Calvert Ranges Permit Denied

As one who works tirelessly on tours to inform people of the values of aboriginal cultural sites, I was disappointed to have access to the Calvert Ranges denied this year. This is the email I received. I was disappointed because we arranged what we believed was ongoing access in 2008, and we worked hard to ensure we left no evidence of our visit. We never camp at the Calvert Range, we camp at Sunday Well to ensure protection of the valuable sites and we ensured non-permitted travelers were sent on their way.

Kurukanti (the Calvert Ranges) is an area of great cultural significance to the Martu people.

In the last decade, there has been a rapidly escalating level of tourism into the Calvert Ranges. From probably no visitors in the mid-1990’s, and from a handful of people only a few years ago, by 2009 over 400 vehicles and 1000 people were visiting the Ranges in a year.

The great majority of these people visited in a three month period, from June to August.

Due to a lack of resources, there has been no capacity to manage this concentrated tourist load. The majority of tourists have respected the requests of the traditional owners by seeking permits to enter the Ranges and by limiting the impact of their visits. However, the scale of the unmanaged tourist load has now led to a range of issues in the Calvert Ranges and surrounding area that will quite quickly cause permanent deterioration if tourism continues in its current form.

The impact of the substantially increased visitor numbers has included:

Accidental and at times deliberate damage by visitors to cultural sites;
fire in the gorges around the Calvert Ranges, causing damage to cultural sites;
removal of artifacts, including grindstones, from campsites around the Ranges;
chainsawing of trees around campsites;
removal of barriers limiting access to special sites;
publication of restricted images from the rock art in magazines, on DVDs and on the internet;
proliferation of tracks to and from the Calvert Ranges;
an increasing number of cleared campsites close to the Ranges;
an increasing load of rubbish, faeces and toilet paper around campsites close to the Ranges.
The Calvert Ranges fall within the Martu native title determination area. Land within that area is held on trust for Martu people by the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation (Jamukurnu, Yapalikunu), also known as WDLAC.

Due to the need to protect the cultural and environmental values of this important area, WDLAC has decided that no permits will be issued to visit the Calvert Ranges and surrounding areas until further notice.

This decision is intended to allow appropriate management plans and resources to be put in place, to ensure that sites in and around the Calvert Ranges can be properly protected, whilst allowing travelers to experience the sites in a culturally appropriate manner. It is intended that tour operators involved in providing tours along the Canning Stock Route will be consulted as part of this process.

Over the past two years, the Martu have worked in conjunction with a large research team to document the values of this area, and to assess the impact of the high visitor load. That research team has included representatives from the Australian National University, the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Heritage Water and the Arts, the WA Department of Indigenous Affairs, the WA Department of Environment and Conservation and Central Desert Native Title Services. This research team supports the action WDLAC has taken to protect this area.

WDLAC, on behalf of the Martu people, ask that travelers along the Canning Stock Route and other 4WD travelers respect their wishes, and help in the effort to protect this special area. They ask that travelers show their support by not visiting the Calvert Ranges until further notice, and by not using tracks to the Calvert Ranges area.

If travelers should pass through and not see the Calvert track closed off on the side of the Canning Stock Route, it is because signs and barriers are being organised, and not because the road is open. We request travelers to respect Martu wishes and remain on the Canning Stock Route track.

Your assistance will help management practices to be put into place, so that this important part of Australia’s cultural heritage can be protected.

David Olsen
www.djolsen.com