Cattlemen to vacate national park
Mountain cattlemen will no longer be able to let their stock graze in the Alpine National Park after a decision by the Bracks Government.
Most of the 61 licences will expire in August and not be renewed.
The State Government has offered more than $5 million to compensate cattlemen and improve the park.
The decision has been welcomed by environment groups and the National Trust, but condemned by independent MP Craig Ingram, who said the decision was a "dark day for small rural communities".
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Premier Steve Bracks said the decision did not mean the end of alpine grazing, as cattlemen would still be allowed to run their cattle in state forests.
Environment Minister
John Thwaites said: "This is the right decision. All the science for many years has indicated that cattle grazing is not consistent with a national park."
Sir Gus Nossal, microbiologist Professor Nancy Millis and the CSIRO's Dick Williams were at the announcement today to explain the scientific reasons behind taking cattle out of the national park.
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AdvertisementThe National Trust has argued that grazing puts at risk dozens of plant species, the headwaters of significant river systems and is inconsistent with the management objectives of a national park.
But mountain cattlemen maintain alpine grazing is a "critically important cultural link from the past to the future". It says it reduces fuel for bushfires, benefits tourism, helps monitor pest plants and vermin, and has community support.
It says the cattlemen "feel honour-bound to continue the great tradition of responsible cattle grazing started by their families and predecessors about 170 years ago".
But a CSIRO report last December found that grazing had no discernible impact on fuel loads.
The cattlemen say cows have an impact, but the high country is in excellent condition.
They also point out that the country is not pristine, and this is true.
The human hand from aqueducts to ski fields to dams has changed the landscape.
In the drought periods at the turn of last century, between 20,000 and 40,000 sheep were grazed on the
Bogong and Mt Hotham high plains.
The park also has a problem with wild horses, deer and rabbits.
As an environmental historian,
Lawrence says historic photographs show most of the bog damage and vegetation loss happened in the 1920s and '30s.
Soil scientist Ken Rowe and alpine hydrologist and environmental historian Ruth
Lawrence, both from La Trobe University, have studied how cattle reduce the reliability, timing and quality of water that flows down from the high country and ultimately to the state's food bowl.
Cattle expose bare ground, which increases run-off. This may seem like a good thing, but the water erodes the soil and reaches streams more quickly, making the catchment more "flashy", reducing water quality and increasing the risk of flooding in lower areas.
When the alpine bogs which hold 10 times their weight in water degrade, they stop acting like sponges that slowly release water year-round. This is critical to farmers who rely on water during summer. Cattle also urinate and defecate in the alpine streams.