wkid_one
30th August 2003, 17:57
Sydney Morning Herald - August 29, 2003
Public land around NSW is being invaded by a new feral pest - dirt bike riders, described by conservationists as motorised vermin.
Police, councils, National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) and State Forests are all at war with dirt bikes, which are causing massive damage to bushland.
Some of the worst problems are on the city's fringes.
The SCA recently discovered an illegal three-kilometre motocross track built in the headwaters of the Woronora catchment. The vandalism is blatant and deliberate, said SCA officer George Williams.
"To get in here they have to pass signs and locked gates," he said. "They have made their own motocross area where they think they can do whatever they like."
Some of the ruts in the circuit, which is carved into a hanging swamp near Darkes Forest, are nearly half a metre deep.
The damage will be almost impossible to repair, Mr Williams said. Even if the riders were stopped immediately it would take many years - perhaps decades - for the track to disappear.
The chief executive of the SCA, Graeme Head, says the damaged area is "absolutely critical" for protecting water quality.
It is one of several locations within the 900 square kilometre catchment of Sydney's metropolitan dams that has been damaged by trail bikes.
The SCA has spent more than $250,000 this year repairing damage to fire trails. The problem has become so severe that officers have been running joint operations with police dirt bike squads and helicopters to spot illegal riders inside prohibited areas.
Surveillance cameras have been hidden in trees and other vantage points around the catchment areas.
The SCA's manager of compliance, Greg Sheehy, said one option being considered is seizing dirt bikes found near dams. During one weekend this month the SCA and police caught a dozen trail bike riders in the catchment areas north of Wollongong.
"The people we have got now are the real rebellious element," Mr Sheehy said.
Mr Williams said the offenders tended to be in their mid-20s, though some of those caught have been as old as 40. "They're not your nice guy that will stop," he said. "They will run you over rather than go around you."
The executive officer of the National Parks Association, Andrew Cox, called trail bike riders "motorised vermin" and said the Government should have the right to seize bikes found in national parks and other sensitive bushland.
The association wrote to the Environment Minister, Bob Debus, this week.
"Being able to confiscate either part (eg the front wheel) or all of their vehicle until either a fine is paid or identification is provided is one way to solve this problem," the letter said. "It will serve as a great disincentive, especially if they have to carry their bike, minus the front wheel, home."
Public land around NSW is being invaded by a new feral pest - dirt bike riders, described by conservationists as motorised vermin.
Police, councils, National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) and State Forests are all at war with dirt bikes, which are causing massive damage to bushland.
Some of the worst problems are on the city's fringes.
The SCA recently discovered an illegal three-kilometre motocross track built in the headwaters of the Woronora catchment. The vandalism is blatant and deliberate, said SCA officer George Williams.
"To get in here they have to pass signs and locked gates," he said. "They have made their own motocross area where they think they can do whatever they like."
Some of the ruts in the circuit, which is carved into a hanging swamp near Darkes Forest, are nearly half a metre deep.
The damage will be almost impossible to repair, Mr Williams said. Even if the riders were stopped immediately it would take many years - perhaps decades - for the track to disappear.
The chief executive of the SCA, Graeme Head, says the damaged area is "absolutely critical" for protecting water quality.
It is one of several locations within the 900 square kilometre catchment of Sydney's metropolitan dams that has been damaged by trail bikes.
The SCA has spent more than $250,000 this year repairing damage to fire trails. The problem has become so severe that officers have been running joint operations with police dirt bike squads and helicopters to spot illegal riders inside prohibited areas.
Surveillance cameras have been hidden in trees and other vantage points around the catchment areas.
The SCA's manager of compliance, Greg Sheehy, said one option being considered is seizing dirt bikes found near dams. During one weekend this month the SCA and police caught a dozen trail bike riders in the catchment areas north of Wollongong.
"The people we have got now are the real rebellious element," Mr Sheehy said.
Mr Williams said the offenders tended to be in their mid-20s, though some of those caught have been as old as 40. "They're not your nice guy that will stop," he said. "They will run you over rather than go around you."
The executive officer of the National Parks Association, Andrew Cox, called trail bike riders "motorised vermin" and said the Government should have the right to seize bikes found in national parks and other sensitive bushland.
The association wrote to the Environment Minister, Bob Debus, this week.
"Being able to confiscate either part (eg the front wheel) or all of their vehicle until either a fine is paid or identification is provided is one way to solve this problem," the letter said. "It will serve as a great disincentive, especially if they have to carry their bike, minus the front wheel, home."