“We’re not against biking,” insists Ernst Wandfluh in an interview with “PlattformJ”, a news portal in the Bernese Oberland. “But this is about our property; we want clear rules,” continues the vice president of the Bernese Forest Owners Association (BWB).

The BWB outlined what this entails in a model contract published in March 2025. In it, the association recommends that its members not sign any declaration of consent without first agreeing on a compensation amount. The document specifies what forest owners could demand: for newly built bike trails, 1 to 5 francs per square meter per year, assuming a 3-meter strip regardless of the trail’s width, multiplied by the length of the route. For existing paths designated as MTB routes, 50 centimes to 2 francs per running meter per year should be charged. 

The paper is still available from the BWB. The figures can be found there. The exorbitant fees that trail projects would incur over the years, Ride calculated in a few examples at the time. 

In Search of the Misunderstanding

“PlattformJ” quotes Wandfluh as saying that it is a misunderstanding that forest owners are demanding so much money that a trail project like the one in the Gantrisch Nature Park becomes unfinanceable. The text does not specify exactly what the misunderstanding consists of. Ride therefore asks him for clarification. The vice president, who also serves as an SVP member of the National Council, has the BWB secretariat convey that he does not have the resources to answer the questions. 

Managing Director Anja Leser takes over: “The amounts mentioned are intended as a guideline for the scope of negotiation. In principle, it is up to individual forest owners to negotiate a price that suits them and the local conditions. In this respect, it is incorrect to claim that CHF 5.00 is demanded across the board and everywhere; hence the term ‘misunderstanding.’”

The five francs as a flat rate do not appear in the PlatformJ article. And Ride already presented the BWB’s demands in full detail a year ago—just as they are still available today on the BWB website.

President puts his organization’s model contract into perspective

It is interesting to note what Ernst Wandfluh also says in the video interview in the PlattformJ article: The amounts listed in the model contract were intended to provide a benchmark within which forest owners could negotiate, but: “Five francs is probably a bit high.”

The compensation debate in the Canton of Bern is also linked to the project for an MTB trail network in the Gantrisch Nature Park. This project is funded with NRP money from the federal government and the canton. Wandfluh comments that a lot of money is flowing into the projects and everyone wants a piece of the pie. The Bike Voralpen association, which is implementing the project, explains upon inquiry that they have not yet received any compensation claims from landowners, but have also not yet concluded any agreements. The discussions were constructive; the next step is a 12-month trial period.

In the interview, the vice president of the Bernese Forest Owners concludes by presenting a new idea: All mountain bikers—or cyclists, it is not clear—should purchase an annual vignette. In his own words: “Anyone who buys a bicycle should be required to purchase this vignette.” The proceeds are intended to cover maintenance costs and compensate forest owners.

According to Wandfluh, however, the BWB will not pursue this idea. And apparently, he does not intend to do so as a member of the National Council either. Rather, in his view, the “cycling organizations at the national level” should take the lead on this. In other words, mountain bikers should advocate for the right to pay trail fees across the board in the forest in the future—as the sole users of these public trails. The idea is also being discussed within the biking community and viewed by some as a necessary step, as a report in the latest issue of Ride (No. 101) shows.