Lots of questions and comments about the mtb permit on various forums and facebook pages. Here is a compilation of some of the questions and some comments.
Q. What is being proposed?A. Increase of gate fees
Instate: $40 to $60 annual and $5 to $7 daily
Out of State: $60 to $70 annual and $7 to $9 daily
Addition of an Off Road Cycling Permit: Annual of $20 and daily of $5.
There are a number of other fee increases.
http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/sp-2015_fee_changes.pdfQ. Why is State Parks doing this?A. The Spring legislative session just ended and the budget passed left Indiana State Parks with a $3,000,000 short fall for their operating budget. This doesn’t count the hundreds of million dollars of deferred maintenance costs for park facilities. At the end of the day, State Parks can’t run a deficit and have no choice but to increase revenue or low costs by closing parks. There are a whole list of fees that are increasing in an effort to keep our parks open.
Q. Didn’t Mountain Bikers build all the mountain bike trails in State Parks?A. Not really true. While mountain bikers have built many miles of mountain bike trails in State Parks, many miles of trail have been built by pro trail builders through grants. HMBA has received $725,000 in grants through the DNR’s division of Outdoor recreation. Some of these funds were Federal and some State. With the success of the first volunteer built trails, the Division of Outdoor Rec has worked hard to help us find Grants. So, while the Division of State Parks hasn’t funded the construction of mountain bike trails, the IDNR has. Also to note that at O’Bannon Woods State Park, Stan Baelz the Assistant Park Manager, has helped build trails using park staff.
Also, keep in mind that mountain bikers do have costs to the Parks. Toilet paper, maps, search and rescue, etc… do have some cost.
Q. Are mountain bikers going to see any benefits from an off-road cycling permit?A. Mountain Bikers are a diverse user group. We range from very serious riders who ride multiple times per week to causal riders who may only ride a few times per year. There also are some geographical concerns that play into answering this question. For some mountain bikers the permit is going to be a very good thing and for some it will not. For serious mountain bikers in Central and Southern Indiana the permit will be a good thing. In a time when the State Parks are underfunded we are still getting access to build more trails (O’Bannon, BCSP, Versailles, and Harmonie).
We also want to build trails in State Forests. The permit would cover both State Parks and State Forests. We don’t want to have separate Parks and Forest permits as that would be very confusing. Currently there is no revenue stream for State Forests. The off-road cycling permit opens up a lot of opportunities for both mountain bike and gravel/cross bike access to State Forests. HMBA is currently developing trails in Yellowwood State Forest that will connect to BCSP and Hoosier National Forest.
There are concerns.
While the value of the Pass plus permit is pretty good for serious rides in the South Half of Indiana, this will present challenges to some groups. Riders in the Northern Half of the State have one 7 mile mountain bike trail (Potato Creek). They are also a long way from trails in the Southern Half of the State. Add in that there are some good mountain bike trails in Michigan (which cost less for Hoosiers than Indiana Parks) and the cost of using mountain bike trails in State Parks isn't a good value.
Will the out of state costs ($90 annual or $14 per day) discourage those outside of Indiana from using our parks. While out of State riders don’t pay Indiana taxes they do tend to spend a lot more money in Indiana when they come to ride the trails. State Parks only gets $1.39 from each Hoosier. So it really isn’t like Hoosiers are paying much for State Parks through taxes. But out of State Riders contribute to our State’s economy. They buy gas, camp, rent hotels, eat, and I have heard in some cases drink local beer. If out of state riders are deterred by the cost of Indiana State Parks, this will have a negative impact on the State’s economy.
While serious riders will get their $20 worth pretty quickly. There is a concern that the extra cost may discourage those who are interested in mountain biking from giving the sport a try. We do want more people to ride mountain bikes and need to make sure this doesn't become a barrier to entry.
Q. What would happen if the permit doesn't happen?A. It is unlikely that we would get access to State Forests or approval to build new trails in state Parks. And outside of just mountain biking, if State Parks cannot cover the costs of operating State Parks, then services/recreational opportunities would go away or even Parks would have to be closed.
Q. Is the permit fair compared to other user groups?A. Every user group can look at what other groups pay/get and make arguments that they are not being treated fairly. Hikers and trail runners complain that mountain bikers are getting all the new trails. Hikers, trail runners, and equestrians all complaint that the mountain bikers get better trails than they get. At the end of the day, worrying about whether life is completely fair just distracts us from focusing on doing the right things for our group. We need to focus on doing what is the right thing for our user group in the long run. I believe that in the long run that the strategies of the Equestrian and Hiking Communities will have negative repercussions.
Q. If mountain bikers are paying for a permit, why should they also volunteer to maintain trials?A. We have the best trails in state parks because those who maintain the trails are mountain bikers. It is very rare for Park Staff to understand what trail users are looking for and build and maintain trails that are a fun to ride as user built trails. With the lack of funding from the State, State Parks could not afford to maintain the mountain bike trails. They would quickly become less fun to ride. State Parks could hire staff and maintain our trails for us. But this would require a significant source of funding that currently doesn't exist.
Q. Does HMBA support this Permit? A. HMBA does support a permit system that would allow access to State Forests and continued development of trails in State Parks. But there are aspects of how this Permit is being proposed that HMBA does not support. We would like for permit to be for specific trails in State Parks. This would allow trail systems like Potato Creek (only 7 miles of trail), and beginner trails to not require a permit. We want to see kids be able to ride without a permit.
Q. What is HMBA doing?Given the current financial crisis our State Parks are Facing, it is not likely that an off road permit will not happen. Our efforts are focused on helping to shape the permit system to be as fair as possible and to reduce negative consequences of the permit. We are engaged with State Parks and Forests and the Natural Resource Commission. IMBA is involved as well. They have issued an action alert and are speaking for riders around the state as well and neighboring states. HMBA and IMBA are planning to work politically to get more funding for our State Parks and Forests. We will also be working with local and state tourism organizations to ensure they understand the impact increased fees with have on tourism.
Q. What can mountain bikers do?A. In large park mountain bikers in Indiana have had it pretty good. New trails have been built every year and the trails are some of the best in the country. This has led to little need for our user group to be politically engaged. But now we do need our user group to be engaged politically. The bad guy here isn't State Parks. It’s the State Legislator that has underfunded our Parks for the past decade and now has provided State Parks $3 million dollars less than what they need to keep our Parks open. Every mountain biker and really every Hoosier who uses our State Parks needs to write, call, or meet with, their local legislators and let them know that the rising fees for State Parks are bad for the State (Health, tourism, well being, attracting young professionals). The focus of the conversations shouldn't be just specifically about mountain biking. Our parks need and deserve an appropriate amount of funding.
Q. Will this permit work for Hoosier National Forest?
A. No, Hoosier National Forest is Federal land and a State Permit will not work there.
Q. The language on the NRC document indicates the permit is do to the extra maintenance required for mountain bike trails. This doesn't make sense?
A. Correct, this doesn't make sense. The reason that HMBA has supported the concept of a permit was to generate funds to build and maintain more trails. If the mountain bike community continued to maintain trails, then the funds could support new trail construction. But the current need for State Parks is just to survive financially. While they are struggling with the messaging, the permit is not due to mountain bike being more damaging to trails than hikers. The reason for the permit is to make it financially beneficial for State Parks and State Forest to support the construction of more trails.
