By: Clara Swartzendruber
As I climbed from the car in the parking lot the sound of rushing traffic from the highway turned to the methodic rushing of water crashing onto rock. Only from the first day of August to the last day of February1 is when this pristine preserve is actually open. Yet not even to everyone.
Bikers are no longer allowed on the Forest Ridge Trail.
The unfortunate thing is, that it was not only bikers that used the property. climbers flocked to the property, eager to claim a good route along the limestone walls; They were banned too.
Also, unfortunately, the Forest Ridge Trail was not the only property closed to the public due to the Balcones Canyonland Conservation Plan (BCCP). Up until the fall of 20162 Motocross Bikers have tried to conquer what most people call Itch Mountain: The challenge is what draws most people to the trail. The motocross park, located within the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, also had to be shut down. BCCP City officials claim that they are obligated to shutting down part of the trail for the protection of the creek bed located near there because of federal laws.2 “If this is about seeing tracks, yes, you can see some tracks,” said Tomás Pantin, one of the trial riders, pointing to a track rising up the side of Itch Mountain. “If this is about the landscape, the landscape is unaffected by what we’re doing.”2 Hikers, Bikers, and Climbers, all of these communities are all having to find other places to carry out their recreational activities.
One of the reasons the BCCP was originally created was to ease the devastating speed in which developers have been clearing and developing the Travis County landscape. This solution was, for the most part, effective in that aspect but, also nuanced into that goal was the desire to preserve space for endangered species, or species of concern, including birds, salamanders, and karst invertebrates. Claiming that bikers scare away the birds and damage the environment in Forest Ridge Trail area, new rules were set in place by the BCCP. The new rules are the source of most of the difficulties around the restriction of the land. The BCCP (Balcones Canyonland Conservation Plan) was created to save an undisturbed space for eight endangered species including the golden-cheeked warbler and twenty-seven species of concern. Forest Ridge Trail is home to many of these species. To help protect the dwindling population of the animals, the BCCP was created. One of the organization's goal was to collect 30,428 acers of land to protect. The Forest Ridge property was bought by the BCCP with a bond issued by the city of Austin in 1996.
Since the start of the BCCP, the Forest Ridge quality has become exquisite, “Off-road vehicles, motorcycle riding, trash dumping, illegal encampments, illegal trail clearing, cedar chopping, and general Page 18 of 60 partying have all occurred throughout the Forest Ridge Preserve from numerous previously uncontrolled access points.”3 If the BCCP had not taken action do you think those actions would have continued? Well, there was no one else trying to stop them. The land quality would have just continued to degrade.
Even though the previously public property is no longer accessible, could it have been the right choice to close the area?
If you visit the trail, you can see why it was one of the most highly rated trail systems in Austin. Climbing the way up the rock ledges, the wheels of the bike spin in the loose rock, adding to the challenge. Just like on the motocross trails, the challenge is what draws the riders to the trails. The exposed rock ledges may be good for the riders, but it could be a result of erosion on the trail. Some think more bikers on the trail can result in even more erosion. Then in turn degrading the water quality by sending tons of sediment down the waterway. Seeing as Bull Creek runs near the Forest Ridge area, this could cause some problems. But then again it might not be true that bikes are entirely responsible for the erosion: “ the proportion of trials with severe erosion (> 5 inches deep) is 24% for ATV trails, 9% for horse trails, 1.4 % for hiking trails and 0.6% for bike trails;”4 study not performed on BCCP land. This means that hikers, according to this study, contribute more to the damage than bikers, yet bikers are the ones to get banned from the amazing trails.
A little over halfway up the incline another trail veers off to the left. By following the trail you will find yourself at a wonderful lookout. About a hundred feet down a magnificent waterfall rushes. While sitting and listening to the steady rumble that you could hear from the parking lot, an amazing peace finds its way into your ears. From that vantage point you can see the many thousands of gallons being pushed over the edge of the rock, but what you can also see from there is, across the water, in the public accesses land, a dog waste bag hanging from a tree. First off, it's just an eyesore. “it detracts from the experience when I have to look at bags of poop left by hikers (who presumably are planning to pick up their dog's poop on the way down)”5stated olympicwanderer on summitpost.org. Now this person seems to expect the best out of most people, but sometimes the best is not what comes. In response to olympicwanderer saying this a lot of people claimed otherwise, one of the people disagreeing gets up in the morning and starts their hike the minute the park opens: Yet still sees the bags frequently along the trail meaning that they were leftover from the previous day. “ I guess it's expected by the dog owners that they will be picked up by rangers or other park employees at some time? To me, it's littering” said boyblue in on summitpost.org. Which brings us to our next point, littering. Littering is a much larger problem than it being just an eyesore. Animals often mistake litter for food and might try and eat it. Depending on what it is it can have different side effects. If the animal eats too much plastic it might think it is full, but plastic does not contain the number of nutrients that are needed for survival. If the nutrients are not gained it might lead to death. Also choking and poisoning is a possibility.7 Limited access to the property in some cases could partially eliminate littering. Only three pieces of trash were found along a section of the trail, most likely a result of the limited access.
As you travel farther from the waterfall, the rumble becomes duller and duller. Finally, a silence reaches your ears you can hear the farthest bird calling and the farthest squirrel bounding in the leaves. When you come upon a small stream a cold musty smell drifts towards your nose. The only thing impurifying about the trail was the three pieces of trash that were found, all else is pleasant. Now in this situation, you might not think there is a benefit to the hikers but think again. No horrific smells of hot dog urine, no loud noises from Bikers zooming down the trail, and no one calling “rider up!” as the loud bikes draw nearer. Cortney Swartzendruber related to this. She said that the Quiet stillness was greatly superior to the other trails she has walked. The serine quietness is not only a benefit for hikers, but also birders. You spy a bird up in a tree, wanting to get a closer look you might stop to look. Then suddenly a bike barrels down the trail causing you to jump off of the trail and in doing, you lose the bird. The stillness makes it easier to concentrate.
There are two different uses for the land, should it be an area for recreation or an area for a wildlife sanctuary. To some degree, you have to prioritize one or the other. With three different groups of people to please: hikers, bikers, and environmentalists. Because of the amount of people they are trying to be please the government faces a hard decision of whether or not to value preservation over recreation.
In the not too distant past, a sister organization lost a lot of their land, the reason being that they had no public support. The people of the BCCP is “ now recognizing that in order to not lose what they already have much less game more land they really need to get public support behind them.” said a biker by the name of Kent Browning. This event was one of the events that heavily influenced the compromise between the two social groups. “The BCCP in 2007 actually put out a policy statement that I think has shown great wisdom and that policy statement basically says that BCP land is first and foremost preserves but if the public can be given access to those lands without harming the preserve they should be.” Mr. Browning said. Now when deciding what you should value more preservation or recreation think of the bikers, the hikers, and of the animals.
On flatter trail, you continue to wind your way farther along the trail until the terrain becomes steeper and the Rocky Steps become more frequent again. After traveling down to the level of the creek again it is time to turn around and head back.
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