Like many people in the mountain biking community, we're concerned at the news that the government is planning legislation which will enable them to force the sale of Forestry Commission land. We've been Facebooking and Twittering about the plans for a while, but it seems the time has come to go into a bit more depth about why the changes could be bad for what we do, and mountain biking in general.

If you want a comprehensive overview of the plans to date, a good place to start is the Save Our Forests blog. This gathers all the facts about the proposed sale and the campaign to stop it, and its compilers (and many of the commenters) are clearly a well-informed bunch.

On to our local trails. The Commission manage a number of the local woodlands where mountain biking takes place. The most important are 50 Acre Wood and Leigh Woods, but there's also riding to be had in places like Wraxall Piece and Ashton Hill Plantation.

We work with the FC on the trail in 50 Acre, where they have a commendably hands-off approach, letting us build and develop the trail and then inspecting it for safety issues. They have supported us in small but significant ways throughout the past 5 years, such as paying for contractors to deliver materials to the wood, or getting their foresters in to clear blocked trail and make neat trail features. The result is a trail that's been developed in a nice "organic" way and which keeps a decent level of challenge for more experienced riders. Throughout this, the Commission have received no financial return from the trail. It just ticks the box that they encourage the public to enjoy their woodland.

One of the best things about this arrangement is that we get a challenging trail, but the Forestry Commission assumes the risk. If anyone decides they want to sue after injuring themselves on the trails, the Commission assumes the responsibility. They have a great track record of defending liability claims while allowing risky activities. If you've ever ridden the official downhill tracks at Forest of Dean, Wentwood or Cwm Carn, it's no coincidence that these are all on FC land.

Going back to Bristol, in Leigh Woods there's a whole new mountain bike trail coming soon courtesy of the 1SW Project. This is a major initiative to get people riding across the South West, which has secured £200,000 of funding for new trails in Bristol. While it's a partnership which also involves the National Trust and Bristol City Council, the Forestry Commission were the driving force behind it, and it's their staff's expertise and understanding that has enabled them to bring the project into being.

While we're talking about Leigh Woods, it seems like a good time to mention the Commission's sensible policy on access.

In the past, trail construction in Leigh Woods hasn't been endorsed by the land managers - but in reality the unoffical trails there are so well established that they have been allowed to continue, as long as people rode sensibly and didn't build new trails or jumps. There are several challenging unofficial trails over there (locals know the ones) which have been left alone due to the Commission's tolerant policy on liability and risk. It's only when cheeky trails have crossed over into being "built" (e.g. wooden structures or jumps) or brought mountain bikers into conflict with walkers (in Paradise Bottom for example) that action has been taken.

Despite occasional difficulties, in our experience the Forestry Commission are one of the best land managers to deal with, and have a policy of coming to sensible compromises rather than trying to kick people off places they shouldn't be riding. The impression we've formed is that they want people to be out in their woods, using them, whether it's on foot, wheels or horseback. Forestry Commission woods are either Open Access land or are in the process of being dedicated as such, so for walkers there is a "right to roam". Wherever practical they also extend this to cyclists and equestrians.

So what would happen if the woods were privately owned?

According to the consultation document the government has produced, the FC's land is going to be split up into groups.

"Large forests" are going to be leased to timber companies - not much controversial there, although it's worth noting that many trail centres are also located in timber-producing forests - Kielder for example.

"Heritage forests" are going to be transferred to exisiting or new charities. It's possible that Leigh Woods might fall into this category. Half of Leigh Woods is already owned by the National Trust, who have indicated that they are prepared to take over many woodlands after the sell-off happens. Historically the National trust have tried to discourage cycling in their half of the woods, although to be fair, the NT side of the woods includes most of the Avon Gorge SSSI, so there are also environmental reasons for doing this.

Smaller woods are going to be sold, with first refusal going to charities and community groups. Places like 50 Acre Wood and Ashton Hill Plantation could fall into this category.

So, what's to stop us from buying our own forest and building mountain bike trails there?

First of all, there's the basic cost of the land. The government's plan is for any woodland to be sold at market rates - currently around £1,000 an acre. I doubt any of us can find this sort of money down the side of the sofa, so we'd need to embark on an unprecedented fundraising exercise. The initial cost of purchase wouldn't be the end of it. We'd need landowner liability insurance, a massive expense which has forced more than one private mountain biking venue out of business. Finally, there would be ongoing management costs. Put simply, buying our own woodlands would be expensive, time-consuming and would lump us with all kinds of responsibilities which we currently don't have to worry about.

Some woods might be taken over by charities or community groups. Great - but there is no guarantee that this will happen. Most charities are strapped for cash at the best of times and they may also have a different set of priorities to us. For example, the emphasis could shift to preserving the ecology of the woods at the expense of access or facilities. Woods of little ecological or historic value could also be passed over in favour of "heritage" land.

Which leaves private purchasers and businesses. At present, there is no obvious practical way for a business to make money by taking ownership of the mountain bike trails we have in Bristol. You could start charging for access to the trails, but how would you police this, and how many people would be prepared to pay? There are some successful privately run MTB centres in the UK (such as Coed Llandegla) but these are more of a draw than the trails in Bristol, have better facilities (car parks and visitor centres) and are massively subsidised.

It's much more likely that the woods would be snapped up for small-scale timber production, shooting, or other tried-and--tested ways of making money. Woodland is also exempt from most forms of tax, so it may be purchased by private buyers as an investment. If this happened, we don't know what would become of the trails as we know them. Access via foot would be guaranteed in some woodlands, but there are no such safeguards for cycling. The best we could hope for are agreements with the new owners. If these were breached, we would have to take the new owner to court, a drawn-out and expensive process.

The frustrating thing is that the sale doesn't need to happen. Over the past few years the Forestry Commission in England have become more self-sufficient, to the point where the funding they receive is relatively small - just £15 million a year for 2007/2008. In the same year they produced 60% of the UK's timber, and the contribution they made to outdoor recreation in the UK was massive - over 40 million visits a year are made to their holdings.  The sale is expected to make £150-250 million, but over a period of 10 years, so it's hardly the solution the country's budget deficit. UPDATE: There's more information on the financial side of the sales here.

In the meantime the Forestry Commission's staff is going to be downsized by up to 80%, becoming advisers and consultants to the new owners. Job cuts have already started to happen. A recent proposal to formalise the unofficial trails in Ashton Hill Plantation and create an official downhill area was recently dropped. The impression that I got from talking to our local ranger is that the Commission are now too understaffed in this region to supervise the project and the future of the land is uncertain.

A consultation on the proposals has just been launched but it's phrased as though the sell-off is going ahead regardless. In fact the Bill is still being debated, and you can write to your local MP expressing your opposition. If you have't already you can also sign the petition at 38 Degrees.

Finally, in a somewhat ironic twist, 2011 is International Year of Forests.