I work in the bike industry for brands that make bikes and e-bikes (disclaimer).
Firstly on the forum request: I think this is a great idea. People are hunting with e-bikes and will continue to do so. Why not aggregate good information about what's working and what's not? Also a good opportunity to educate e-bike people on what is legal and not as better light is shed on what arguably has been a Wild West mentality.
Secondly on the activity. I'm in the industry, I'm an avid cyclist, own e-bikes and yet don't hunt with them. I've considered it in several areas but they just don't work for the majority of places I hunt, backpacks and boots are the only things that can get into these spots. I see a lot of parallels between the hunting access e-bike conversation and the 90s and early 2000s conversations between mtn bikers and hikers. There wasn't an immediate understanding of the trail impact of mtn biking or the difficulties and dangers of true multi-use single track. The fact is, even a bicycle without a motor causes significantly more trail erosion than walking, also trails that are "good" hike trails don't necessarily make "good" bike trails and vice versa. Since then the bike community has gotten a lot better about proactive trail designation and right of way, these two communities are getting along much better as a result. I do believe e-bikes have a place in hunting and I'd much rather see them (or hear them) than a swarm of atvs. That being said our community needs a lot more work around responsible trail designation to make this work well. Some areas are really easy and straight forward: Wilderness areas will never have wheels of any sort, nor should they. Many areas however are unfortunately gray. A lot of those gray areas require individual hunters and riders to work together and create clarity and designations trail by trail. Creating clarity reduces friction and helps manage expectations. At the end of the day I think there is a middle ground where some areas are accessible with them and many are not. I think there is a responsible middle ground that can be established to cover this "newer" method of access between atv and boot.
I fundamentally do not think there is any argument around special access regarding age or disability. It's frankly the wrong tool for that. I think horse and utv/atv are far better tools depending on the individual disability and circumstance. I firmly believe designation for use should be assigned to trails not to individuals or the system will be abused. What percentage of individuals do you witness leveraging a household handicap plate for convenience when getting groceries vs someone who has a struggle. I don't even bat 50% on handicap spots and that's with a full audience of peers witnessing and judging. With no one looking in a wilderness scenario those percentages will go way up. I think a better way to help those folks in need are special seasons some states afford or special hunts when pressure on animals are reduced.
If I had any feelings they would probably be hurt reading some of this crap. This forum seems to turning into a bunch of old bitter people that turn everything into a negative. Sure is entertaining though!
