Mountain biking and its threat to local environment – Carindale

Mountain biking a threat to local environment – Carindale

Wayne Cameron of the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (B4C) at Carindale has been very concerned about the impact of mountain bikes on the environment for several years. He has written the following piece and is asking for more local support on this issue.

I am writing requesting your interest and possible email or letter to your local Councillor regarding the threat of mountain bikes to our nature reserves.

Mountain biking has its supporters, but we have had to live with the impact of this recreation in our nature reserves for several years. We have been involved in campaigns to protect the reserves – such as Mt Gravatt Outlook, Belmont Hills and Whites Hill.

The Mountain Biking Associations are well resourced and have stated they want full legal use of ALL Brisbane’s nature reserves. They already have large facilities at Gap Creek (Mt Cootha), Daisy Hill and a 2011 custom built 25 k of international standard trails and tracks at Wyaralong – all paid for by either ratepayers or Qld taxpayers.

Whites Hill has just had a warning from the usual young rider appearing in the local South East Advertiser, claiming no damage is caused by mountain bikes.

The damage caused by mountain bikes is substantial and the behaviour and safety issues are also factors. The damage caused to tracks is 20 to 1000 times that of walkers (Recreation Ecology: the Ecological Impacts of Outdoor Recreation – Dr Michael J Liddle, PhD, 1997).

Basically for us, if Mountain Bikes attain legal use to the reserves, they will create substantial trails and increased numbers of riders on the reserves and thereby the Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Primary Purpose of the reserves will become subservient to recreation use. Our wildlife needs these reserves to survive in Brisbane and that is why I am asking for your support.

It is, as usual, a numbers game – if the newspaper and Councillors get 100 replies and 80 are from organised mountain bikers – we will eventually lose these reserves.

Please consider helping us defend our nature reserves.

Contact Details (for an email support letter):
Cr Adrian Schrinner, Chandler Ward, 3407 1400 or chandler.ward@ecn.net.au (or other local councillor if you’re not in the Chandler Ward).
South East Advertiser, Editor: letters@southeastadvertiser.com.au