NPS Director to speak at IMBA World Summit

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, US National Park Service Director Mary A. Bomar will give a keynote address at the organization's 2008 World Summit. Bomar is one of the most senior officials charged with managing federal lands.

IMBA and the National Park Service are in the fourth year of a formal partnership to consider new opportunities for mountain bicycling on NPS-managed lands. As leader of the National Park Service (NPS), Bomar is responsible for 391 sites and a team of 20,000 employees.

The 2008 IMBA World Summit will be held in Park City, Utah, June 18-21. Held biannually for more than a decade, IMBA Summits bring mountain biking advocates, land managers, ski resort professionals, trailbuilders, park and urban planners, tourism officials and the bike industry together for collaboration, planning, and celebration.

IMBA has been working in support of the NPS Centennial Initiative, a campaign to boost funding for the agency's 100th anniversary in 2016. Over the next decade, the project would dedicate an additional US$100 million a year for park operations, and $100 million annually to match donations to the National Park Service for centennial projects and programs. The Centennial Challenge matching fund legislation must be approved by Congress, and IMBA has mobilized mountain bicyclists to support the campaign. This spring, more than 500 cyclists took this message in person to Capitol Hill.

Other IMBA summit speakers include Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Trek President John Burke, Australian trailbuilder Glen Jacobs and senior recreation officials from the National Park Service, US Forest Service, US Bureau of Land Management, and Parks Canada.