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Ethics, Culture and Wild Horses

Mountain Journal has often featured pieces on the issue of wild horses in the Australian High Country.

Public debate has hit a recent high point because both Victoria and NSW have updated their positions on horse management, with both states noting the significant negative environmental impacts of this introduced species.

The following article comes from The Conversation, and is by ecologist Don Driscoll who notes that while many in Australia hold a ‘cultural affiliation with horses’ there are other ways to celebrate this connection than ‘by having horses in fragile alpine ecosystems where they cause environmental damage’.

Continue reading “Ethics, Culture and Wild Horses” →

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Monaro Ngarigo people to be formally involved in management of Kosciuszko NP

The Aboriginal people of the New South Wales southern Snowy Mountains will be formally involved in the conservation of Kosciuszko National Park, after reaching an agreement years in the making.

The following story comes from the ABC.

Continue reading “Monaro Ngarigo people to be formally involved in management of Kosciuszko NP” →

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90% of Snowy Mountains brumbies to be culled

The Guardian is reporting that 90% of the Snowy Mountains brumbies would be culled over the next two decades, under a plan released by the New South Wales government.

The draft wild horse management plan for Kosciuszko national park aims to cut the population of wild horses in the park from 6,000 to about 3,000 in the next five to 10 years.

The population would be dramatically slashed to just 600 within 20 years, confining the wild horses to three locations inside the national park.

Current numbers of wild horses were unsustainable and the animals were damaging the park’s fragile alpine and subalpine landscapes, the NSW environment minister, Mark Speakman, said.

 

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Tourism in national parks. When is enough enough?

Mountain Journal has previously covered the release of a proposed Master Plan for the Cradle Valley section of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park, which was developed by the Cradle Coast Authority. We highlighted some of the positive aspects of the proposal here.

However, a cornerstone of the proposal is a cable car, which would run from a new tourist centre to the north of the park boundary to Crater Lake. The Authority says ‘the Cable Car is the core element of the Cradle Mountain concept.’

A recent article by Nicholas Sawyer in The Mercury provides some thoughtful views about the proposal for a cable car and the broader issue of how tourism interacts with our national parks.

Continue reading “Tourism in national parks. When is enough enough?” →

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Riding for the Great Forest National Park

This is a novel way of raising awareness about the proposal for the Great Forest National Park – riding a bike through the forests and posting updates about the amazing things and places to be found in the Central Highlands.

The following comes from Aidan Kempster, writing on their Chuffed page.

Continue reading “Riding for the Great Forest National Park” →

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Works Begin To Preserve Mount Buffalo Chalet

The following comes from the Victorian government:

The Andrews Labor Government today announced the newly appointed members of the Mount Buffalo Destination Advisory Group, which will work with Parks Victoria to identify future tourism options for the Mount Buffalo Chalet.

The advisory group was established to consider future options for the Chalet so it can stay safe and secure for generations to come.

Continue reading “Works Begin To Preserve Mount Buffalo Chalet” →

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The ‘Cradle Mountain Visitor Experience Master Plan’

Mountain Journal recently reported on the new master plan that was being developed to improve the ‘tourism experience’ at the north end of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. Yes, I’m a grumpy old bushwalker who goes to Cradle Valley because it’s the access point for miles of terrain, rocky mountains, alpine moors and fantastic walking, rather than because I expect a ‘world class tourism experience’ in a national park.

But I do understand that many people expect first class facilities and that’s where the sheer numbers of visitors are. With Cradle Valley visitation declining, it was deemed that something had to be done, and so we have the release of the new master plan for the area, developed by the Cradle Coast Authority, which hopes to increase visitor numbers by 60,000 to 80,000 a year.

Continue reading “The ‘Cradle Mountain Visitor Experience Master Plan’” →

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The case for a Great Forest National Park

The Great Forest National Park will deliver a secure future for endangered species, has huge potential to safeguard against climate change, and will protect domestic and rural water catchments, a new report shows.

In early December, an alliance of Forest conservation groups have released a report outlining the planning and analysis behind the Great Forest National Park proposal.

Continue reading “The case for a Great Forest National Park” →

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Vale Roger Good

Roger Good was a well known, deeply dedicated alpine ecologist. He passed away in October. He was a member of the Carruthers Group – a group of eminent alpine ecologists and scientists – which was active around the issue of alpine grazing.

Continue reading “Vale Roger Good” →

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Victorian government tables bill to protect National Parks

Earlier this week the Andrews Labor Government put an amendment before Parliament to implement its election commitment to prevent large-scale private development in national parks by removing the ability to grant 99 year leases.

This is a good move given the previous government’s interest in allowing new and potentially intrusive developments in the park system.

Continue reading “Victorian government tables bill to protect National Parks” →

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Alpine grazing update

The following comes from the Victorian National Parks Association.

Quite some time before cattle grazing was banned in the Alpine National Park, ‘Soil erosion and vegetation damage and disturbance in the alpine regions of Victoria caused by cattle grazing’ was listed as a ‘Potentially Threatening Process’ under Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

The draft Action Statement required by that listing has now been prepared by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Continue reading “Alpine grazing update” →

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Three Tassie eco-tourism projects approved

In theory, new eco tourism projects are a good idea, and will get more people out into wild environments in a way that doesn’t damage the environment. But when it comes to the current Tasmanian government, I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them.

The following comes from The Great Walks website.

Three eco-tourism projects have been given the green light to operate in Tasmania as part of the Government’s bid to open up the state’s national parks to eco-tourism.

Continue reading “Three Tassie eco-tourism projects approved” →

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