hungrytiger
Likes Dirt
I first started MTBing in Victoria 5 years ago. There has been alot of trail development in the tourist areas since then, but the metropolitan area had 2 MTB parks then..... and still has only 2 now. We compare unfavorably with Canberra and Adelaide in terms of access to MTB facilities and yet we have many more residents. Despite this , we actually have lots of areas where MTB is "tolerated"; we just cannot seem to get these areas formalised. Some areas have formed local groups to pursue this, others cannot see the point; typically the active clubs are small groups of dedicated people who represent a fraction of the actual mtb trail users.
Advocacy groups like YRMTB, LDTR and RHR are relatively recent phenomona, whereas other park user/advocacy groups like VNPA (bushwalkers) are statewide, well organised and carry some weight with their membership numbers. The Melbourne Regional Director of Parks Victoria spoke at the LDTR AGM and said we had to start working together - the example he used was the Victorian 4WD club, who apparently have been successful in advocating for their interests because they speak with one voice as a state based body. Our more localised advocacy groups are good up to a point, but there comes a time when some additional weight is required. MTBA don't seem too interested and IMBA works on a "user pays" model, which is better suited to tourist destinations like Buller with lots of cash (not to mention Nick has just resigned).
The crux of the matter is these metropolitan MTB areas where there is absolutely zero tourist development dollars and many competing user groups. So there are no real incentives here and for many land managers there are disincentives i.e. MTB is perceived by many of them still as a highly risky and litigous sport, so why bother? There seems to be no state user group trying to convince them otherwise.
I've posted this here to see if anyone else has experience of how this has worked in other states? Are there any examples of wider area advocacy cooperatives (for want of a better term) or state based MTB advocacy groups that might show there is an alternative way to deal with these state based land managers in a more strategic way?
Any suggestions welcomed.
Advocacy groups like YRMTB, LDTR and RHR are relatively recent phenomona, whereas other park user/advocacy groups like VNPA (bushwalkers) are statewide, well organised and carry some weight with their membership numbers. The Melbourne Regional Director of Parks Victoria spoke at the LDTR AGM and said we had to start working together - the example he used was the Victorian 4WD club, who apparently have been successful in advocating for their interests because they speak with one voice as a state based body. Our more localised advocacy groups are good up to a point, but there comes a time when some additional weight is required. MTBA don't seem too interested and IMBA works on a "user pays" model, which is better suited to tourist destinations like Buller with lots of cash (not to mention Nick has just resigned).
The crux of the matter is these metropolitan MTB areas where there is absolutely zero tourist development dollars and many competing user groups. So there are no real incentives here and for many land managers there are disincentives i.e. MTB is perceived by many of them still as a highly risky and litigous sport, so why bother? There seems to be no state user group trying to convince them otherwise.
I've posted this here to see if anyone else has experience of how this has worked in other states? Are there any examples of wider area advocacy cooperatives (for want of a better term) or state based MTB advocacy groups that might show there is an alternative way to deal with these state based land managers in a more strategic way?
Any suggestions welcomed.