Herewith copy and paste from Ngaanyatjarra Council website
Land Management
Brief Description of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands
The Ngaanyatjarra Lands comprise a vast area of Western Australia (250,000 km2 or approximately 3% of mainland Australia) adjoining the Northern Territory and South Australian borders. These Lands are entirely within the state of Western Australia and fall within three shires: Ngaanyatjarraku, East
Pilbara and
Laverton.
The Outback Highway (
Great Central Road) bisects the Ngaanyatjarra Lands east to southwest, providing access to two major regional centres:
Alice Springs (1,000 km NE of
Warburton) and Kalgoorlie (900 km SW of
Warburton). The 1,000 km section of road from
Laverton to Uluru National Park is unsealed and subject to wet weather closure. Whilst numerous other roads exist, they are generally poorly (if at all) maintained and require special permits for transit (see Protocol under the Tourism section for more information).
Traditional Owners have maintained continuous association with their country, comprise the majority resident
population, and provide the entire regional
infrastructure such as roads, roadhouses, stores, health clinics, and aerial
services.
The Ngaanyatjarra Lands encompass sections of the
Gibson Desert,
Great Sandy Desert,
Great Victoria Desert, and all of the Central Ranges that occur in Western Australia. These four regions correspond to the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) regions of the same name, as described by Thackway and Cresswell (1995).
These immense areas of spectacular scenery have few obvious signs of human presence. In particular, the Central Ranges are considered by the Australian
Heritage Commission to have “great conservational [sic] and recreational importance which is equal to or greater than that of Ayers
Rock” (AHC 1981).
Ngaanyatjarra Land Council holds some of this land as 99-year and 50-year leases and Aboriginal Reserve. However, the traditional lands are more extensive and represented by 10 native title claims. Although the people of the Western Desert Cultural Bloc are not limited by boundaries or borders and have traditional responsibilities that go beyond these, historic events led to the provision of
services being defined by state borders and the formation of the Ngaanyatjarra Council that defines the Ngaanyatjarra Lands.
Permits for entry (see Protocol under the Tourism section for more information) by non-Aboriginal people onto the Ngaanyatjarra Lands is under the authority of the Aboriginal Lands Trust, administered by Ngaanyatjarra Council.
The pattern of existing land use within the Ngaanyatjarra Lands (IPA) Indigenous Protected Area is complex and varied, though traditional practices continue to predominate. There has never been a pastoral industry in the region although the
United Aborigines Mission at
Warburton managed sheep, cattle, goats and horses until the mid-1980s. The only export industries have been sandalwood harvest, collection of
dingo scalps, and prospecting. Physical access to and within the Ngaanyatjarra Lands is difficult, as even major roads are not all weather. Permits for travel by non-Aboriginal people anywhere other than the
Great Central Road has to be approved by Ngaanyatjarra Council (permits for transit on the
Great Central Road can be readily obtained from the Council’s
Alice Springs office or WA Department of Indigenous Affairs in Kalgoorlie).
In recent years, the Ngaanyatjarra people have been successful in developing their communities and associated
infrastructure, but resources for people to look after their country have been more difficult to secure. In November 1997, Ngaanyatjarra Council appointed a Land Use Planner to provide strategic coordination of existing land management activities, and to assist Traditional Owners in the consideration and progression of land use options.
Increasingly there is recognition of the area’s contemporary biological conservation values, principally through work undertaken by the Ngaanyatjarra Land Management Unit (NGLMU) in conjunction with external agencies including WA Dept of Conservation, Environment Australia, Wildlife Recovery Teams, and organizations such as the WA Herbarium and Birds Australia.
The overall impression of existing land use is one of multiple use co-existing with conservation of environmental, cultural, archaeological and
recreation values.
In 1998, Ngaanyatjarra Council secured Environment Australia funding to investigate the establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) on their land. The IPA program is a Commonwealth Government initiative funded through the Natural
Heritage Trust and based on International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines (IUCN 1994).
The project adopted a staged approach in consideration of:
Development of a cooperative management agreement with the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) for the existing
Gibson Desert Nature Reserve (a draft plan has been completed, but is separate from this plan of management); and
Development of a new IPA in the Central Ranges IBRA region – the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Indigenous Protected Area (NIPA).
Declaration of the 98,129 km2 Ngaanyatjarra Lands Indigenous Protected Area is the result of five years careful consideration and discussion by Ngaanyatjarra Traditional Owners. Ngaanyatjarra Council through its Land Management Unit facilitated this process.
Neither the developmental process nor Indigenous Protected Area declaration could have occurred without Natural
Heritage Trust financial assistance, or the support of staff from both Environment Australia and the Western Australian Department of Conservation.
Declaration of this, the largest protected area in Australia, is an explicit act of self determination by the Ngaanyatjarra people that demonstrates to an international audience that conservation values exist on their Lands as a consequence of indigenous land management, and that today’s Traditional Owners continue to maintain the Law and their association with their country.
Through the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Indigenous Protected Area we, Yarnangu, the Traditional Owners of this country, invite all Australians to be a part of the Ngaanyatjarra journey.
www.tjulyuru.com/lands.asp
Herewith copy and paste from ANFWDC website
CANNING STOCK ROUTE EXPEDITIONS AND PUBLIC ACCESS
The ANFWDC was formed to address issues of national importance and access to the
Canning Stock Route is considered to be nationally important due to its iconic status.
Since an incident involving travellers and a group of aboriginals, the Ngaanyatjarra Council circulated a letter to four wheel drive clubs regarding access to the
Canning Stock Route. This letter generated some confusion as to whether permits were required and to what areas.
We have clarified that:
The stock route easement is approximately 5 kilometres wide and all of the track and most of the wells are within this easement.
The stock route easement, while falling under native title claim, remains a public access easement and no permission is required to access, travel or
camp within the easement.
The tracks accessing the stock route, while falling within the native title claim, are also public access easements and these include the Talawanna Track, Kidson Track,
Gary Junction Track and the Gary Highway.
Access to areas off these tracks requires permission from the Martu people and this includes popular areas such as Durba Springs, the Calvert Ranges and
Lake Disappointment.
Nearly all of the wells along the stock route are sacred aboriginal sites and even though they are situated on a public access easement, activities are restricted under the Aboriginal
Heritage and other Acts and travellers need to be aware of these and their implications.
New signage is to be installed along the stock route informing travellers of the restrictions that apply to travellers.
The ANFWDC emphasises the need for trip leaders planning to visit the
Canning Stock Route to seek the necessary permission should they wish to travel outside the recognised CSR boundaries.
The ANFWDC appreciates the difficulty for the Martu people in managing the land without having an appropriate management plan in place, as
well as the reluctance of the WA authorities to prepare such a plan. We have requested information on contacts within the WA government and have offered our support and assistance in promoting and drafting a management plan that accommodates both the traditional owners and our members.
In the absence of a management plan, we have proposed a process for our members to facilitate seeking permission. Under this proposal the ANFWDC would be the contact point for members wishing to access areas off the stock route easement and would ensure that people were provided with all of the relevant information. This proposal has not yet been agreed to nor has it been rejected.
The Australian National Four Wheel Drive Council is committed to working in harmony with all relevant land owners to maximise access to
places of interest for its members. It recognises the rights of those land owners and acknowledges the obligation of its members to honour reasonable restrictions placed upon them by those land owners as
well as minimising any environmental impact from their visit.
Anyone intending to travel on the
Canning Stock Route and looking to access areas off the stock route easement must contact the native title unit and seek permission.
Ngaanyatjarra Council Native Title Unit
Lower Ground Floor
170
Wellington st
East
Perth WA 6004
PO Box Y3439
East St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6832
Please address correspondence to Dr Bill Kruse or Ms Lisa Maher
www.anfwdc.asn.au/CSRupdate1.htm
Updated 12/08/06