https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/illegal-bike-jump-yoho-park-1.6824986
A man has been ordered to pay $21,600 in fines and restitution for building an illegal bike jump in Yoho National Park — an extreme example of what one wilderness protection group says is a recurring problem.
From a linked article within that one ^^^
"Mountain bikers in particular like to have loops that they can ride, and that's where we typically find the illegal trail building," Schiebel said.
"Social media, it just lights on fire, you know, when somebody has built a new trail and all of a sudden everybody is coming out to try."
Unauthorized trail building is definitely an issue, but there's also the stinking dead albatross of hypocrisy that goes unmentioned when paying blame for habitat destruction on outdoor user groups like mtnb'ers. Resource industries have destroyed far more habitat and will continue to do so than all outdoor rec user groups combined. A good example of the effect of resource extraction has been the near decimation of mountain caribou in BC, in part caused by resource roads, transmission lines and clear cuts that have made it far easier for wolves to track and kill caribou. Besides those roads you have large swaths of territory being destroyed for resource extraction - clear cut logging and oil sands mining being the prominent ones that come to mind. Sure, there's the economic argument that we need all these jobs, but I think the cost we are paying for a lot of these jobs is not worth the economic return when it's weighed against the total environmental impact - which includes our own health.
https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-deep-snow-caribou-vanish/
IMHO we have to start shifting our mindset, away from the Western one that places us as masters of the planet where we can take what we want to one more like an Indigenous view where we are custodians of the planet who are responsible for helping it flourish. I think we can find a much better balance between human wants and desires vs what's in the best interests of all who exist on this land than what we are doing now.
A lot to unpack there, I just wanted to point out don't do what this guy did
Posted by: syncro
From a linked article within that one ^^^
"Mountain bikers in particular like to have loops that they can ride, and that's where we typically find the illegal trail building," Schiebel said.
"Social media, it just lights on fire, you know, when somebody has built a new trail and all of a sudden everybody is coming out to try."Unauthorized trail building is definitely an issue, but there's also the stinking dead albatross of hypocrisy that goes unmentioned when paying blame for habitat destruction on outdoor user groups like mtnb'ers. Resource industries have destroyed far more habitat and will continue to do so than all outdoor rec user groups combined. A good example of the effect of resource extraction has been the near decimation of mountain caribou in BC, in part caused by resource roads, transmission lines and clear cuts that have made it far easier for wolves to track and kill caribou. Besides those roads you have large swaths of territory being destroyed for resource extraction - clear cut logging and oil sands mining being the prominent ones that come to mind. Sure, there's the economic argument that we need all these jobs, but I think the cost we are paying for a lot of these jobs is not worth the economic return when it's weighed against the total environmental impact - which includes our own health.
https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-deep-snow-caribou-vanish/
IMHO we have to start shifting our mindset, away from the Western one that places us as masters of the planet where we can take what we want to one more like an Indigenous view where we are custodians of the planet who are responsible for helping it flourish. I think we can find a much better balance between human wants and desires vs what's in the best interests of all who exist on this land than what we are doing now.
Very nicely said
Posted by: XXX_er
A lot to unpack there, I just wanted to point out don't do what this guy did
Yeah and yeah.
I think it’s important to have those conversations though, with others and oneself. Our society is highly individualized and way too far removed from the concepts of interconnectedness and reciprocity when it comes to all other life forms we share this hunk of rock with as we hurtle through space.
In terms of the building, changing the “rogue” attitude is something that can be addressed with what I mentioned about how we treat the land we live on. That can be accomplished via the education system and teaching children about the natural world and how their actions/activities affect it.
In the 80s as MTB was growing, I remember reading a lot of articles about the struggle to secure and maintain trail access against the wishes of more established trail users, across the continent. It instilled in me how much of a privilege it is to ride these trails, how easily it can be taken away and how hard our trail organizations work to maintain our access.
This is an extreme example of activity that can strip us of our recreational access; it's a good reminder to stick to sanctioned trails, be respectful of other trail users, and support our trail organizations. Maybe it's a bummer to colour within the lines all the time, but better to appreciate what we have than to lose it all.
Syncro makes a good point about respecting the land, another reason to stick to trails that have been carefully, expertly built to minimize impact.
I'd argue that more trails, more it spreads out our users. Current amount of sanctioned trails can't handle the rider base. If the "unsanctioned trails" are natural, impossible to close.
Posted by: LoamtoHome
I'd argue that more trails, more it spreads out our users. Current amount of sanctioned trails can't handle the rider base. If the "unsanctioned trails" are natural, impossible to close.
There is a very strong argument to be made that more trails creates a more sustainable trail network by spreading out the traffic. But the network needs to be well thought out so you don't end up with zones of lots of trails packed to close together or trails that don't work well together. The trail system on an entire mountain has to be looked at as one entity.
Posted by: XXX_er
A lot to unpack there, I just wanted to point out don't do what this guy did
definitely avoiding digging up archaeological sites with front end loaders from now on!
a paradox for sure but a whole lot of the trails built nowdays ARE built by machine at least localy, so we have 6 weeks of planned construction coming up on monday for which we will pay a contracter.
A ski bud told me to never build anything illegal in the BC in BC as in a ski hut he might have had something to do with cuz there are many headaches
I think 20 yrs ago people got away with building illegal stuff becuz the CO's didnt know whats up but now day all the govy people are into the outdoor scene
Forum jump:
