Oi Tam, two items of light reading material for your perusal. If you want more "longhand" stuff, email moi & I'll send it to you.
Also an older NZ report: Conflict in Recreation: the Case of Mountain-Bikers and Trampers. A Department of Conservation report by Chrys Horn, Dr. Patrick Devlin, Dr. David Simmons
http://www.mountainbike.co.nz/politics/articles/horn/index.htm
Lengthy but good.
SA: Eagle Mountain Bike Park
http://www.bikesa.asn.au/mtb_projects/eagle.htm
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Cyclists respond to Kosciuszko National Park Draft Plan of Management
November 24, 2004
The following article is due to appear in Australian Cyclist and was written by Jeff Ibbotson, BFA Committee member and Vice President, Pedal Power ACT
Plans are afoot to shut out cyclists from vast tracts Kosciuszko National Park if the NSW Government accepts its National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Draft Plan of Management for the Park.
This is an issue of national significance. Park authorities in other States are eyeing keenly KNP’s attempt to exclude cycling from management roads in wilderness areas.
The Bicycle Federation of Australia, Mountain Bike Australia, Bicycle NSW, Pedal Power ACT, and individual cyclists have been working together so you can keep cycling on all management roads and tracks in the Park.
The Plan of Management for a park of such national significance provides the opportunity for the NPWS to set a national example fulfil Australia Cycling 1999 -2004 The National Strategy by promoting active healthy activities like cycle tourism.
The Draft Plan would prohibit cycling on almost 500 kilometres of management roads within wilderness areas where cycling occurs now without significant impact. Concerns over impact on declared wilderness appear driven by ideology, rather than evidence and sound assessment of the relative environmental and social benefits and risks of the measures proposed.
The damage and erosion furphy
The KNP’s terrain and vegetation confines bikes to fire trails. True off road riding is virtually impossible. The existing Plan of Management confines riding to fire trails. The next Plan should as well.
The Draft Plan suggests that bikes create greater impacts than other recreational uses. However, considerable research shows that bikes have no greater physical impact than foot traffic; in many cases the impact is less. Indeed the impact of feral horses and pigs on KNP is far greater than any human use. Two studies are worth mentioning.
California researcher Crockett (1987) prepared had 45 cyclists ride 495 times over 12 study plots on a trail in dry, semi-wet, and wet conditions. The results showed mountain bikes and hikers caused comparable impact.
Seney (1991) measured the impact of hikers, bicycles, horses and motor cyclists on two open trails and compared them with the condition of a closed trail. Each group crossed the study plots 100 times. The study concluded that ‘natural processes predominate, overshadowing any damage produced by trail users, and that it was difficult to distinguish bicycle impacts from hiker impacts on the measurements of sediment yield, water runoff, trail micro-relief changes and soil density changes’.
Extensive studies have also been carried out on the development of tracks. They found that once a track is established, bikes are unlikely to cause any greater impact than any other uses.
Access should be restricted only after robust, impartial and professional assessment that balances the relative environmental and social benefits and risks of the track specific proposed restriction, and only while risks outweigh benefits of use.
Cycle touring stymied
The Draft Plan proposes permitting wilderness areas cycling only on a small section of the Cascades Trails, and a small loop circuit inlcuding Dargals, Hell Hole Creek and Round Mountain Trails. The ban has no scientific basis, is unreasonable, and unfairly discriminates against sustainable and self-reliant cycling compared with other recreational pursuits.
The proposed ban on and the location of the three declared wilderness areas across the Park effectively prevents sustainable and self reliant longer distance touring north-south along the Park’s management road network, for example, on the recently upgraded Grey Mare Fire Trail.
The submissions called on NPWS to allow cycling on the all management roads, unless there is proven adverse impact that cannot be managed in any other way.
A closure policy that is ridiculed as baseless, that diverts scarce NPWS resources and is openly ignored and simply cannot be achieved does no good for the reputation of the NPWS or the NSW Government.
Cycling groups urged the development of a Sustainable Cycling Access Strategy for the Park with the involvement of cycling organisations, stakeholders and environmental experts.
Health recreation and tourism benefits
The KNP management roads and trails contributie to the health and well being of visitors from across Australia. To propose reducing access to tracks that rapidly will become overcrowded is not good for the health of the Park or its visitors.
Recreation and nature-based tourism are among the stated values of the Park. Cycling contributes significantly to regional economies. The $700+ each paticipant spent while on a one day South Australian cycling event will be matched by BNSW’s RTA Big NSW Bike Riders who start in KNP in 2005.
In Australia Cycling the Deputy Prime Minister says: ‘Increasing the amount of safe cycling in our communities will enhance the well being of all Australians.’ There are few better places to do that than KNP management roads and trails.
Cycling routes should enables cyclists to enjoy and appreciate the Park’s significant environment from the north to the south.
Put cycling and user conflict into perspective
The Draft Plan ignores the limited overall impact of cyclists, confined to management roads and trails, traversing an area faster than other park users, minimising the impact of human waste and firewood depletion. Overall cyclist numbers are minimal. Most can ride in and out, without staying overnight.
The perception that bicyles present a safety hazard is common. The Draft Plan reported conflict between cyclists and other Park users.
Given that bikes are restricted to fire trails, with long sight lines and that the numbers of cyclists and walkers on any particular fire trail are few, the real possibility/probability of collision is negligible.
The UK bridle way network provides thousands of kilometres of narrow, mixed use trails. The British Mountain Bike Federation’s Access Officer couldn’t trace one collision between a bike and a walker, despite many anecdotal reports. The UK’s high population density, and lack of public lands, leads to common use by riders of ancient rights of way, established for centuries, with traffic levels unheard of in Australia.
Conflict and injury are rare on the many shared walking and cycling paths in Canberra and Sydney. These paths carry more walkers and cyclists (plus roller bladers and dogs) than any KNP service road, except perhaps the Summit Road from Charlottes Pass.
Dispersed educated cycling over a larger minimises congestion and consequent conflict between users.
A way forward
BNSW representative Bruce Ashley, Tony Scott from MTBA and Pedal Power ACT’s Jeff Ibbotson met NPWS officials and proposed a way forward.
There was consensus that the current NPWS State wide policy on cycling in declared wilderness areas is not in fact inconsistent with cycling in those areas, provided it is consistent with a Plan of Management for the Park and where wilderness values were not compromised.
It emerged that opposition to cycling in wilderness is more driven by social and ideological concerns rather than serious adverse environmental impacts, which cannot be substantiated.
BNSW then wrote to NPWS outlining essential components of a cycling access strategy, criteria for identifying a cycling network, and its key routes.
BNSW proposed no cycling on some trails; an on-line permit system to regulate use of others; and unrestricted cycling on the periphery of wilderness areas to connect with longer distance touring and shorter loop circuits on outside the wilderness zones and outside the Park.
What next
BNSW, MTBA and Pedal Power ACT will continue to lobby to keep Kosci’s quality cycling. Readers who are interested in supporting bike riding in KNP can contact:
Bicycle NSW GPO Box 272, Sydney, NSW, 2001 fax 02 9281 6099
[email protected]
Mountain Bike Australia PO Box 17 Mirani Qld 4754
[email protected]
Pedal Power ACT GPO Box 581 Canberra ACT 2601 fax 02 6248 7444
[email protected]
Thanks to Bruce Ashley, Tony Scott and Stuart McDougall for material used in this article.
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MTBA signs landmark agreement with Parks Victoria
September 20, 2004
A landmark Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by both MTBA and Parks Victoria today. To our knowledge this is the first statement of cooperation made between a State land managing agency and a MTB organisation in Australia.
Tony Scott, president of MTBA said, "This MOC represents the first step in ensuring that land managers in Victoria and Victorian MTBA affiliates can work together for the long term sustainability of Victoria's valuable natural areas while also providing for sustainable MTB opportunities. We are hopeful that this document will provide a template for other State land managers to use in developing working relationships between themselves, MTBA and it's local affiliates."
Parks Victoria manage over 4.1m hectares of land in Victoria, representing 16% of Victoria's land area. MTBA is the peak MTB body in Australia and is represented by over 70 affiliated clubs and over 1850 members Australia wide. MTBA currently has 12 Victorian affiliated clubs.
Further information about MTB advocacy can be obtained by contacting MTBA:
[email protected]. Further information about MTB advocacy in Victoria can be obtained by emailing MTBA's Victorian MTB advocacy team:
[email protected].
