So while Dr. Don Koehler is concerned about the impact of biking, and points out that illegal trails have sliced and diced Forest Ridge and surrounding areas into pieces too small to be used by songbirds as nesting habitat, he acknowledges that development is having the same effect across Travis County. Koehler says that though development patterns in greater Austin generally outweigh concerns over renegade bikers, he must address both issues if the endangered species are to survive. As it stands, developers have been snatching up land hard by the park-like preserves near Bull Creek and elsewhere, leaving behind a conservation plan that looks like a jigsaw puzzle with several pieces gone. Because of continued development, meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which had initially targeted about 45,000 acres for a separate federal preserve, has upped its acquisition goal to nearly 70,000 acres in Travis and Hays Counties. Travis Co. Commissioner Karen Sonleitner puts a more positive spin on the impact of fragmentation on the conservation plan, noting that real-estate agents can virtually guarantee that folks who purchase sites abutting preserve boundaries will never have to worry about additional development.
Some developers recognize that the preserves can be a good thing.
These areas include the Barton Creek Greenbelt and Wilderness, Bull Creek District Park, the Bull Creek Greenbelt, St. Edwards Park, and Emma Long Park, where mountain bikers and off-road motorcyclists share the trail. Public access has also been maintained at Mt. Bonnell Park for hiking and picnicking, while various other public areas can be accessed for education or research purposes. Of course, there are those in the mountain bike community who reject the argument that the edge effect from biking compares with industrial parks, trophy homes, and strip malls. Austin Ridge Rider Britt Jones and Hill Abell, owner of the Bicycle Sport Shop, say that cyclists should be seen as potential stewards of the land, and beyond that, argue the scientific evidence linking biking to bird mortality is scant at best. As far as we're concerned there's no science behind this decision.