PEER Sues National Park Service For Allowing e-Bikes In National Parks

The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) recently filed a lawsuit claiming that the National Park Service’s decision to allow e-bikes in certain areas of national parks was illegal.  The basis for the complaint is that NPS failed to first follow the rule making process or conduct appropriate environmental analyses.  The decision consisted of a Secretarial Order stating that e-bikes “shall be allowed where other types of bicycles are allowed” based on those bicycles being exempt from the existing regulatory definition of motor vehicles.  PEER asserted that this finding was contrary to that existing regulation which defines bicycles as being “propelled solely by human power.”  PEER also claimed that NPS held improper meetings with advocates of e-bikes without providing public notice of those meeting or opening them to the public.