Woe is me. I just recently moved to a lovely spot in SEQ that backs on to a creek with beautiful trees and pristine bushland. The birdlife (both sounds and sights) is fantastic but the neighbour up the road (there is only one neighbour in the vicinity) is systematically hacking away at the sub-tropical forest to clear a track for his dirt bike (complete with mounds for jumps). I am sure the forest around the creek is protected and I guess there would be fines for the destruction that is taking place BUT I am only renting and I can't start fueds that will make things difficult for the kind landlord. So I will just have to move on because dirt bikes are complete anathema to me. Does anyone else on the forum have trouble with dirt bikes? I need to hear some "success" stories to lift my spirits.
O, you have no idea how I feel for you? We have lived close to the Bunyip State Park (Vic) for 13 years now. We never stay home on weekends, because we can’t cope with the noise pollution of the big Harleys going down the road, and the countless dirt bikes trashing the bush. My husband doesn’t take his horse into the bush anymore, the people on those bikes have no respect for anything, animals, people or the bush. They drive up here from the City and think this is freedom, and that means they can do what they like. We have tried everything, explored every avenue, no success . We also get 4X4 clubs trashing the dirt roads and the vegetation, they love the wet, although they have to stick to the tracks, they never do. They go “cross country”,. Destroying everything.
I have contacted 4X4 clubs and DSE, also councils and the Victorian Government. No success!!! They advertise the State Parks and promote outdoor activities, they encourage people to use the State Parks for, what they call: recreational activities. Trust me, NO change of mind, the idea is: the bush is there to be used by everyone. Who cares about trees, animals or the suffering people that live here?
Like you, anyone who had any success in combating this trend of destruction of the bush by dirt bikes , I want to know “how you did it”?
M-L
I forgot to mention, we have an “environmental sensitive overlay” where we live. We weren’t allowed to build an extension to our house, because some vegetation would have been removed. Never mind the many trees and shrubs we planted. How sick is that? Other neighbours just go ahead and cut everything down without permits. Go figure??
M-L
I don't know about Queensland but in victora there are more regulations about riding motorbikes on your own land than there are for crown land or state parks.
Most of the regs relate to land size and zoning as well as disturbance to neighours,worth looking into !
And "harleys" why is it that very few of them seem to have mufflers,if I drove my car without one I wouldn't get to the end of the street .
Yes it all seems crazy to me. I don't understand the "state parks to be used by everyone" dictum. Sanctuaries, public beaches and suburban parklands are "to be used by everyone" but they generally don't let dirt bikes into those areas because of the problems they cause to the environment and the fact that they intrude so profoundly into everyone else's lives. Maybe there's a need for better zoning or "overlays" where dirt bikes are prohibited within a certain distance of settlement and within areas of environmental significance. And yes, there is not likely to be any change of mind until enough people protest. But most people just don't care. There's the rub.