Since the organizer, KK Pendalna, did not receive environmental approval for the course, we are unfortunately forced to cancel the third race of the series, which was scheduled to take place in Mežica on June 20 and 21.
You are by now familiar with the issue. It concerns the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act (ZON), amended at the end of last year, which prohibits the organization of cycling events in protected areas.
As you already know, a replacement event, the SloEnduro Kamplc, will take place on June 6 and 7 in Ajdovščina. Propositions and registration
The Battle in Details
The Slovenian Cycling Federation was already active during the public debate on the preparation of the amendment to the law, but the legislature did not take the comments into account. Before the season, representatives of the Cycling Federation met twice with representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, the Slovenian Forest Service, and the Slovenian Institute for Nature Conservation.
The Ministry expressed interest in resolving the situation, as the law is clearly not properly drafted. State Secretary Miran Gajšek even promised to amend the law. As a temporary solution, they prepared an interpretation under which, based on the zoning of forest areas and already legalized cycling trails, the Forestry Institute would grant approval; along with the consent of the landowners, approval from the Nature Conservation Institute would then not be required.
Based on these guidelines, which were also sent to the regional offices of both institutions, the XCC Završnica event has already received approval for its resubmitted application, and DH Sotejska has also been granted approval. But the solution is not universal, and as long as the law remains as it is, we and the event organizers are at the mercy of those who have to sign off on it. This makeshift solution also applies only to forested areas.
The process of amending the law will be slow; first, under the new government, the officials at the ministries must be replaced, and previous promises no longer hold any weight. Until the law is changed again, all of us involved in organizing mountain biking events will simply have to fight many small, local battles.
