Oregon Chapter of BHA submitted comments to BLM on proposed rulemaking issues April 10, 2020 to implement a S=new Secretarial Order 3376- “Increasing Recreational Opportunities through the Use of E-Bikes.” The Order would direct BLM to develop a proposed rule to revise all regulations to exempt all e-bikes form being defined as a motorized vehicle. The Oregon Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers support expanding recreational opportunities on our public lands and believe that e-bikes should have access to our roads and trails. However, this rulemaking is simply the wrong way to go about increasing motorized e-bike opportunities on BLM lands.
In our comments we encourage BLM to halt this rulemaking process. BLM has thousands of miles of roads and trails open to motorized e-bike use across the country and changing the rules redefining these motorized vehicles as non-motorized risks additional burdens on crucial wildlife habitat as well as traditional opportunities for primitive backcountry hunting and angling that we all value.