File a scoping comment on the Forest Service travel management notice by 23 September 2026

What PEVRA is asking the Forest Service for

The proposed exemption draws the line at a name, not at a fact. It would exempt a class 1 electric bicycle from the motor vehicle use designation requirement, using a definition written around the shape of a bicycle: pedals, and a motor that works only while the rider pedals. That definition says nothing about the effects the rule cares about — weight, width, speed, noise, emissions or ground pressure. An electric unicycle weighs 35 to 80 pounds, is about 20 inches wide, has no engine and puts one narrow tyre on the ground, and today it is a motor vehicle barred from every trail not designated for motor vehicle use.

Three asks:

• Define the exemption by objective criteria. Electric propulsion only, curb weight under 150 pounds, width under 30 inches, no internal combustion engine — rather than by the named category class 1 electric bicycle alone. The National Park Service used exactly this approach in its 2026 rule.
• Add an alternative to the environmental impact statement that extends the exemption to that criteria-based class on trails where bicycle use is allowed, under the same plan direction, seasonal restrictions and site-specific restrictions that bind class 1 electric bicycles.
• Keep the decision local. A criteria-based exemption still lets each responsible official restrict or close a trail for specific, documented and justifiable reasons. What it removes is a national prohibition that rests on the shape of the machine.

PEVRA supports and advises full compliance with every speed limit and every closure a land manager sets, and asks that limits be set for the rider and the trail rather than by requiring a speed governor built into the device.

How to file

Comments go to docket FS-2026-0100 on regulations.gov, or by mail to the Director, Public Benefits, USDA Forest Service, 201 14th Street SW, Public Benefits Office, Washington, DC 20250. No scoping meetings are planned; a written comment is the only input.

The full text PEVRA filed is in the repository at docs/alerts/2026-08-28-usfs-travel-management-comment.md.