Katrina Madsen of the Friends of Haro Woods stands with the group's petition near a tree damaged by unknown individuals. The group is concerned that allowing cycling in the area could cause additional damage to the park. Wolf Depner/News Staff

Katrina Madsen of the Friends of Haro Woods stands with the group's petition near a tree damaged by unknown individuals. The group is concerned that allowing cycling in the area could cause additional damage to the park. Wolf Depner/News Staff

LETTER: Cycling will damage Haro Woods habitat

I think that the recent article about the Haro Woods totally misses the point of why people object to it. Residents have always accepted biking in the forest, but now after almost 30 years of efforts to protect the Haro Woods as a natural woodland are successful, a group emerges to say hey, let's build a BMX track with swales and jumps here because it's cool.

I think that the recent article about the Haro Woods totally misses the point of why people object to it. Residents have always accepted biking in the forest, but now after almost 30 years of efforts to protect the Haro Woods as a natural woodland are successful, a group emerges to say hey, let’s build a BMX track with swales and jumps here because it’s cool.

They arrive with shovels, axes and mallets and decide between themselves where a new jump should be. Within a few days they have destroyed large ferns, saplings and have eroded the root system of both large and small trees in this unique Costal Douglas fir forest.

This forest destruction continues even today. The bikers have consistently shown themselves to be very poor forest stewards with little regard for the forests health.

David Minty

Saanich

Saanich News