Last year the DMBA approached the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) with a four point proposal. The main points of the proposal are:

1. Re-establish and re-route the trail impacted by the 2007 logging operations. These trails will be designed and built according to sustainable trial construction techniques and use volunteer labour for actual construction.
2. Rationalize the trail network in “the maze” to provide connectivity to the double track on both sides of “the maze” but to close a majority of the short small connectors, creating a more enjoyable trail experience and reducing the current trial impact.
3. Investigate the use of the underutilized North-West section of the forest for the development of beginner multi-use trails. This would allow the opportunity to address some of the existing badly eroding trails, possibly re-routing them, possibly closing them entirely.
4. Undertake a complete mapping of the existing single-track trails on the Main Tract property. The GPS tracks and GIS data that results would be shared with the LSRCA so the DMBA and the LSRCA can better manage the trail system on the property.

The LSRCA was pleased with our proposal and enthusiastic to work with us. We immediately started work on item 4 and have produced a draft map containing all the single track trails in the Forest. However, while the LSRCA was willing to work with us on the other 3 items they don’t own the land and would have to seek further approval from the owners, The Region of Durham.

The LSRCA took our proposal to The Region on our behalf and met initial success with the staff in the property department. However they had to refer it to the risk management staff. The Region has historically been very risk averse and both the LSRCA and the Region property staff feared that we’d be told we could not go ahead. The Region has  been resistant to managing the single track in the Durham Forest; they and the LSRCA simply don’t have the resources to do it.

I’m happy to report that the risk management staff said yes our proposal. They see it as a way to deal with the existing management and liability issues that arise from the many kilometers of single track trail existent in the Forest.

The outcome of this decision is three fold:

• In the short term we will be doing trail work in the Durham Forest this year. We are working on the details of a trail repair and reroute for sometime in late May.
• In the medium term we will be working with the LSRCA on a trail management plan and policy for the Forest.
• In the long term the DMBA will sign an MOU with the LSRCA and the Region of Durham pertaining to the maintenance of the single track trails in the Durham Forest.

I have been told that one of the major factors in the Region’s decision to work with us is that an organized group was willing to put a proposal down on paper and stand by it. If we were just a “bunch of cyclists” we would not have been given the go ahead.

I’d like to stress that this is kind of a big deal. For the DMBA, for the LSRCA, for the Region and for mountain biking in Ontario. This is a significant step for the DMBA, but it is also a good “win” for mountain bike advocacy in general. I’d like to thank all of our members for believing in what the DMBA is trying to do and giving us your support. This would not have happened without you.