Costly crackdown

By Kath Gannaway
ELEVEN trail bike riders on both sides of the Yarra Valley will each be parting with almost $1000 after the most recent crackdown on illegal riders in the region.
The riders were handed the fines over the weekend of 19 and 20 January as police and Department of Sustainability officers mounted an intensive operation in Wesburn in the Upper Yarra and in Pauls Range near Toolangi.
The joint DSE and Victoria Police operation follows similar crack-downs late last year in Pauls Range where Healesville Police issued five penalty notices for offences including unlicensed riding, unregistered bikes and riding off the legal tracks.
DSE Trail Bike Project Officer Joy Harte said the same offences, plus riding under-age, were seen in the latest operation.
Ms Harte said local residents suffered when riders illegally used forest tracks close to their properties.
“This is an all-too-common problem in Wesburn and in Pauls Range, because many of the houses are close to forest boundaries.
“The locals are tired of excess noise and they shouldn’t have to put up with it,” she said.
She emphasised that trail bike riders have a right to ride in state forests and parks provided they are licensed, the bikes are registered and riders stay on the official road network.
“We expect riders to show respect for other bush users by slowing down and reducing noise when they are near other people,” Ms Harte said.
She said DSE officers will continue to test trail bikes to ensure that maximum noise levels are not exceeded.
While noise is one of the problems resulting in complaints from nearby landowners and other park users, damage to the environment is also a major issue driving increased action by DSE and police.
DSE temporarily closed tracks at the southern end of Pauls Range in November last year to allow the rehabilitation of more than 20 kilometres of illegal tracks which DSE local stewardship and biodiversity manager Wally Notman said at the time had been severely damaged by trail bike riders.
He said the rising popularity of trail bike riding had resulted in increasing environmental impacts on vegetation and water quality which needed to be addressed.
Ms Harte warned that trail bike riders acting illegally could expect more of the same.
“This weekend’s operation is an example of what’s to come with DSE and Victoria Police planning more trail bike enforcement throughout the year,” she said.
She said the operation was part of the Victorian Government’s $5 million four-year Trail Bike Project which aims to improve the management of trail bike riding on public land.
The project involves working with riders, local residents and other forest users.
Further information on the project is available on www.dse.vic.gov.au/trailbikes, or by phoning Ms Harte at the DSE’s Powelltown office on 5965 9923.