With today's major shift in Washington D.C., IMBA continues our work to create, enhance, and protect great places to ride mountain bikes through our commitment to partnerships, bipartisanship, and civility. Our efforts include policy outcomes with agency officials, legislative victories with elected officials, and advocacy engagement with mountain bikers across the country.
 
In this work, we're fortunate as mountain bikers that trails bring us together. Trails rely on partnerships deeply rooted in a shared value—respect and admiration for our great outdoors. It is thanks to these partnerships combined with the voices of mountain bikers like you that we made monumental gains for trails in 2020: passing the historic Great American Outdoors Act, advancing several key public lands bills in Congress, and engaging with Federal agencies on land planning and rulemaking. In 2021 we’re continuing the momentum and staying engaged in our trusted democratic process to keep making mountain biking better, together.

What does the new administration mean for mountain biking?

We expect the new administration to be more focused on public lands policy that pertains to environmental protections, climate change initiatives, and renewable energy development. We will work to ensure new land protection efforts give appropriate attention to mountain biking and access to quality recreation. Sustainable trails and recreation can play an important role in protecting public lands.
 
IMBA has long maintained bipartisan relationships with elected officials, and the slim margins between parties in the new 117th Congress indicate bipartisanship is as important as ever. Mountain bikers helped IMBA advance 12 priority bills in the 116th Congress through local advocacy, national momentum, and strong recreation partnerships. IMBA and our partners remain engaged on these bills and plan for many to be reintroduced in the 117th Congress.
 
This work includes national efforts to increase access and equity in the outdoors through bills including the Recreation Not Red Tape Act and the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act. We also partner with local mountain bikers on bills that benefit trails in their backyards, such as the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act in California, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act in Colorado, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act in Montana, and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Advancement Act in Utah.  

We’re working with local mountain bike organizations, recreation and conservation partners, and elected officials on both sides of the aisle. As always with this work, your voices will be the catalyst that helps create, enhance and protect great places to ride mountain bikes. Let’s put more trails close to home, for more people in more places. Thank you for staying engaged.