Off-road bikers have rangers on watch
By Candus Thomson - Baltimore Sun
Ribbons of hard-packed dirt with nicknames like Sam's Grave, Seminary Loop and Ewok stitch the woods around Loch Raven Reservoir, a training ground for world-champion mountain bikers and urban warriors for more than a decade.
But city officials want to halt off-road use by bikers and others trying to reach the water's edge, saying the activity increases erosion and runoff into the reservoir and makes water treatment more expensive.
Six watershed rangers have been hired this year with seven more on the way whose duties include enforcing a 10-year-old policy that requires bikers to stay on maintained fire roads. Rangers have issued several $100 tickets for late-night riding as well as countless warnings, which, in turn, have generated hundreds of protest e-mails to City Hall.
"It's an outdated management plan that they're trying to enforce," said Eric Crawford, a spokesman for the 600-member Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE). "It's a little obsessive and a little bit off the mark. They've never revisited it, and they should."
Today, 10 City Council members will request a public hearing for early next year to start talks between officials, members of MORE and the International Mountain Biking Association that could lead to a compromise on access. Meanwhile, preliminary discussions between the riders and city officials have been scheduled for Monday.
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