Bicycles belong in wild places.
Among the many diverse designations that protect public lands from development, National Monuments occupy a unique and important position. One might think of National Monuments as places like the Statue of Liberty or the George Washington Birthplace, but the designation really applies much more to land areas, sometimes very large. And unlike wilderness and national parks, the U.S. President has the authority to designate national monuments unilaterally, under the provisions of the 1906 Antiquities Act. And he has done so often.
The Act says national monuments are or have "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest."
Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Petrified Forest in Arizona, and others in 1906 as the first national monuments. In 1908 he protected the core of the Grand Canyon – more than 800,000 acres – as a national monument. Subsequent presidents used the act extensively. Most recently (as of mid-2009) President George Bush declared three areas of the Pacific Ocean that collectively span more area than the entire national parks system. President Bill Clinton’s national monument designations prompted significant opposition from Old West, anti-preservation proponents of development, but they stand today as a huge, expansive legacy.
In general it can be said that national monuments afford about as much protection to the land as national parks… and few would say that national parks are bastions of development. All four federal land agencies manage monuments, so the particular rules vary.
Congress, too, has designated national monuments. Two of the most recent are the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains monument in California and the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington. A complete list of national monuments is available on Wikipedia.
National Monuments in general do allow mountain biking, but the details are complicated. All national monuments managed by the National Park Service are subject to its generally anti-bicycling rule, which does not ban bikes but does make it very difficult to open a trail to bicycling.
On BLM and Forest Service lands, each designation controls the rules for travel. In 1996, President Clinton assigned to the BLM its first time management responsibility for a national monument, the Grand Staircase-Escalante,. Clinton’s Proclamation did not include travel language. BLM eventually limited bicycling (and motorized travel) to designated routes only -- which in means mostly sand.
Clinton's subsequent proclamations did address travel and most used nearly identical language that prohibits motorized and mechanized travel "off road." This vague language caused confusion. Its intent was to ban off-trail, cross-country travel. But trails are not roads and it might seem to imply a ban on trail bicycling in those monuments.
Clinton’s Proclamation for the Giant Sequoia National Monument differed, in that it clearly distinguished rules for motorized from mechanized. Travel rules in the 2000 law that established the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument were more specific than ever before and clearly delineated mountain biking as an acceptable use.
When the President or Congress designates a new national monument, the agency in charge of that area creates a site-specific management plan. That plan usually includes travel rules. The plan must abide by any rules specified by the President or Congress.
I prepared the following table in 2001 while employed by the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
As established by Presidential Proclamations and specific legislation
listed chronologically
| Area | State | Acreage | Date | Agency | Travel rule in Proclamation (or legislation) |
| Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument | WA | 111,000 | 8/82 | USFS | Public Law 97-243; Sec. 4(d): "In order to protect the significant features of the Monument, reduce user conflicts, and ensure visitor safety, the Secretary is authorized to control times and means of access and use of the Monument and parts thereof; Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed as to prohibit the use of motorized vehicles, aircraft or motorboats for emergency and other essential administrative services, including those provided by State and local governments, or when necessary, for authorized scientific research." |
| Grand Staircase-Escalante | UT | 1,700,000 | 9/96 | BLM | None in Proclamation; final plan limited bicycles to roads. |
| Grand Canyon-Parashant | AZ | 1,014,000 | 1/00 | BLM | “For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road will be prohibited…” |
| California Coastal | CA | Various islands | 1/00 | NPS | None (no trails or roads on these lands). |
| Pinacles | CA | About 21,000 (7,900 added 1/00) | 1/00 | NPS | None (Existing NPS regs apply) |
| Giant Sequoia | CA | 327,769 | 4/00 | USFS | “For the purposes of protecting the objects included in the monument, motorized vehicle use will be permitted only on designated roads, and non-motorized mechanized vehicle use will be permitted only on designated roads and trails,…” |
| Agua Fria | AZ | 71,100 | 6/00 | BLM | “…all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road will be prohibited,…” |
| Canyons of the Ancients | CO | 164,000 | 6/00 | BLM | “The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a transportation plan that addresses the actions, including road closures or travel restrictions, necessary to protect the objects identified in this proclamation.” |
| Cascade-Siskiyou | OR | 52,000 | 6/00 | BLM | “the Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road and shall close the Schoheim Road,…” |
| Hanford Reach | WA | 195,000 | 6/00 | Fish & Wildlife Service | “…the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road,…” |
| Ironwood NM | AZ | 128,917 | 6/00 | “The Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road…” | |
| Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains | CA | 272,000 | 10/00 | BLM and USFS | Public Law 106–351, Sec. 5: "(a) RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES GENERALLY.—The management plan required by section 4(a) shall include provisions to continue to authorize the recreational use of the National Monument, including such recreational uses as hiking, camping, mountain biking, sightseeing, and horseback riding, as long as such recreational use is consistent with this Act and other applicable law. (b) MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—Except where or when needed for administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency, use of motorized vehicles in the National Monument shall be permitted only on roads and trails designated for use of motorized vehicles as part of the management plan. " |
| Vermilion Cliffs | UT | 293,000 | 11/00 | BLM | " For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, the Secretary shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road, except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes." |
| Craters of the Moon enlargement | ID | 661,287 | 11/00 | BLM and NPS | " For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, the Secretary shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road, except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes." |
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._National_Monument
List of National Park Service national monuments: Wikipedia
List of all national monuments in the USA: Wikipedia