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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.

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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Logging stops in Quoll habitat

Great news! Logging machines have left Mount Baw Baw near where the endangered Spot-tailed Quoll was found. Congratulations to Minister Lily D’Ambrosio MP for taking action. Send the Minister an email in your own words thanking her for acting and encouraging her to ensure the protections stop further logging that is planned nearby.

You can write your own email here >>> https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/email_minister_d_ambrosio

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Noojee forest granted short term protection.

Residents in Noojee, in Gippsland, have been running a campaign to stop logging adjacent to their township. This is emblematic of a growing resistance in the logging country across eastern Victoria, were normally conservative towns are rising up against the impacts of broad acre logging. Tin the case of Noojee, some residents claim that a population of the threatened greater glider will be impacted by the logging.

Now, the ABC reports that the Federal Court has granted an injunction to stop any logging by VicForests in the area until February when a three-week trial is due to start. This temporary reprieve has been welcomed by the Friends of Noojee Trees. Spokeswoman Gaye Trevan said “It gives us some breathing space until the trial but the battle goes on to try to protect the forest next to the town”.

The Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum group is challenging VicForests’ compliance with the regional forest agreement (RFA) for the Central Highlands.

IMAGE: Justin Cally. https://twitter.com/Jcal1

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Timely drive for ski patrol volunteers

With the arctic blast that is currently hitting the alps and (hopefully) heralding the approach of winter,  Lake Mountain Ski Patrol (LMSP) has launched a timely drive for volunteer patrollers for the 2018 snow season.

The patrol is looking for people who can cross country ski, have basic first aid training, love to work outdoors and are keen to join the weekend roster for volunteers over the winter.

Continue reading “Timely drive for ski patrol volunteers” →

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SnowAction heads to Tassie

The southern winter edition of SnowAction (‘Australia’s #1 magazine for snow sports and mountain culture’) has some great stories from Tasmania.

There are excellent stories from a big roadtrip to NZ/Aotearoa, great powder images from Hotham, a piece on the more serious side country terrain at Mt Buller, and skiing in Chile, plus profiles on Chumpy Pallin and film maker Warren Miller. There is also substantial coverage of Tassie’s two resorts.

Continue reading “SnowAction heads to Tassie” →

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‘Finding the Line’ screenings happening in Australia

Nat and Anna Segal have announced the Australian launch of their long awaited film, Finding the Line. The premiere will be in Melbourne on May 29th at the Astor Theatre, and be followed by shows in Canberra (May 30), and Sydney (May 31) and then a final show in Melbourne (June 1).

The film runs for an hour with a Q&A with Anna and Nat after the film with SnowsBest.com founder, Rachael Oakes-Ash, for the first three screenings in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

Continue reading “‘Finding the Line’ screenings happening in Australia” →

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