- The Heritage Act respects mountain bike and provides for access to over 300 miles of trails and roads on the Rocky Mountain Front.

- The Heritage Act does not lump mountain bike and motorized in the same category of recreational use.

- The Heritage Act allows for the opportunity for mountain bike advocates to work with federal land managers and others in creating new mountain bikes trails, as part of the travel planning process.

- Within the 218,000 acre Conservation Management Area there are no changes to management of mountain bike use.

Will wilderness areas be closed to mountain biking?

Yes, wilderness areas are special places where we leave our wheels behind. The 1964 Wilderness Act—a landmark conservation measure—precludes roads, permanent structures, motor vehicles, motorboats, aircraft landings and mechanical transport. By accepting these limits to our usual urban ways we keep and pass on the gift of wilderness to future gen­erations.

How would passage of the Heritage Act impact mountain use on the Front?

There would be no changes to mountain bikes from the way they are currently managed for the vast majority of public lands of the Front.  The only exception is within Deep Creek because the Heritage Act would designate this a part of this area as wilderness.  Therefore, approximately 20 miles of trails would be closed to mountain bike use.

How many miles of trails are available for mountain bike use on the Front?

A total of about 147 miles would continue to allow hiking, stock, and bicycle1 travel yearlong. An additional 158 miles of unrestricted access to trails and roads would be unaffected.

Were mountain bike users consulted during the development of the Heritage Act? 

Yes, during the development of the Heritage Act folks from the Coalition met with members of the mountain bike community in Helena and Great Falls.  We visited local bike shops and talked about both the Heritage Act.  The Coalition also sponsored public discussions with community members in Great Falls, Helena, Choteau and Augusta and had follow-up discussions with mountain bike users to discuss the Heritage Act.

One local (Fairfield) member of the Coalition’s steering committee is an avid mountain biker who helped talk about the recreational opportunities for mountain biking on the Front and look at how the Heritage Act might affect mountain bike trails. 

How will the existing mountain bike trails be managed?

Basically, we followed the requirements of the Lewis and Clark National Forest Birch Creek South Travel Plan which had broad-based public support and was not challenged by mountain bikers, conservationists or other non-motorized users.  The Heritage Act does not affect mountain bike travel within the Badger-Two Medicine area of the public lands.

The Forest Service will retain the ability to manage trails through administrative procedures such as recontouring old trails, decommissioning and rehabilitating trails to ensure future cycling use on trails where they currently allow cycling.