Dear HCN,
As a dedicated
mountain bike enthusiast and wilderness preservation advocate, I
take keen interest in the divergent opinions expressed by Carroll
and Hasenauer in “Do mountain bikes belong in the
wilderness” (HCN, 3/3/03: The Wild Card). I frequently
ruminate over both sides of this debate when enjoying wilderness
outings, by foot, in designated areas. When it’s all said and
done, I find myself agreeing with the position of Carroll that my
bike simply does not belong in wilderness areas.
But what
about the domesticated horse? Horse use conjures romantic images
and traditional notions of backcountry travel in the U.S. Indeed,
pack-stock travel was so commonplace in Aldo Leopold’s time
that he conceived of wilderness as representing an area large
enough to accommodate a two-week pack-stock trip. And while stock
use has presumably decreased since the passage of the Wilderness
Act in 1964, the ecological impacts associated with horse use in
primitive areas are undeniable. One only has to consider the major
impacts to trails from horse use due to erosion, informal trail
development, muddy quagmires and soil compaction.
True,
mountain bikes may have similar, yet far less-intensive impacts on
trails. And while Carroll astutely notes how the now lighter and
technologically advanced mountain bikes enable riders to venture
deeper in the wilderness, the overall impact of bikes pale in
comparison to those inflicted by the heavy weight of a horse, which
is carried on a small, and usually shod, hoof.
So what
does all this mean? Should travel in wilderness areas be regulated
on the basis of two primary criteria: Travel that is both
nonmechanized and solely human-powered? Maybe so, if wilderness
areas are to be managed in the spirit of the law, in a manner that
“will leave them unimpaired for future use” and ensure
the “preservation of the wilderness character.” In the
meantime, the discussion over which type of human travel belongs in
wilderness cannot be taken to a logical and perhaps fruitful end
without bringing the horse, as well as the bike, into the
debate.
Brad T. Clark
Fort Collins,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline What about horses?.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
