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Mountain bike tracks made in Shuttleworth Reserve, Manly, have caused damage to native plants, and also highlighted the need for more places for locals to ride.
As this is a public bush reserve, creating your own tracks is not permitted but over the years several have been made and ridden on.
Last month Hibiscus Coast Forest & Bird’s Jenny Hanwell and Rhiannon Thomas joined 12 local residents to replant a space that has seen significant damage.
Just over 100 native plants were put in and roped off to protect the area.
Hanwell says local volunteers Debbie and Murray Vercoe, who have been controlling pest animals and weeds in the reserve for several years, are heartbroken by the damage to the bush and contacted Forest and Bird for help.
She says the tracks show the lack of places locally for people to mountain bike, but that a bush reserve like Shuttleworth is not the place to do it.
“We want to spread the word as we are concerned that there may be further damage,” she says.
Auckland Council’s area operations manager, Kris Bird, supported the planting and says Council is aware of the illegal mountain biking tracks.
“Signs have been installed explaining that it is illegal to construct tracks and to damage the reserve. Occasionally, our contractors will also be sent in to remove any structures that have been installed,” he says. “We understand that people enjoy riding through the bush and there are numerous fantastic mountain biking tracks throughout the region that cater for this.”
Locally, the only mountain bike tracks on Council land are in Shakespear Regional Park.
If you see anyone damaging the reserve, you can report it to Council on www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
