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Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Cam Walker

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

‘Insane’: NSW Government backs wild horses over environment

The enormous environmental impact of wild horses in alpine areas is well documented. In Victoria the government has recently announced a plan to remove a large number of the wild horse population. However in NSW, the argument that wild horses are a cultural component of the landscape despite their impacts has seen the development of legislation that would enshrine the existence of horse populations in the Kosciusko National Park.

The Bill was debated in parliament last night and passed as a result of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Christian Democrats opting to support the Bill.

Peter Hannam, writing in The Canberra Times reports that:

The Berejiklian government has secured passage through Parliament of a controversial bill to protect wild horses in the state’s largest national park, ignoring broad protests from scientists and even a farmer responsible for relocating many of the feral animals.

Extending protection to so-called “heritage horses” is “incompatible with the principles that underpin Australia’s world-leading protected area system, and with our commitments as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity”, the academy said in a letter sent to the government.

“Reports from bog, stream, and dry habitats in Kosciuszko and Victoria indicate a wide range of ecosystems are degraded by feral horses,” the letter said.

“This research leads the academy to expect substantial negative impacts on species and ecosystems within the park arising from the provisions of the Heritage Bill,” the letter said.

The creation of a community advisory panel that had no requirement for members with scientific qualifications meant science-based advice would be “all but removed from the management” of the horses, it added.

The Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Bill 2018 was passed late on Wednesday with the Liberal-Nationals Coalition gaining support from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Christian Democrats.

Earlier the Australian Academy of Science joined a lengthening list of scientific groups – including the International Union for Conservation of Nature – to condemn the plan to prioritise an invasive animal over native species in the Kosciuszko National Park.

 

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Music for the Mountain

The campaign against the cable car that has been proposed for Mt Wellington/ kunanyi is going from strength to strength. From a huge rally (more than 5,000 people) to overwhelming public opinion opposing the project, there is a growing sense that common sense will prevail and the proposal will be abandoned. The next big point in the campaign is getting close – Carlton and United Brewery (CUB), who own the Cascade brewery site, need to announce whether they will provide land for the cable car.

On Saturday August 4 there will be a fund raiser in Hobart to support the campaign.

Continue reading “Music for the Mountain” →

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Climate change will make snow a ‘premium product’ like ‘fine wine’

Climate change poses an existential threat to the ski industry in Australia. A recent report commissioned by the Victorian government suggests that the end of natural snow could be as close as a couple of decades.

As noted by Adam Carey in The Age, without serious action to tackle climate change, ‘the likeliest outcome is that Victoria’s snow resorts will gradually close, until just one or two remain in business by mid-century, offering an increasingly rarefied experience’.

You would think that people who earn their living from snow would be paying attention to what is happening and perhaps even playing their part to reduce emissions.

Apparently not.

Continue reading “Climate change will make snow a ‘premium product’ like ‘fine wine’” →

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Victoria moves to reduce wild horse numbers

The Andrews government has released a long-term plan to protect the Alpine National Park in Victoria from the threat of feral horses.

Minister for Environment Lily D’Ambrosio launched the Protection of the Alpine National Park – Feral Horse Strategic Plan 2018-2021 this week, which aims to radically reduce wild horse numbers in the park. In announcing the plan, Minister D’Ambrosio said “feral horses cannot be allowed to run rampant in the Alpine national park – their hard hooves damage the precious environment and destroy the habitats of threatened species.”

Continue reading “Victoria moves to reduce wild horse numbers” →

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Report into climate impacts on Victorian resorts

There is no doubt that climate change is already impacting on snow conditions in Australia, and hence impacting on the industries that need snow to be viable. When it comes to responding to this existential threat, there are three key options: ignore it (in the hope it will go away), reduce our contribution to the problem (also called mitigation) or just try to adapt to the changes that the problem brings (also known as adaptation). With few exceptions, ski resorts in Australia have opted for the first and the third options. A sensible, responsible and forward thinking ski industry would be doing both adaptation and mitigation.

A report released by the Victorian government will help local resorts steer themselves along the path of adaptation.

Continue reading “Report into climate impacts on Victorian resorts” →

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NSW ALP pledges to oppose Wild Horses legislation

In a significant move, NSW Labor have announced that they will not support “the ill-thought through Berejiklian-  Barilaro wild horse bill because it ignores science and the irreversible damage that unmanaged wild horse populations have done to Kosciuszko National Park”.

Labor has launched a plan to protect the Park’s fragile environment and the threatened species that live there.

The NSW government, which is proposing to legislate to enshrine the presence of wild horses in the park and rule out future culls, is expected to bring legislation into parliament as early as next week. The numbers are very close, with The Greens stating that they will oppose it. This firm statement from the ALP means the Coalition government has – at best – a very small majority of votes to see the legislation passed.

Continue reading “NSW ALP pledges to oppose Wild Horses legislation” →

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11 MONTHS – 3 CONTINENTS – 33 SUMMITS

Josh Worley is a Brisbane mountain climber who is undertaking a world mountain climbing initiative titled Vertical Year

The aim is to climb more than 30 mountains in 2018 with a goal of raising $100,000 for ReachOut Australia and the Climate Council.

Over 140 days, Josh will climb 33 separate peaks – eight of them greater than 6,000 metres – and travel more than 34 vertical kilometres of technical terrain. The trip spans ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies, the Peruvian Andes, big wall rock climbing in the Sierra Nevada and alpine routes in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

Continue reading “11 MONTHS – 3 CONTINENTS – 33 SUMMITS” →

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Backcountry Ski Night at Mont Canberra

Mont in Canberra are holding a backcountry ski information night on June 6.

“Learn from Australia’s most accomplished mountaineer Andrew Lock, backcountry expert Doug Chatten and Australia’s fastest skier and Paralympic gold medalist Michael Milton on how you can venture into, fall in love with and stay safe in the Australian backcountry this winter”.

Continue reading “Backcountry Ski Night at Mont Canberra” →

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Backcountry film festival showing in Jindabyne

The backcountry film festival will have another showing, this time in Jindabyne, on saturday 7th July.

Venue: Jindabyne Central School

Doors open @ 6pm

Check here for a full listing of the films.

Further info: Adam West, adam@snowsafety.com.au

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Horse cull to be banned, horses to be ‘built in’ to future planning for Kosciuszko

In a bizarre and disappointing move, the New South Wales government has announced that a proposed cull of wild horses in the Kosciuszko National Park will be scrapped, and any future cull will be outlawed.

The enormous damage caused by wild horses to the high country is widely documented. It is estimated that around 6,000 wild horses live within the Kosciuszko National Park in NSW. Plans to cull them have been supported by scientists and environmentalists but opposed by people who claim they represent part of the cultural heritage of the mountains. While this is certainly true, they are also massively destructive and a responsible government would be working to reduce their numbers.

Now the NSW government is moving to rule out any culls in the park.

Continue reading “Horse cull to be banned, horses to be ‘built in’ to future planning for Kosciuszko” →

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UNESCO concerned at TAS Gov rezoning wilderness areas to allow development

Tasmania is blessed with beautiful and intact landscapes and excellent protection of much of the state. World Heritage Areas and national parks have long been coveted by developers and these attempts to open up parks to commercial interests have been resisted – with varying degrees of success – over the years.

Under the current very pro ‘development’ Liberal government in Tasmania there are no end of proposals for private developments in national parks and other parts of the conservation network (check here for a current list).

This is being resisted strongly by many in the Tasmanian community and it is now being criticised internationally.

Continue reading “UNESCO concerned at TAS Gov rezoning wilderness areas to allow development” →

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Mt Wellington cable car proposal hits another hurdle

As shown by the enormous rally held earlier this month, there is significant public opposition to the plan to build a cable up the face of kunayi/ Mt Wellington, in Hobart.

The owners of the Cascade Brewery have been under pressure to distance themselves from the project, as the proponent has been hoping to access land owned by Cascade in South Hobart to use as the base for the cable car.

It would appear that the proponent is now seeking to use a different route up the mountain. They have been informed that they will need reapply for government approval if they decide to do so.

Continue reading “Mt Wellington cable car proposal hits another hurdle” →

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