Recreational Biking Off Limits in All Training Areas

--Media Release from Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Non-military use of Fort Bragg’s training areas is illegal, unsafe and can detract from the essential land use of training Soldiers. Fort Bragg’s training areas are off limits to all recreational biking.

          While Fort Bragg’s All American Trail, many cantonment trails and Smith Lake Recreational Area do offer recreation opportunities, these specifically-designated sites are set aside for personnel to safely exercise, bike ride, run and walk.

          “Some of the risks associated with unauthorized biking in Fort Bragg training areas are the possibility of encountering unexploded ordnance,” said Bill Edwards, Fort Bragg installation range officer.  “This includes the possibility of risky encounters with very heavy military vehicles that might have limited visibility and disrupting important training activities.”

          Also illegal is disturbing protected cultural resource and archaeological sites.

          If the integrity of the context in which artifacts are buried is disturbed or destroyed, the value of the record is diminished, said Dr. Joseph Herbert, archaeologist from Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Management Program.

          “Everyone loves a trail through the woods, but constructing technical features can destroy the integrity of the archaeological record and is strictly prohibited on protected sites,” said Herbert.

          Restricted archaeological areas on Fort Bragg are posted with signs, prohibiting ground disturbance such as the construction of mountain bike technical structures and features that include digging or other ground-disturbing activities, said Herbert.