Photo Coursey of Scott Davis-Fisch
Vedder Mountain in Chilliwack BC, has recently been a victim to some serious Trail Vandalism. Two incidents of vandalism have gotten local riders and trail advocacy groups wondering who has it out for the local mountain bike community. The Vedder mountain bike trails are regularly maintained by the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association (FVMBA), and are managed by the Vedder Mountain Trail Association (VMTA), these groups work in conjunction to help to provide to area for local Chilliwack mountain bikers to recreate in. Unfortunately these recent acts of deliberate, malicious vandalism have both groups on edge. The Vedder Mountain Trail Association has released the following statement:
"Sometime between the late afternoon of Friday December 27 and the morning of Saturday December 28, an unidentified vandal used a chainsaw to damage the landing area of the gap jump that has defined the end of the Skidder mountain bike trail since 1998. This rendered this feature a significant potential danger to a rider who might have attempted to ride on the feature. Fortunately this was discovered early and the trail was blocked for the protection of riders. As this was a malicious act that appeared to have no purpose but to harm mountain bike riders, reports were made to RCMP and the Recreation Sites and Trails BC manager was informed. A large contingent of volunteers from Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association, Vedder Running Club, Chilliwack Outdoor Club and several VMTA Directors and Officers attended on the following Saturday to rehabilitate the damaged trail. The end result was an even better and definitely a fun modification to this old-timely trail
Unfortunately, this past weekend saw yet more trail vandalism. This time the iconic Dilemma mountain bike trail that dates back to the early 1990’s was the target. Again chainsaws were employed to create the damage to several technical trail features and this was carried out sometime between the evening of Tuesday January 14 and Wednesday morning January 15. The way the features were damaged was consistent with the damage done on the Skidder Trail making it clear that the same individual(s) perpetrated this most recent crime. In this iteration of trail vandalism, 4 features were damaged. In 3 of the cases the damage was done in such a way that if a rider were to have ridden on the feature, it would have collapsed in on them likely leading to significant harm for the rider. The 4th feature was a rebuild of a very old feature commonly known as the Super Booter. It was only partially completed and all of the logs that were brought into place to be employed in the build were sawed into small pieces rendering them useless.
In addition to this damage, several signs were also removed including the Dilemma trail wand-sign and 2 large (3 foot x 4 foot) brown signs (in governmental colors) that were posted high up in trees (one on the road up from the mountain bike parking area and the other in the dirt bike parking area). Both signs were Ministry signs stating “No Unauthorized Trail Building or Trail Alteration Permitted”. These signs required an extension ladder to install and were lag-bolted to the trees requiring tools to remove (a time consuming activity to be sure). Is this just a coincidence or is there some association between the vandalism events and the theft of these govt signs?
Dilemma trail gets the heaviest use of any trail on Vedder Mountain (based upon trail counters) and though a mountain bike (non-motorized) trail, it has been happily shared by mountain bikers with hikers and trail runners for a long, long time. There have been no currently reported conflicts here between any user groups. This appears to be causing destruction for destruction-sake. There is a pretty strong intent to cause harm to mountain bikers.
We in the recreation community have been left wringing our hands trying to figure out who has perpetrated this crime, how to prevent this (and the potential injury to recreationists) in the future and how to move forward in a way where trail building volunteers would feel that their efforts and contributions were not an utter waste of their time and money. We know that we cannot do this alone.
We need eyes and ears in the forest. Installation of several motion sensitive cameras has been undertaken and it is hoped that these will catch perpetrators in the act in the event of any future activity. These crimes took time to perpetrate. The person had a truck with a ladder on it and someone undoubtedly saw this. Someone must have heard chain saws running. Someone may have seen a person walking out of the bush carrying a chainsaw or someone up a ladder doing something with a sign. We need people to come forward to help us here. Please consider sending information that you have to us and we will forward this to RCMP who VMTA is actively working with on this matter. We are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s). Please know that you can send information anonymously (if you choose) by email to the following link (VMTA Trail Vandalism Tips). Please help us to stop this dangerous behavior before someone’s loved-one gets hurt." - (Mark Steinebach- VMTA President).
For more on this story check out the following links:
www.vmta.ca - Vandalismwww.fvmba.com - Vandalswww.theprogress.comVideo from BC's Global News:
@dhftw1231 Hitting someone is not an option (unless you have a acid tank..... ) as in most cases the kind of crap who take down trail are masters of the legal system and will probably have your ass at court!.
@Aibek ill go to jail happily knowing that the saan biatch has a messed face
The end result should be the same though, the vandal, one the ground, uncocious/bloody/battered. Or all three.
I feel for all the people who have had their trails vandalised, especially if you have put in a lot of time and effort. I understand the pain!!
@samtomkins, Parks really does not like mountain bike trails because of our impact on the forest, as well as liability. I would suggest forming a dedicated group to approach Parks and indicate your interest and intentions on developing a riding area. Sometimes forming a partnership is the best option to keep trails open.
And now we all represent his/their own inadequacies...
I'd heard about the vandalism, and I shake my head at why people would do this. angry, sad, socially-excluded bitter people with issues? who knows. I don't like riding near horses, personally, but they share the trails so they get respect and a cheery hello, and life goes on. but seeing this vandalism up close and personal, when structures have been built with great thought, sturdy, safe, using local low-impact materials, sustainable (low maintenance) and built purely on volunteer labour, in their own time and at their own expense, makes me despair
Vedder is a shining example of great people, a tight local community, where all motorized and non-motorized sports are integrated and are generally respectful towards each other. user conflicts seem to be minimal at Vedder
so, I hadn't ridden Vedder for 4 years or so. on the face of it, not much has changed. but what is obvious is a passion for the trails. TLC, great signage, clear trails, very well maintained, garbage-free, sustainable, and a nice friendly vibe between all trail users. a great place to ride a bike
to the Vedder trailbuilders and local riders; I apologise that we can't offer you any free labour, but Jack's Cycle took a donation from us for whatever you need. I hope this helps somewhat
if you get chance, go take a drive out to Vedder and sample the goods. go to Church. hopefully, the MTB community will unite and help the Vedder locals. there needs to be a revival. Vedder is worthy
regards,
your friends form the east
Thanks for the support!
You come up to gofor a rip with the Canadians eh!
I gave that doofus a piece of my mind. imgur.com/Iuy3bqj
police.berkeley.edu/crimealerts/2010/10-050610-34.htm
One strategy is to use natural features when possible but yes, it's old school, and it's also more a condiseration in design phases. Another: When actually building trail features, or performing vandal resistant rehabilitation, lean toward use of dirt and rock. I know, due to trail design goals, available materials, and the rainfall and drainage challenges in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, it isn't always viable.
They're stupid because one day they may need allies to help prevent the total destruction of forested areas and mtn bikers would be all over that. Too thick to see we share common ground.
Unfortunately when people make uneducated comments like this it really doesn't help anyone, it just angers us riders.
If you think the shock that you guys felt when you discovered your features were destroyed, it's nothing compared to the shock those vandals will feel when they discover the trail is back up & running even better than before. MTB'ers outnumber vandals a thousand to one, they don't stand a chance in destroying your trails.
Take the higher trail & kill'em with kindness & dedication to our sport.
I gave him a piece of my mind.
imgur.com/Iuy3bqj
m.facebook.com/mike.vandeman.96
99.9% of the time we ride 100% legal trails (I do at least)
forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/mike-vandeman-vs-mtn-bikers-guilty-634668.html
Granted the situation above is worse as it is clearly people who have a grudge against you guys riding and they left the features in a deliberate state made to cause harm, disgusting. But does anyone know if there is a way of appealing against the forestry commission or possibly coming to an agreement? They left signs up all over the wood but when we tried to contact them there is no answer, not to phone calls or emails. what do you? can you do anything?
www.facebook.com/mike.vandeman.96
Once they simply put a couple of really tiny fishing lines with kind of a glue, sand and glass mix that is sharp as f*ck and one of my friends got a really deep wound and had to be taken to the hospital.
I really hope this kind of things wouldn't happen anymore. =((
In a nut shell, we can't do shit but rebuild and hope they get tired of cutting it up.
With the development we will now have people wining about the wildlife in their back yard when we all know they were there first. f*ckin ignorant people...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_spiking
EDIT: I guess I should read the whole article first.
We stacked some rocks 3 feet tall in a form of trail art and pointed a motion activated camera at it. Sure enough,in less than a day the rocks had been kicked over. We even had a picture him doing the kicking. While his back was to the camera in that photo, other cameras mounted further down the trail captured his face. Later that night we had him identified; name, address, license plates etc.
The cameras are cheap. Put some in the trees and catch that bastard!
"Earth First..........we'll ride the other planets later"
that lives near by.
Cheers
Your best bet is to file a police report and handle it through the law...be smart about this!! Also some cameras and scouting of all local trails may be in order. If you find someone with a chainsaw call the police and take down their license plates etc.
These people if caught can be charged with assault and reckless endangerment and serve jail time.
Look at this dude...http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/psycho-doc-jailed-booby-traps-bike-trails-article-1.1333042
Be safe and be smart.
-peace