Two Arrested for Building Illegal Mountain-Bike Trail in Indianapolis Nature Preserve | Bicycling
Two Indiana men have been accused of building an illegal mountain-bike trail in a state park, highlighting long-simmering tensions between trail access and wildlife conservation.
Michael Hufhand and Jed Kidwell, both 54, were charged last week with criminal mischief and trespassing for carving out their bandit singletrack in Fort Harrison State Park, in northeast Indianapolis. The pair used shovels and herbicides on a roughly 1.5-mile stretch of the Chinquapin Nature Preserve, a protected, 100-acre corner of the park off limits to the public.
Because the estimated damage exceeds $50,000, the men were charged with a felony and are currently banned from all state parks for a year. They also face up to 2.5 years in prison.
Park personnel discovered the trail last May. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), both Kidwell and Hufhand were identified after being caught on trail cameras and posting to a Facebook group for local mountain bikers. Hufhand was allegedly using the group to solicit donations for weedkiller to spray on the trail.
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