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Congress, Let Bicycles Back In, Andrew Applegate

BYU Law Review

The Wilderness Act of 1964 protects certain federal lands in the United States, called “wilderness areas,” from human habitation and development. When the Wilderness Act was first passed, nonmotorized bicycle travel was allowed in wilderness areas. However, in 1984, the United States Forest Service altered its interpretation of the statutory text of the Wilderness Act and banned nonmotorized bicycle travel in wilderness areas. Seeking to reverse the Forest Service’s blanket-ban on bicycles in wilderness areas, bicycle activists sought a legislative remedy. In March of 2017, House Federal Lands Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock introduced House Bill 1349 to the United States …