Councillor Ash Brown moved to accelerate a master plan at an Orange City Council meeting last week, with support from Brand Orange and the Central West Off Road Bicycle Club during public access.

While council voted to contribute $50,000 to a master plan, councillor Neil Jones voiced his concerns about the environmental impact.

Cr Jones said the mountain’s management plan needed to change to accommodate a mountain bike trail centre.

“We could end up with a report and the minister says we’ve got other priorities and the area should remain as it is,” he said.

“We need to be sure we’ve assessed alternative sites for the facility.”

Central West Environmental Council spokesperson Cilla Kinross echoed his concerns. She said Canobolas State Forest would be acceptable, but the state conservation area’s high elevation meant any track would impact on sensitive vegetation and disturb  wildlife.

“You would probably get a wide range of bike riders - some think about the significance of the area and others want to ride as fast as they can,” she said.

“The upper part of the mountain, with the snow gums, it wouldn’t be appropriate to have [trails] that far up.”

Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange president Nick King said the group supported mountain biking because it encouraged less carbon emissions but also urged the conservation area be avoided.

“The cycling community is very environment conscious and they do their best to adhere to the best practices - you can have all the best intentions under the sun, but you can’t put 70 kilometres of track in a conservation area and not compromise it,” he said.

He also believed upkeep of the tracks would be difficult due to tight National Parks and Wildlife Service budgets.

Brand Orange executive officer Rhonda Sear said the growth of cycling tourism was “right up there” with food and wine tourism.

“We are really trying to attract the international platform and we need to create new reasons for people to come,” she said.

“I think we’ve got an enormous opportunity, but it needs to be managed carefully - we don’t want anything that’s going to be in any way detrimental to this region.”

Bicycle club vice-president Rodney Farrell said the activity was a low-impact sport on the environment because there was no need to remove trees, the trails were narrow and it increased policing.

“By having 500 or 1000 riders there, there’s less dumping and less vandalising,” he said.

Mr Farrell said Rotorua was used as the benchmark because it was geographically isolated, yet it made $NZ12 million a year.

“More than likely, you’re going to have large groups of people coming for more than one night,” he said.

On the Rotorua comparison, Cr Jones said: “Let’s not be confused ... Mount Canobolas is 1600 hectares of significant conservation value and Rotorua is in a redwood plantation."

The council is seeking a second $50,000 to complete the master plan - if it cannot find a grant within three months, funds will come from other parts of the budget.

danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au