Hey guys,
Five weeks ago I had to write a persuasive essay. Over the following weeks we revised the paper several times and it went through a few drafts to get to the final product. Since I chose a relevant topic that we all share in, I figured Id share it.
Keep San Diego’s Trails Open
When I first started mountain biking in San Diego, I thought that the city was the greatest place to live and enjoy an outdoor activity like mountain biking year round. Over the last two years, however, the local trail systems for such activities seems to be changing at a rate that has many local mountain bike riders and trail users in an uproar. Users keep losing areas to recreate for various reasons. In fact, users complain that something needs to be done to meet their needs. Indeed, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the San Diego County Parks Department should keep the local trails open for public use because the trails promote tourism, do not impact the environment, and should be enjoyed by the local communities.
One reason that the trails should be left open is to benefit from revenue generated by tourist mountain bikers that travel from around the world to San Diego. In 2012, Scott Reid, the Open Space and Trails Planner of Colorado, reported a study that he had conducted in Breckinridge, Colorado, on the economic benefits brought to the area by mountain bike related events and tourism (as cited in International Mountain Biking Association, n.d.). The results of this study could surely be applied to San Diego tourism. Reid found that by increasing trail access and opening up the mountain bike sport to the population, $2.3M were made in bike-related sales and $736,253 were raised by bike race related events. (International Mountain Biking Association, n.d.) Clearly with San Diego’s year round sunshine, the County could generate similar or greater revenues from tourists and locals wanting to enjoy riding their bikes all year. Reid also noted that with 22+ miles of single track trails already in the city limits, there is a plan to work with the Summit County, U.S. Forest Service, and the town departments to create a network of trails that connected the Breckinridge downtown area with the 4,000 acres of open space and the backcountry trails (International Mountain Biking Association, n.d.). Similarly, Cleveland National Forest lies just a few miles east of San Diego. Thus, extending the adventure experience even further for mountain bikers is not farfetched in San Diego County as well. On top of nice weather, having more outdoor areas for people to recreate is one more reason that San Diego could be a major mountain biking tourist destination.
Another reason that the trails should remain open is that sustainable, multi use trails do not threaten the environment and ecosystems in the area. Riding a bike or hiking on the trails will cause an expected amount of damage to occur over the trail’s life: erosion, muddy areas, widening of trails to create alternative paths around obstacles, and the development of new routes to reach things that people want to go to or see (Hoger, 1998). Thus, trail damage can not directly be traced back to the bike specifically (Hoger, 1998). All users contribute to the degradation of trails, and they must be maintained (Hoger, 1998). This is why it is important to create trails that are sustainable. Recently, local trails within Mission Trails Regional Park and the Del Mar Mesa Preserve have been shut down because some claim that the trails and their continued use are contributing to the degradation of the ecosystem (Cyclists protest Mission Trails Park closures, 2014; Tash, 2013). However, Jeremy Wimpey (2012), a Research Associate at Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, states that the “existing body of research does not support the prohibition or restriction of mountain biking from a resource of environmental protection perspective.” (as quoted in Marion & Wimpey, 2007, para. 55.) Thus, research proves that the damage to trails by all users is minimal and to use this as an excuse to close trails is a fallacy.
A final reason that San Diego should keep its trails open is that the local population should enjoy the trails under proper management practices of the San Diego County Parks Department and a healthy volunteer network. Moreover, this maintenance does not all have to be done by the city or cost a great deal of money. In my own experience, riders do not have any problems contributing their volunteer labor for trail work. Picking up a shovel is a respectable obligation in which mountain bikers take pride. It helps to build relationships within the community and can become an event that people enjoy and, maybe, end with a BBQ. The real reward for those that volunteer is being able to enjoy the trails they work to maintain and knowing they have helped sustain a positive impact on the environment where the trail is located.
How can an entity continue to be as blind to the benefits of allowing people to enjoy outdoor recreation? Simply put—they cannot. What they can do is ignore the public’s need for recreation and continue on a destructive path to promote illegal trail building and trespassing since the citizens have already shown they will do what they want to enjoy their hobbies. The argument against the use of trails by mountain bikers falls flat as habitat destruction is debunked by recent studies. Revenue for the city and small business could also be generated as they sponsored events or brought tourism dollars in by adding trails for people to enjoy while they stayed in the city. San Diego has potential to be an outdoor fanatic’s dream location. It has everything someone could want: mountains and beaches within a short trip of one another and perfect weather year round.
Clearly, mountain bikers should not be criminalized in San Diego County. On the contrary, the San Diego Parks and Recreation Department should capitalize on the potential that the sport could bring to the city with bike-related tourism and events. Mountain bikers are not for destroying the environment, but, instead, want to create sustainable trails that preserve the eco systems surrounding them. Finally, mountain bikers are people that just want to enjoy their local outdoor recreation areas like everyone else.
References
Cyclists protest Mission Trails Park closures. (2014). NBC San Diego. Retrieved from
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/C ... 32761.htmlHoger, J. J. (1998). Conflict and management tactics on the trail. Parks & Recreation, 33(9), 41. Retrieved from EBSCO Host
International Mountain Bike Association. (n.d.). Economic Benefits of Mountain Bike Tourism. Retrieved from
https://www.imba.com/world-summit/resou ... tb-tourismMarion, J., & Wimpey, J. (2007). Managing Mountain Biking: IMBA's Guide to Providing Great Riding . International Mountain Bicycling Association. Retrieved from
https://www.imba.com/resources/research ... -practicesTash, J. (2013, October 10). Local residents react to stronger enforcement of Del Mar Mesa Preserve trails use. Del Mar Times [Del Mar, CA]. Retrieved from
http://www.delmartimes.net/2013/10/10/l ... rails-use/
