Unofficial bike trails destroy habitats

WILDLIFE habitats in a South Wales forest are being destroyed by people building unofficial mountain bike trails.

The trails have been built without permission in a woodland managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), known locally as the Warren, near Caerphilly.

The makeshift tracks are made of mounds of soil and chopped down trees to create jumps for mountain bikers to ride over.

NRW says that these trails damage the landscape and disturb habitats for local wildlife, as well as put other riders and people who use the forest in danger as they are poorly designed.

Gareth Roberts, local land manager for NRW, said: “This site near Caerphilly is one of over 50 similar unofficial trails which have appeared on our land in South Wales without permission.

“They don’t consider safety, wildlife, habitat destruction and don’t follow general good mountain bike trail practice.”

Woodland in Caerphilly is well known for its wildlife which includes a number of species of reptiles, birds and even endangered mammals like the hazel dormouse.

There are a number of official, purpose-built trails locally for mountain bikers to use as an alternative, which Gareth says are much safer.

He added: “There are numerous official, well designed routes nearby for mountain bike riders to enjoy, such as in Cwmcarn, Bike Park Wales in Merthyr Tydfil, and also Parc y Van jump spot in Caerphilly, run by Van Road trails club.

“We need to respect nature and other forest users, which is why we encourage people to use only designated trails for mountain biking.”

Diggers will now work along the trails to remove the tracks and jumps and to disperse soil.

The land will begin to return to its natural state by the spring.

More information about official mountain bike trails is online at naturalresources.wales