Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is calling on mountain bikers riding off trail in Ae Forest to use common sense and stop flouting safety and closure warnings.
In a recent one-week period, FLS harvesting contractors reported about 40 bikers coming through the operational site on Green Hill despite very clear signage.
The Green Hill area is off-limits because there are dangerous windblown trees that need felling. However, there is only minor impact on official FLS trails with some diversions in place.
FLS’ Area Visitor Service Manager, Katharina Koehler, said:
“Storm damage is extremely hazardous. It might look solid but downed or partially fallen trees can twist, roll, pivot or fall at the slightest touch and can cause serious injury.
“The disregard of warnings and failure to observe access restrictions not only puts mountain bikers at risk of serious injury, but also puts an added burden onto FLS staff and contractors and also eats into the already limited resources we have at our disposal.
“There are multiple machines working on the site clearing old windblow and felling other trees in the process so safety is a serious concern.”
Unfortunately, the actions of these riders means that FLS has to divert efforts away from key tasks such as path and trail repair and maintenance, to instead monitor this inconsiderate behaviour and increase security measures around the essential operations.
Katharina added:
“We really want to welcome people back to all of our forests as soon as possible and we know that it is frustrating to not be able to visit some places but recent storms mean things will be disrupted for some time to come.
“Most people are exercising common sense and are continuing to enjoy the forests in a safe way with other options available for mountain bikers.
“We’ll keep working as hard as we can to get things back to normal as soon as we can and we appreciate the patience and understanding being shown.”
FLS is asking all visitors to:
- always obey signage
- stay well away from work areas
- if a path or trail is blocked, turn back
- do not walk around, climb over or duck under felled trees
- avoid going to the forest when weather conditions are bad, as trees or debris which is unstable may be blown down without warning
- Always check the FLS webpages for the latest updates before visiting a forest
