DENRs Parks and People; A response for IMBAA

A few weeks back, I was asked by Nic Bowman at IMBA Australia to put together a response for the above plan. Here it is;

People and Parks; A Draft Strategy for South Australia’s National Parks and Reserves.

The overall vision of increasing the sustainable use of our parks, reserves and open spaces by a wider and more diverse range of users is a positive step by the Department.

However, given the fact that the Department has long recognized that the Mountain Bike community is worthy of stakeholder status in prior dealings over the last 10 years, it is disappointing that there appears to be only minimal provision of specific Mountain Biking opportunities within the strategy. Given the apparent positive progress of recent ATPAG meetings and feedback from other recent releases by the Department, this is somewhat disappointing and was not as expected.

Mountain biking can easily and readily fit into, and support, all five of the guiding principles of the strategy.

“Everyone involved in recreation and tourism should help protect the natural and cultural values of parks”

The Mountain Bike community has developed and promoted a vast number of sustainable practices, promoted by the International Mountain Bikers Association (IMBA) in the areas of trail design and maintenance and the continual reinforcement of the ‘Rules of the Trail’ throughout the trail user community and the Mountain Bike community in particular. Many of these practices and standards have been adopted by the Department for use within the parks and reserves under its control.

“Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy and learn about parks”

“Everyone” should therefore make no discrimination of user due to their chosen method of transport. Whilst it is accepted that not every track, trail or indeed park or reserve can support Mountain Biking, many can. Ignoring the wants and needs of the Mountain Bike community will only continue the status quo of unwanted, unauthorized and in some cases nuisance Mountain Bike use within our parks, particularly within the greater Adelaide Metropolitan area.

“South Australians have a responsibility to contribute to the long-term protection of parks”

The South Australian Mountain Bike community – indeed, the global Mountain Bike community – have shown, and continue to show, willingness to work with land managers to maintain the areas to which we have access. Locally, Eagle Mountain Bike Park, Cudlee Creek Forestry Reserve and Mitcham Council’s shared use trail network are readily working examples of such input.

“Parks are an integral part of the landscape and play an important role in supporting healthy, vibrant and prosperous communities”

For parks to actively promote healthy communities, the need to be open to the variety of pursuits that the community seeks to engage in to achieve this goal. Mountain biking and cycling in general readily provide such an opportunity for our communities and as such should be encouraged where appropriate within the parks system. To be prosperous, they need to be able to draw a diverse range of users; this too comes from offering a diverse range of potential uses.

“Decisions about the way parks are used should be based on evidence and risk assessment”

Decisions based on evidence should be the only way decisions are made, when evidence is available. As such, the available evidence points strongly in favour of Mountain biking being an appropriate activity within our parks when planned and managed correctly. This evidence has been continually presented to the Department in prior engagement.

In addition to the overall principles, the following points are also of note;

Parks in the Flinders Ranges region – particularly Mount Remarkable – would vastly benefit from specific Mountain Bike planning. The Department and other land managers have already invested in various degrees of infrastructure in the region and this could be readily built upon to enhance their usability by the Mountain Bike community and achieve the desired increase in user numbers to the region.

From page 5, “…looking to visit…for…recreation…” The recreation opportunities need to be expanded if you are to achieve your own targets of visitor numbers. Mountain biking and cycling can be readily incorporated in many areas to provide diversity beyond the walking and picnicking options currently available in the majority of cases.

On page 6 there are the points regarding the recognition of trends and the changing needs of the community. Mountain biking has long been recognised as a trend and something the community wishes to pursue within the parks system but these needs are still yet to be adequately met. Furthermore, the later mention of taking “a cautious approach” to changes has arguably been applied to excess with regards to Mountain Bike access within the parks network to date.

On page 17, Action 1.3 calls for the investigation into the Lofty Ranges with regards to establishment as a nationally recognised cycling destination. This should be expanded to also include the Flinders Ranges. Furthermore, it should be pursued and implemented. This would be potentially an ideal conduit for the Department to work with outside commercial enterprise to achieve, if deemed prohibitively expensive for the Department to achieve alone. In addition, Action 1.5 should be expanded to include multi-day trails for Mountain Bike users as well as walkers (who already have numerous trails of this type to choose from) and this aspect incorporated into the investigation suggested in Action 1.3.

On page 19, Action 3.3 seeks an event within the Lofty Ranges to engage a younger audience in particular. Mountain Bike events are often held within the ranges and could be tailored to provide such means for the Department. The often maligned “thrill seeker” aspect of Mountain biking raised in previous consultations could in this case be harnessed for a positive effect both in terms of achieving the engagement sort and the display of how such experiences can be delivered with effective management.

Overall, the strategy recognises that the current situation will not readily assist in achieving the Department’s future goals and as such certain careful yet sympathetic changes need to be made going forward. This is commendable. To allow Bike use – something readily available to the vast majority of visitors, be they local, interstate or international – to be a major focus point of such change, would not only be hugely appreciated by many on a day to day basis, but would also put the Department at the forefront of park management policy within the nation. However, it will ultimately be the implementation of the strategy in a timely manner with respect to the feedback both from this release and previously with regard to Mountain Bike access opportunities which will be the key to it being successful.