“Public comment periods begin ending Monday, June 8, for the U.S. Department of Interior’s policy proposal to regulate e-bikes as traditional bikes on non-motorized lands.
The policy proposal in August allowed e-bikes access to non-motorized trails 30 days afterward and led to a lawsuit filed in December against the NPS. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and a coalition of conservation groups are the primary plaintiffs.
The suit says Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Deputy NPS Director P. Daniel Smith regularly met in private with an industry-dominated advisory committee at Interior headquarters and through conference calls. The suit says the meetings violate the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires transparency to prevent secret lobbying.”