The Bureau of Land Management’s Colorado River Valley Field Office is looking to vastly expand where it allows e-bikes on trails.
The agency is seeking public input on a proposal to allow Class 1 e-bikes on all designated mechanized mountain bike trails within the jurisdiction of the office, based in Silt.
It says there are more than 220 miles of single-track mountain bike trails under the office’s purview. This currently includes about 18 miles of designated mountain bike trails open to Class 1 e-bikes on the Grand Hogback Trail System north of Rifle.
The Colorado River Valley Field Office manages BLM mountain bike trail systems in cooperation with local government land managers including Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Eagle County, Pitkin County Open Space, Carbondale, Eagle, Gypsum and New Castle.
During the first Trump administration, David Bernhardt, who was then secretary of the Department of Interior and grew up in Rifle, issued an order to boost the use of e-bikes on public lands. The BLM then issued a rule in 2020 that let it consider allowing e-bikes on nonmotorized trails where mountain bikes are allowed by excluding e-bikes from the definition of an off-road vehicle.
That same year, the then-manager of the Colorado River Valley Field Office decided to allow the use of Class 1 e-bikes on the then-proposed Rifle trails, which since have been built. E-bikes come in three classes. Class 1 bikes have a motor that provides assistance only when the cyclist is pedaling and stops assisting when the bike is going 20 mph or more.
In 2022 the BLM decided to allow Class 1 e-bikes on current and planned trails in the North Fruita Desert Special Recreation Management Area. Later that same year a local BLM official said people seemed pretty happy about the e-bikes being allowed there and there hadn’t been many conflicts.
In 2023, however, the BLM under the Biden administration issued a new policy under which it planned to take a “cautious approach” to allowing e-bikes on otherwise-nonmotorized trails. The agency cited enforcement challenges and still-evolving research when it comes to impacts from allowing such use. It pointed to potential issues surrounding public safety, trail user conflicts and possible impacts on resources.
In a BLM news release Friday, Lisa Dawson, manager of the Colorado River Valley Field Office, said that in January 2024, “local mountain bike groups asked us to consider allowing Class 1 e‑bikes on mountain bike trails within the field office. We followed up with surveys, public meetings, and visitor use monitoring. The feedback showed there was enough interest for us to move forward with an environmental assessment.”
The BLM is holding an initial public scoping period to seek feedback that can help guide its decisions on whether to allow Class 1 e-bikes on more designated mountain bike trails and which trails are best suited for them.
“We know more people are riding e-bikes on natural trails, and when it makes sense, we work to improve access so everyone can enjoy our great trail systems,” BLM Colorado Outdoor Recreation Planner Alan Czepinski said in the release. “We encourage people to share their ideas, concerns, or suggestions about this proposal. Your input helps us make informed decisions.”
Comments are being accepted on the proposal through March 25. Project details will be available at tinyurl.com/4t5etkt8, where people also can submit comments.
Public meetings on the proposal also are planned March 11 in Eagle and March 18 in Silt.
For more information, contact the Colorado River Valley Field Office at 970-876-9000.
