Negotiations are underway to allow ‘no fewer’ than six private hut-based walks under the Tasmanian government’s wilderness tourism expression of interest program.
Continue reading “More private development in Tasmania’s parks system?”
At a recent meeting the Alpine Shire has confirmed that the ‘Village Green’ planned for Dinner Plain near Mt Hotham will not proceed in its current form. However it will continue to look into options for a ‘lower impact’ public space in the village.
With a state election happening in Tasmania on March 3, the Liberal government quietly gave the Mount Wellington Cable Car Company permission to start drilling and surveying on the mountain just days before the state election was called. Plans to build a cable car up Mt Wellington/ kunanyi are being resisted by many in the Tasmania community.
Residents group opposed to the cable car (Respect the Mountain. No Cablecar) have put out a call for people to contact the ALP, to encourage the party to clarify their position on the cable car. They are also calling on people to lobby the brewery CUB, which has land at the base of the mountain, and who has been approached by the developer to be involved in the project.
Continue reading “The Mt Wellington/ kunanyi cable car and the Tasmanian election”
Every time I drive up the hill from Harrietville to Mt Hotham, I feel a strange mix of joy and sadness. Its always good to get back into the mountains. But those burnt out alpine ash forests break my heart.
People will often say ‘fire has always been part of the landscape’. True. But that misses the point that fire intensity and frequency is already increasing as we lurch into the climate change influenced future. In my lifetime it has already transformed many of the landscapes I know and love best. What will the coming decades bring?
Mountain Journal has been covering the long campaign against a planned cable car up the face of Mt Wellington/ kunanyi, in Hobart. In alarming news, the ABC is reporting that Tasmania’s State Growth Minister quietly gave the Mount Wellington Cable Car Company permission to start drilling and surveying on the mountain just days before the state election was called.
Continue reading “TAS gov gives OK to start drilling on Mt Wellington/ kunanyi”
The Winter Olympics are underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Climate and winter sports advocacy groups have been using social media to highlight the expected impacts of global warming on future Winter Olympic sites.
This is not a new story, but research that shows that climate change is likely to make nine former Winter Olympics sites too warm to host the Games again has been circulating using the hashtag #ClimateWhiteout.
Continue reading “#ClimateWhiteout: climate change and the Winter Olympics”
The Climate Council has released a report which outlines the likely impacts of climate change on tourism in Australia.
The section on the snow sports industry confirms what we already know: that climate change will have significant impacts on the economics of the sector, with resulting loss of jobs and local businesses. It highlights the fact that despite attempts to broaden activity at ski resorts into the ‘green season’, a large proportion of income is still derived during winter and hence there are limitations to how resorts can buffer against bad winters.
In Victoria, Mt Stirling and Mt Buller have been most affected by shorter ski seasons.
Continue reading “Which resorts have been most impacted by climate change?”
We have some important news about the protection of Mountain Ash forests.
The Mountain Ash Forest Community has been nominated for listing as a threatened community under the Victorian government’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act. Species or communities that are listed under the Act are entitled to legal protections (for example, the Greater Glider was listed last year and the government is now considering how this species will be protected).
This information comes from the Friends of the Earth Forest Campaign Team and is a request for you to sign on to a submission urging the government to act and protect this forest community.
Continue reading “Sign onto the submission to protect Mountain Ash Forests”
Feral horses pose a threat to and damage the environmental values of the Victorian alps, including areas of the Bogong High Plains. This impact has been well documented in the past.
To address this threat, Parks Victoria has for some time undertaken a trapping program to reduce the number of horses, and hence the damage they have on sensitive alpine flora and fauna.
A new report has been released based on assessments of impacts on a number of locations across the Bogong High Plains in north eastern Victoria, and how these impacts have changed over the last decade.
Continue reading “Impacts of Feral Horses on the Bogong High Plains”
Next winter, Squaw Valley Ski Corporation, who have two resorts at Lake Tahoe in California, plans to source all its electricity from solar and other renewable sources. This will make it the first ski resort in the USA to power its operations without fossil fuels.
Continue reading “Lake Tahoe Resort to run on 100% Renewables”
This winter we will be co-hosting a backcountry gathering.
It has grown out of the World Telemark Day gatherings that have been happening at Mt Hotham in north eastern Victoria each September.
This year we have moved to Falls Creek resort and broadened the focus to cover all forms of human and gravity powered backcountry travel, including telemark skiing, split boarding, cross country, snow shoeing and alpine touring.
Continue reading “Australian backcountry festival. September 1.”
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