Being privy to both sides of the situation, I may be able to shed some light.
Regarding the loss of some features within the park: I do understand the desire of wanting technical challenges. My home parks are Ringwood, Ramapo and parks where a rock garden and a good climb are par. My idea of a darn good day out is Bob dragging me up and down the mooch. This is my realm and I do love a challenge (which Bob is so good at providing). So, I am by no means happy to see general cleansing of logs, etc.. that said, they fell victim to a lack of distinction between a log ramped up and log built up to ride lengthwise. These guys do not know the difference... both look out of place to a non-rider... so although I am disappointed, I am not at all surprised. That said, trees fall, there will be more to jump over the future. I promise.
Moving on to a broader yet related topic... this state is hobbled by the mere *threat* of lawsuits, and all parks have legitimate liability concerns due to this. As Bob alluded to, some parks simply have a different comfort level with exposure to liability; some feel more secure, while some do not. Even if an injury case never makes it to trial (whether its an endo on a natural log or tombstone, or a fall from an unsanctioned skinny), it *still* requires time and money just to organize, mount the defense, and depending upon a perception of negligence (such as would be the case if the park allowed rampant stunt building to continue), it could force a settlement or go to trial, and lose.
Therefore, as a matter of policy, the parks simply cannot allow non-sanctioned stunts and features to be created by trail users. The only way a park can entertain TTFs is when they build them safe and strong, using sound construction practice, in specific locations designated as a skills/challenge areas. In these areas, there is signage designed to indicate that: you've been warned of the risks, that you can be injured, and that you ride at your own risk, etc.. For the random "freeride" or "trials" stunt, there is none of the above, they become much more exposed legally. This is not debateable because its the reality they face. Will anyone die falling off that tree with the challenging left hand turn? Unlikely. Can someone hurt themselves, maybe. Would the park be exposed to lawsuits? Possibly. Would I take that chance? No. (But I would also recruit and embrace the construction of challenge features for riders as noted above, using IMBA guidelines, more on that below).
There is another angle here too: this situation is not an isolated incident, its indicative of larger problem of rogue trails popping up in several parks in Morris County, and the surrounding area. This includes Lewis Morris and Mahlon (but both have stabilized) and now we have the situation at the Tourne which is not new but has only come onto the radar recently. Combine this with the common knowledge that its happening also at DP and KV and we have a legitimate problem. Add all this up, and the management becomes intolerant of the situation, and you get a order to the maintenance staff to "cut out" all features that look "man made". Its a classic backlash, and as much as I'd like to see TTFs our parks, we just can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot because ultimately, we are going to lose here.
Also I have to mention this: when you consider how accommodating and how much progress has been made in Morris County, and how supportive the land manager is of our sport, this is a really embarrassing situation into which we've been placed. Sure, I have my issues with the overuse of gravel, and I like to hop trees too, but we've made progress in MCPS. In addition, you must realize that this activity has burdened a very supportive Land Manager and placed him in an uncomfortable and an untenable situation. He is so supportive he's actually supportive of our cause in an adjacent county where biking is banned. Again, spin it around... you're in charge, you've given a trail user group a lot of freedom in Lewis Morris. You're busy ramping up new crews in Mahlon and the Tourne, things are starting to gel. Good things are on the horizon. But boom, about every 6-9 months, there's another rogue incident. We do great things, but we're not always doing the smart things for the long term.
This activity is just not helpful. We're sacrificing potentially huge long term successes by pursuit of short-lived pleasures. Let's fore go the homemade skinnies, and work towards attaining the trust and respect of land managers so that we can build lots of new trails, and work towards adding challenge features legitimately, and maybe even get a pump track built!
OK, between this rambling and the words of my compadres above, I hope that this sheds some light on the situation. If not, PM me and I'll try and talk to you off line about it. I appreciate everyone's time and civility shown on an issue that represents some level of disappointment for us all.
Cheers,
Jeff
p.s. Great things are being done elsewhere, its not impossible for NJ. Talk to Jamie Bogner of nycMtb, or talk to the guys WMBA... ask them if they built their freeride features behind the back of the land manager. No. You can't achieve the big goals without the park management in your corner and as a trusted partner.