Due to the recent news of unauthorized trail activity at Fort Harrison State Park, I would like to review HMBA’s mission statement with respect to unauthorized trail build.
“The mission of The Hoosier Mountain Bike Association, a Chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association (HMBA-IMBA) is to promote responsible mountain biking and work towards the goals of common land access, and natural resource protection, through local (Central Indiana) and statewide relationships and initiatives.”
Let’s break this down and see how it applies to unauthorized trail building.
Responsible mountain biking means that we only build and work on trails with approval from the Land Manger.
Common land access means that we are understand that other groups have interests in our public lands and that we must all work together. No single group is going to get everything they want.
Natural resource protection means that we value our natural resources and therefor want to work with land managers to ensure our trails do not adversely impact the natural landscape and historic sites on our public lands.
Statewide relationships means that we work with land managers, including the DNR. HMBA has built over 100 miles of trail legally on DNR property, we are actively building trail, and have more trails in the planning stage.
Paul Arlinghaus
President, Hoosier Mountain Bike Association
