One has to wonder why despite overwhelming evidence why E-bikes provide better accessibility to the park resources by the public and numerous studies have shown that they don't damage park resources why they have been banned from Angeles District Parks. The official answer has shifted from that stated in the Order and is now said to be because of cooperative management agreements (copies obtained through a FOIA request) between California Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service. Other parties to the agreement(s) are the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The interesting thing about the agreements are that although they suggest consistent trail management rules across the jurisdictional boundaries of the land managed by the parties there seems to be a significant component of the agreements that suggests that The Department of the Interior though the National Park Service provides funds to California State Parks for projects and maintenance upon request. This puts the National Park service in a position were they can dictate that State Parks and Recreation follow the National Park Service policy on E-bike access which is to prohibit access to natural surface bike trails. So there is money behind the motive to ban E-bikes from State Parks despite California bill AB 1096 which was signed into California law on Jan. 1, 2016. This Bill clearly states that class one and two e-bikes are to have the same bike trail access as standard bikes in California and are not to be considered motorized vehicles but are in a class of their own defined as 1, 2 or 3. This definition of E-bikes is also supported by Federal Public Law 108-319. The National Park Service is using their position that E-bikes are "motorized vehicles" and are prohibited from National Park Service bike trails. They are unduly influencing Angeles District Parks to adopt it's e-bike prohibition policy contrary to new California State Law through the terms of the cooperative management agreements because the National Park Service by wielding it's power has more influence in the the cooperative management agreements because of the money. They hold the purse strings. It's always about the money.

Please join and support with your donations (of what you can afford)  EMTBA at: https://www.electricmountainbikeassociation.org/ so we can continue to fight for your right to ride. Thank you for your support Steve Spiro, Executive Director of the Electric Mountain Bike Association.