Protest brings legal battle to East Peak
Marin, CA | On Saturday, November 2 at 12pm, 200 riders met at the top of Mt. Tam’s East Peak to demonstrate against the injunction to MMWD’s pilot project. Mountain bikes, gravel bikes, road bikes, and shuttle vehicles filled the lot while park rangers and site-seers looked on.
Attendees found their way to the peak from all corners of Marin, to engage in the peaceful demonstration. Refreshments and conversation were followed by brief speeches by Vernon Huffman, Executive Director of Access34Bikes, and Bill Keene, A4B Board Member and Advocacy Lead of Access4Bikes Votes.
“We have worked side-by-side with MMWD staff planning and preparing these trails for responsible use and at the last hour, three organizations with a historic pattern of obstruction sued the district in an attempt to, once again, block the inevitable: bikes having fair access to some trails,” decried Huffman. Alluding to the obvious hypocrisy behind the lawsuit, Huffman cited the exploitative and non-environmentally friendly practices that make-up Mt. Tam’s history and status as a water reservoir. The real issue? Entitled users with a mechanism to hold up progress because they just don’t want to share the trails.
Having run the Sonoma County Open Space District for 13 years, overseeing the protection of 55,000 acres of land, seasoned environmentalist Bill Keene voiced his frustration with the situation. “I’m a member of the Marin Conservation League but they don’t like what I have to say because it’s what I tell you, […] I’m part of a new environmentalism that’s welcoming to all users.“ He went on to add, “This suit is the work of a few people. [As an MCL member], I was not asked if I supported the suit and no one is returning my emails. […] What they are really about is ‘not in my backyard, not in my own private Idaho’.”
So, what can a rider do? “You can write letters to these organizations, you can write letters to the editor of the Marin IJ, the San Francisco Chronical,” said Keene.
After speeches wrapped, riders descended the mountain via routes of their choosing, with many ending the day at SplitRock Tap & Wheel in Fairfax.
KEEP AN EYE OUT: The protest was covered by former Marin resident and A4Ber, Maureen Gaffney of Outside Magazine. The lawsuit is also being covered by Curtis Alexander at the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll link their articles here when they’re released.
