail there. We have plans for trails in Chattahoochee, Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and have been talking about a trail in Texas and even one in Rocky Mountain National Park, though that is still in the Environmental Assessment (EA )phase. But that would be our most exciting project. The trail would be on the west side of the park between Granby and Grand Lake. The existing trail is a mess—it’s falling off into the lake. So we could do a lot to improve the resource.
Were you surprised that the NPS was so receptive to building new bike trails?
We were worried about it going in, but we told them that IMBA is one of the world-wide experts in tail building and construction. We told them how we could help to protect the resource through sound tail construction. We can improve the parks by building better trails, sustainable trails that people love to use. We can increase the amenities for national parks. Once they figure that out they embrace us. And more partnerships have developed because the word is spreading.
What is the Outdoor Alliance and how does it help you with your work in DC?
The Outdoor Alliance was formed when six national human-powered recreation groups came together to advocate for lands protection and funding. Hikers, climbers, mountain bikers, paddlers—these are the people who know public lands the best. We united to become a political force to lobby for recreation management. We have done a lot of work on roadless area management. We have focused on Forest Service planning, mining reform, national parks funding. We have been able to see that our collective voice is much stronger. The big thing is the power of collaboration. When we started (IMBA was a founding member of OA), no one envisioned how big and influential the coalition could be. Just a short time later we are making a big difference. We have been influencing new planning rules and we have been building important realtionships with Congress, federal land management agencies and now the White House.
Is there ever any dissention between the different groups? Don’t hikers want trails without mountain bikes for example?
We have a good set of bylaws to stay away from issues of conflict. The only places where we may conflict are regionally so we try to keep OA on a national level. We try to stay away from local infighting. It’s been easier than you might think.
The biggest issue IMBA seems to be fighting against is the creation of new Wilderness areas that close mountain bike trails. But do you have a compromise solution? Have you thought about a new designation that could protect wild lands yet include bikes?
It’s something IMBA is very much working on. There are quite a few things you cant do in Wilderness. You can’t mountain bike, set up yurts, use fixed anchors. You can’t do mechanized trail building. You can’t use a chainsaw. So we have working on other, alternative public lands designations, that are all about backcountry recreation. It’s a big initiative for IMBA.
Are there any places where Wilderness supporters and mountain bikers are working together successfully?
In Colorado, we support the San Juan Wilderness bill because they made a ton of concessions and they have wilderness plus a companion designation, a specially managed area. We love this bill because they made boundary adjustments for mountain bikes and, hey, it also protects the land.
Are there any other issues you deal with in Washington beyond managing public lands for bikes?
We are branching out more with health and obesity and getting kids moving through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and public education. When I first came to IMBA [in 2001] we reached out to the CDC. They were open but not real partners. Now, we see a lot more coalition work where bicycling is front and center and considered part of the solution. Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign lists recreation cycling as an important way to fight the health crisis. A few years ago the CDC was not making any link to biking and fighting obesity.
Has it been prodcutive to work with the Obama Administration?
It’s still too soon to tell. The threats with the Forest Service and the old administration are still here. That’s our biggest challenge—working with the Forest Service and how they manage bicycles. In certain forests they are closing a lot of trails to us. The worst thing that happens is that in certain forests, they group mountain bikes with motorized users. They don’t have a unique category for bicycles. It’s a kneejerk reaction. We get thrown in the same category as motorcycles and ATV, which do more damage. We are fighting it every step of the way.
And what about on a local level away from Washington? How do you sell mountain biking to small rural towns?
We can go to the community and say, “this is how we can build trails so that people all over the world will come.” We do consulting for trails tourism, how to turn your community into a destination for mountain biking and make it more like Moab, Downiville or Ashville. Frutia is the best example in our back yard. The parking lots are full. Hotels, gas stations and restaurants are busy. You bet those communities love mountain biking and what we do for their bottom line.•
