And yet again!
Was up at the the Gorge last Friday (24th) - did about 30kms, saw nobody until I stumbled upon a guy shielded by the thick bush of a narrow gully busy hacking out another new and unauthorised MTB track into the thick bush/scrub! Caught him red-handed but he didn't see me. I watched him down in the gully only ~20metres away for about 10mins - took photos and video on my phone. He was there for hours hacking away. Found his car nearby parked right in front of the 'Fire Access Gate' (despite the big red sign saying 'Do Not Park' etc.) blocking access. Got a few photos of the car/rego. blocking the Fire Access gate.
Was up there again today and found he's hacked a base track of about 600metres through a gully of bush/scrub - has cut down at least 80 small trees/branches, hacked a track into the steep banks with hand tools (mattock?axe?). He's cut right through a new(ish) 6 strand barb wire perimeter fence adjoining private property and peeled it completely open and run his new MTB track through the fence to the road. This MTB track builder obviously hasn't done his 'due diligence' as from my understanding - after discussions last year with the previous Ranger (Barry) about this very area - almost all of this MTB 'work' in this particular forested/scrubby land is not actually a part of the park, although it may appear so - it's actually been done on private property!
Ian and the boys (ParksVic. Rangers for Plenty Gorge) are heading up today or tomorrow to inspect all the damage, repair the perimeter fencing and check out some of the other extensive but unauthorised tracks recently built on the Northside. The Landowner won't be too impressed about having their fences cut down nor their property invaded!
This 'rogue' Plenty Gorge track building is really just getting out of control!
Hi Neo,
I'm interested to know where this new unauthorised trail was. Could you perhaps PM me with a GPS trace or link to a map showing where you mean?
Personally, I'm glad that you have contacted the Rangers independently, as a mountain-biker. During my discussion with them today, this came up, and I think it shows us in a good light, being responsible park users and helping to manage unauthorised activity.
I'll be posting something on behalf of the Club in the near future, reinforcing that we do not support the building of unauthorised trails, either in the Park, or on private land, of course.
The aim of creating PGMTB was to represent mountain-bikers - including those who have built trails in the past. We were asked to promote a ban on trail building until the existing network is assessed. I can certainly relate to the fact that it has taken an awfully long time for the assessment to get under way - although I honestly don't believe it has been a stalling tactic by PV - I work as a public servant, and I can absolutely understand why these things take so long. The trouble with our community not waiting for the assessment is that building new trails means that the process will take even longer - and it doesn't help our cause when we ask them to keep open the established network. PV has already allowed us to continue to ride illegal trails built on their land - on the condition that we don't build any more without their consent. There are plans to open up previously un-ridden areas to new trails in future, but all this gets put on the back-burner while they allocate resources to locate/assess/manage/negotiate/signpost/close the new trails popping up.
With regard to your pertinent comments on the Happy Hollow property, thanks for alerting me to the detours away from the main trail. I'll try to ensure we get this addressed as a priority. The Betty Bell trail was given a provisional green light by the previous Ranger-in-Charge, as it is a much more sustainable route than the old trail going straight up the spur, the ex-bridge at the bottom of which started this whole process of advocacy and got me behind the creation of PGMTB. Yes, there are issues with the Betty Bell trail, especially given the amount of traffic it gets these days - it is the primary conduit for all MTBs between the north and south sides of the river, travelling between Greensborough/Bundoora and Plenty - but it's held up remarkably well and we intend to keep that route open indefinitely. That said, the heritage values must be protected, and if the Rangers see an unacceptable risk to the historical sites around there, they will have no choice but to shut the trail down.
Thanks for keeping us all informed.
Cheers,
Emerson
