Many remote area walkers and fishers access the Central Plateau of Tasmania/lutruwita via the Mersey Forest and Maggs Roads, which lead to the trailheads for places like the Walls of Jerusalem, Arm River Track, Chalice Lake and Cathedral Mountain, etc.

There is a proposal to place a high powered rifle range on top of Maggs Mountain (900m), which is located above Lake Rowallan and across the valley from Clumner Bluff to the east and the February Plains to the west.

Meander Valley Council needs to decide whether to grant approval. You have until 5pm on Monday 29 November to put in a submission expressing your view on the proposal.

The proposal can be viewed at https://www.meander.tas.gov.au/…/img/site/PA.22.0116.pdf

Please email your comments to: planning@mvc.tas.gov.au with the identifier PA 22/0116

The firing distance to targets would be 1 kilometre, with a further 3 kilometre ‘safety zone’. There would be significant earthworks to flatten part of the mountain top. These rifles are much more powerful than regular .22’s and would emit 160 decibels, from the top of Maggs Mountain.

Here are some thoughts you may wish to include in your submission (most effective if put into your own words):

Re: Permit application from Kentish Rifle Club

For Rifle Range on Maggs Mountain

PA\22\0116

Dear Council officers

I write regarding the proposal from the Kentish Rifle Club Inc to establish a ‘firing range’ one kilometre long, and associated development on North Maggs Road.

This is an inappropriate location for a rifle firing range.

Talk about your connection to the area and why it will impact on you.

The Roads over Maggs Montain and the Upper Mersey Valley provide access to some of the state’s most popular walking destinations including the Walls of Jerusalem, Chapter Lake, Arm River Track, etc. Many visitors to the Central Plateau stay in surrounding towns before and after their trip and support the local economy which – increasingly – relies on nature based tourism.

This is a wild landscape that at will be impacted by the noise of rifle fire. People visit these areas for the silence, the solitude, the peace and quiet. Rifle fire will negatively and substantially impact on the experience of people visiting the Upper Mersey valley and surrounding mountains. It will reduce the attraction of these areas for local and interstate visitors who are seeking recreation in a wild landscape.

Maggs Mountain is not the place for a rifle range. If the Rifle Club wishes to develop a firing range they should secure a site away from such a remote, high value nature and wilderness destination.