A group of environmentalists has sued the Marin Municipal Water District over bike access on Mount Tamalpais.
The lawsuit claims a pilot program to open 7 miles of watershed trails to bikes is bad for the mountain. The suit states the water district failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act by forgoing an analysis of the potential disturbances to the habitat from bike riding.
Marin Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet granted a temporary restraining order Thursday blocking the district from welcoming mountain bikers and e-bike riders on select trails one day before the two-year pilot was set to begin.
“While we are disappointed that our plans have been postponed, Marin Water respects the decision of Judge Andrew Sweet and will adhere to his direction to pause implementation of the programs,” the district said in a statement Thursday. “We request that all visitors to the watershed please adhere to the court’s order and follow all current watershed rules.”
The plaintiffs in the case are the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, the Marin Audubon Society and the Marin Conservation League.
In the suit, the group says the project area “contains critical biological resources, including dozens of rare plant species and plant communities, the federally listed Northern spotted owl and up to eight special-status bat species.
“The addition of mountain bikes and e-bikes to these trails and roads for an indefinite two year period has the potential to harm these resources, disturbing owl nest sites and activity centers, trampling scarce and rare plant […]
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