Motor or not? County to consider e-bikes on Marshall

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) A request from a specific and deeply embedded user group at Marshall Mountain may prompt the county to explore a pilot program allowing e-bikes on the park's trails.

But county officials remain cautious over the request, saying it would be hard to reverse such a program once it's permitted, and allowing e-bikes in the public park could place pressure on other landowners, including the U.S. Forest Service.

“Giving this a try is not easy,” said Jackson Lee, manager of Marshall Mountain Park. “It's trend setting, but it's hard to back up from a pilot, and it's not free. The sign package, the follow-up, the necessary administrative infrastructure to support what you can and can't do – there's all these necessary steps you have to take.”

The city and county of Missoula agreed to purchase Marshall Mountain in late 2023, placing roughly 480 acres into public ownership. The following year, Jackson said Mountain Bike Missoula submitted a petition to the county asking for a trial allowing Class 1 electric mountain bikes in the park.

The county is expected to explore the possibility but on Monday, officials didn't commit to the proposal one way or another, saying public input must first be gathered.

“We're trying to get a sense to how contentious this potentially is and how much public engagement is warranted,” said Chet Crowser, the county's chief Lands and Communities officer. “If it's a lot of hearing from the same stakeholders, the general tone we're getting is cautiously what a pilot program might look like. But we don't want to get ahead of that. We want to hear from folks.”

Heavy Mountain Bike Use

A study conducted last year by the University of Montana unveiled a range of park trends and how Marshall was being used. Using various counters and GPS, the study recorded more than 15,000 vehicles and 40,000 “triggers” at certain trail counters.

The study found than an overwhelming number of visitors were local and often returned.

“Over 86% of visitors were returning visitors and more than 75% were living locally,” Lee said. “The university said it was unique to what they've see in other studies, because we have a high rate of returning visitors.”

The study also found that visitation has steadily increased since the park went into public ownership. Visitation has grown around 6.6% each year where Montana state parks have seen a visitation increase of between 3% and 4% annually.

“We were anticipating seeing an uptick in May and June,” Lee said. “But generally, throughout the recreation season from May to October, it's fairly steady.”

The study also found that of 408 trail users surveyed, around 88% were mountain bikers. Most of those riders stayed within the park's boundaries, leading Lee to believe that Marshall offers a good blend of trails.

“Why we think that's important in the context of the trail system is because the type of trails we have at Marshall is the type of trails recreators are wanting,” he said. “It's certainly a bike park within a public park.”

Lee said a broader public discussion, along with studies and a follow-up survey, will take place before the county makes any decision on permitting electric bikes in the park.

“We exist in this broader recreation landscape where the e-bike question is contentious and challenging, and policies vary by which land manager we're talking about,” he said. “Any decisions we make at Marshall has implications for the other land managers within the Missoula Valley.”