The NOW magazine published an article about mountain biking in Crothers' Woods in its latest issue. It covers the topic fairly well but unfortunately it reads as pretty one-sided. "Chainsaw-toting trail bike high-flyers cutting valley into mucky ribbons" is the article's by-line which gives you a pretty good read on the reporter's stance.
Naturally this has the biker's pretty incensed. If you follow their chat forums you can see they're upset.
Some of them might say that I lean towards this type of thinking, but that is not exactly correct. True, I have criticized some of their "stunts" as an abuse of the valley but overall I support their presence. As long as they respect the natural environment I think the bikers are a positive presence in the Don.
The city is currently putting a management plan together for the forest which includes a rationalization of the trail network. In some places this is leading to some serious fragmentation of the natural area. Once implemented and with proper management the plan will develop this area of the valley into a great place for both human users as well as its natural denizens.
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