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Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Author

Cam Walker

I work with Friends of the Earth, and live in Castlemaine in Central Victoria, Australia. Activist, mountain enthusiast, telemark skier, volunteer firefighter.

Vic Govt told to reveal cattle grazing documents

This story comes from the ABC. Journalist is Gus Goswell.

Image: VNPA

The Victorian Government has been ordered to hand over internal documents relating to its alpine cattle grazing trial.

The controversial trial in the Alpine National Park was blocked by the Federal Government but the State Government has launched an appeal.

It says the trial was designed to reduce the bushfire risk, based on scientific evidence.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has ordered that Department of Sustainability and Environment emails and scientific documents be made public.

The Environment Defenders Office applied for the documents on behalf of the Victorian National Parks Association.

Lawyer Felicity Milner from the Environment Defenders Office says the VCAT order is significant.

“We’re concerned about the scientific basis for the alpine cattle grazing trial,” she said.

“Certainly we want to see the documents to apply scrutiny to that decision and see whether or not it could be said to be backed up by proper science.

“If it is not backed up by proper science then we will be attacking the Government’s decision.

“The cattle grazing trial, as I understand it, has not gone ahead because the Federal Government has said it is unacceptable but the State Government is challenging that decision in the Federal Court.

“Based on public statements from the Government and the department we are of the understanding at this stage that they intend to continue with the alpine grazing trial if they are legally allowed to.”

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has defended spending taxpayer dollars to try to stop the documents being released.

“The Government has taken a view about what material ought to be made public,” he said.

“You would expect the Government to reinforce the view it has about information and our understanding of the legislation.”

Mr Baillieu has not ruled out challenging the VCAT order.

“The Government will have a look at that judgment and we’ll make an assessment of it,” he said.

However, Mr Baillieu has confirmed the Government still wants to push ahead with the cattle grazing trial.

“We certainly maintain the view that the Commonwealth when it made its decisions didn’t do it on a basis that was thorough and comprehensive,” he said.

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Concerns over financial viability of alpine resorts

This report comes from the ABC. May 23, 2012

Concerns over viability of alpine resorts

A report into the sustainability of Victoria’s alpine resorts has found Lake Mountain and Mount Baw Baw need continued government assistance to support their long-term viability.

A report by the auditor-general found the resorts have recorded financial losses and asset depreciation over the past five years, despite funding from the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

It identifies workforce and contractor costs as contributing to their poor performance, demonstrating the need for structural change.

The auditor-general’s office says the findings raise concerns about the long-term sustainability of the alpine resorts.

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Grollo objection overruled as Buller plans approved

I am a big fan of infill, but 6 storey development in a mountain environment seems a bit excessive.

The following comes from The Age, journalist Simon Johanson.

Mt Buller from Stirling

A LARGE development at the Mount Buller ski resort will go ahead despite objections from the Grollo family, which owns a neighbouring property and extensive other interests there.

The proposed four-storey building on the YHA Hostel site in the heart of Buller village will have shops, a 64-bed short-stay unit and nine apartments.

The plans were approved in August last year by the state government, which oversees all Crown land at the resort.
The Grollo Group, headed by Rino Grollo, has extensive property, hotel and ski-lift operations on Mount Buller.

Its leisure and tourism arm, which owns the neighbouring Kooroora Hotel, objected to the development, seeking a review at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The Grollo Group, an active property developer in its own right, said the revamp of the YHA site did not comply with the resort’s planning guidelines.

It said the plans would remove snow gums unnecessarily and limit the Grollo Group’s ability to redevelop the Kooroora Hotel.

But their objections were rejected by VCAT, which upheld the development’s permit with some slight modifications.

”The development has taken sufficient account of the snow gums on the review site, and has been designed to minimise the number of trees required to be removed,” the tribunal said.

More big projects are expected to rise from Mount Buller’s snow after the resort’s management approved a master plan encouraging buildings up to six storeys in the village.

Nick Whitby, the managing director of Grollo Leisure and Tourism, would not comment on the matter.

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Australia’s first Splitboard festival

The inaugural OZ Splitfest DownUnder will be held in late August and September in the NSW Main Range.

There will be all the usual trimmings, T-Shirts, give a ways, raffles and loads of fun. Possibly some riding too.

You have the option to stay in Jindabyne, camp in the National Park or out on the peaks.

There will be demo boards and rental gear available to those who need it.

Jump on board and meet some new touring partners, the more the merrier!

We will be screening “Freerider” on the Friday night prior to the weekend. Venue to be confirmed.

This is a free event. There are no guides so you must be able to make your own terrain decisions.

T-shirts will be avalabile Pre-order only, designs will be released soon. $22.00 (All proceeds go to POW, Splitboard.com and Kosciuszko National Park)

Hosted by First Light Boards.

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‘How distance made the possums grow fonder’

This article comes from The Age, journalist is Bridie Smith, April 19, 2012

Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus). Source: Department of the Environment and Heritage

POSSUM Researchers have intervened in an emergency move to deepen the gene pool of one of Australia’s rarest marsupials, the threatened Mountain Pygmy-possum. Studies showed as few as two or three males from the isolated Mt Buller population were successfully mating with females each year, contributing further to genetic depletion of the threatened species.

However scientists from the DSE and Melb Uni have combined to ‘genetically rescue’ the Mt Buller population by removing six males from Mt Hotham and introducing them to the females on Mt Buller.

They have since tested the results of this intervention – and this year found that half the offspring are hybrids (Dad from Mt Hotham, Mum from Mt Buller). It’s good news, as the hybrids are genetically more robust than pure Mt Buller animals.

The full story is here.

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Five Iconic Mountains Threatened By Climate Change

The following article comes from Stephen Lacey, writing for Climate Progress.

Denali, Alaska. Image: ThinkProgress

While many Australians are keenly aware of the increasingly erratic winters we have been getting and forecasts of shorter seasons (for instance see here) it is worth remembering this is a global phenomena – and hence requires a global solution.

Glacial melt. Invasive species. Mudslides. Erosion. Mountains around the world are seeing major changes accelerated by a warming planet.

Mountains represent 25% of the earth’s surface and host 13% of the world’s population. Warming-fueled changes are threatening sensitive ecosystems, water resources, climbing routes, and, in turn, the way of life in local communities.

Below is a list of five iconic mountains — known for their cultural, resource, and recreational significance — that are being directly impacted by climate change.

These include:

Everest, The Matterhorn, Denali (Mount McKinley), Kilimanjaro and Cotopaxi in Ecuador.

Check here for the article.

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Alphutte – still alpine vandals

We have previously pointed out that the Alphutte pizza restaurant at Dinner Plain destroyed all the remnant indigenous groundcover on their property last autumn.

Sadly, they continue their irresponsible behaviour, planting out various exotics, including herbs and succulents, on their property, which have the potential to go wild.

Dinner Plain village is an enclave of private land within the Alpine National Park, about 10 kilometres from Mt Hotham. Despite local Council requiring people to use indigenous species in any plantings, a growing number of residents are choosing to ignore this requirement.

It’s a shame that people who are lucky enough to have access to such a beautiful mountain environment are happy to put potential environmental weeds into the local habitat.

If this concerns you, you may want to avoid Alphutte when you visit Dinner Plain. Local café Mountain Kitchen sells indigenous plants, which are also available via the Alpine Shire.

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Climate Change and the Ski Industry – an Australian perspective

Mt Loch, VIC

This article was written by David Bain orignally published as the first of the Global Snapshot series, bi-weekly essays written by Protect Our Winters (POW) supporters, which give their local perspective of climate change.

The home of our snow industry is a unique and highly specialised sensitive alpine environment. So sensitive is much of our alpine environment that motorised vehicles of any kind are basically not allowed outside of the resort boundaries.

This environment is unique partly as a result of the old age of the mountains and lack of mountain building, being in the middle of a continental plate. Only minor glacial activity has occurred, being last present between 10,000 and 30,000 years ago. The total area of the true alpine environment (above the tree line) is small, approximately only 770 km2, which is found as a series of ‘islands’ on top of mountains within a sub-alpine ‘sea’. In the order of some 6,500 km2 of alpine and sub-alpine areas annually receives some snowfall. Our endemic alpine species have largely evolved in isolation from other continents and often on isolated mountain tops only tens of kilometres apart.

The essay is available here.

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Electricity agency admits using herbicide in Kosciuszko national park

The following comes from the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers, journalist is Ben Cubby. March 30, 2012

THE state electricity agency TransGrid has admitted its contractors sprayed herbicide across a swathe of wilderness in the Kosciuszko National Park, scarring the landscape and killing thousands of alpine plants.

Patches along a 17-kilometre stretch of power line, amounting to about 20 hectares, were affected by the herbicide, and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is investigating the electricity agency.

Contractors were undertaking ”routine vegetation management” on behalf of TransGrid along the route of the transmission line in rugged country between Khancoban and the Guthega ski fields last year, when an ad hoc decision was made to spray the area without approval.

In December, National Parks and Wildlife Service staff spotted what one described as a ”moonscape” of dead vegetation in some areas. TransGrid had not reported the herbicide use to government agencies.

It is not the first time TransGrid has been caught destroying vegetation in the area’s protected wilderness. In 2001, it was found to have mown down trees along cable routes in the Brindabella, Namadgi and Kosciuszko national parks, and was eventually fined $130,000.

This week the electricity agency said it had approval to clear some vegetation from around the power line but conceded herbicide should not have been used.

”TransGrid acknowledges … its contractor undertook vegetation management using a method which was not approved under the specifications of the [environmental impact assessment],” a spokeswoman said.

”TransGrid has investigated the incident and is working closely with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to implement a specific and targeted rehabilitation plan.”

The agency said about 2 per cent of the area, which forms a corridor about 17 kilometres long and 60 metres wide, was affected. No threatened species of plant or animal was affected, it said.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service said it was contemplating further action.

”NPWS considers vegetation damage of this type to be a serious potential breach of the National Parks and Wildlife Act and regulations,” said the regional manager, Dave Darlington.

”NPWS asked TransGrid for a comprehensive report into the incident and for their remediation proposals … the report forms part of the investigation by NPWS into the Transgrid incident and that investigation is ongoing.”

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backcountry film festival

2012 season

Mt Feathertop

Winter Wildlands Alliance created the Backcountry Film Festival in 2005 to help grassroots and professional filmmakers to show audiences their love of the winter outdoors.

Since then, the annual festival has been shown in more than 30 towns and cities, and raised thousands of dollars to help efforts to preserve our winter environment.

The festival highlights the fun and magic of the winter backcountry. At the same time, it raises funds to help grassroots groups to continue to protect wild areas.

The Melbourne showing is being held in early May.

Full details here.

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Mountaineer Lincoln Hall dies, aged 56

The following comes from AAP.

Image: AAP

Australian mountain climber Lincoln Hall has died from mesothelioma. He was 56.

The world-renowned mountaineer, who was a member of the 1984 first Australian Everest expedition, died “peacefully” in a Sydney hospital yesterday, Simon Baulderstone, chairman of the Australian Himalayan Foundation, said.

A well-known writer and adventurer, Hall lived in the Blue Mountains and was a founding director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation.

He was best known for his miraculous survival after he became confused and collapsed near the summit of Mt Everest on May 25, 2006. A rescue attempt was made by sherpas, but they were told to leave Hall and return to camp for the night. Hall’s expedition team released a statement to his friends and families the following morning that he had died on the mountain. Incredibly, he was found alive by another team after 12 hours exposed on the mountainside.

“Sitting to our left, about two feet from a 10,000 foot drop, was a man,” UK climber Myles Osborne said. “Not dead, not sleeping, but sitting cross-legged, in the process of changing his shirt. “‘I imagine you’re surprised to see me here,’ he said.

“Now, this was a moment of total disbelief to us all. Here was a gentleman, apparently lucid, who had spent the night without oxygen at 8600m, without proper equipment and barely clothed. And alive.” The team stayed with Hall until a rescue team of 12 sherpas arrived to help him to safety.

Hall became a celebrity on his arrival back home, featuring in several documentaries and writing a book about his ordeal, Dead Lucky.

He is survived by his wife and two sons.

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Mountain journal turns two

wildflowers on The Twins, VIC

Another year has zipped by in a blur. I have to say I have really enjoyed writing for the journal these past 12 months. Trying to keep regular posts going means I track lots of the media from around the Alps and this has been giving me a sense of what’s happening right across the mountains, rather than just the corners I mostly hang out in.

As we start to ease into autumn, I feel grateful that we have had another mild summer with no major fires. Last winter started strong but dwindled off to a whimper. The summer flowers have been amazing, and I feel lucky to have been out in some great country, slowly filling the gaps in my experience ‘map’ of the Alps.

The following is a reflection on what’s been popular on the site, and some of the issues that have affected the Alps over the past year.

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