Bush Cookout to lobby support for continued access to Snowy Mountains

Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 13:17
ThreadID: 9552 Views:2148 Replies:4 FollowUps:2
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The email below was forwarded to me at work and I thought that perhaps by placing it on this forum might be a way of getting it to the attention of any interested parties. As I understand it (and I must say I only have this on hearsay) the NPWS has produced a draft management for the Snowy Mountains that will exclude all but bushwalkers and skiers from the Kosiuszko National Park. I also understand that the draft plan is not publicly available yet. For your information and action if you choose.

From: Peter C
To: Radio 2GB ; Alan Jones ; Michael Darby
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2003 8:02 PM
Subject: BUG MEDIA ALERT
MEDIA ALERT
SNOWY MOUNTAINSCOOK-OUT” MUSTER
Traditional residents and recreationalist of the Snowy Mountains will gather at Cooinbil Hut , Long Plain in the far north of the Kosiuszko National Park on 10th Jan 2004 and camp overnight to discuss ways to counteract proposals in the Parks Draft Management Plan.
The draft plan proposes to further restrict access to areas of the National Park to traditional users and tourists.
The cook-out will attract horseriders , mountain bike riders , bushwalkers , fisherman, 4WD families and touring bike riders along with many other recreational and cultural groups including indigenous representatives.
A cook-out is a traditional muster of locals but will not include horses Further plans are in place for a protest ride from Tumut to the NPWS Office in Queanbeyan commencing 26 Jan 2004.
The activities are being organised by the Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group Inc. (BUG )established on 3 Dec 2003 .
“The spirit of the Man from Snowy River lives on ........FOREVER.”
Contact BUG President Russell DUNN..02 69462779......
Publicity Officers Peter Cochran 02 64542336 or 0417 370490 Pam Hart 02 64533268 PLEASE PASS ON....

Amanda Hart
Kerranna Stockhorses
LPO Box 8141
ANU
CANBERRA ACT 2601

W: 02 61254931
F: 02 61250777
M: 0412 000618
E: stockhorses@kerranna.com.au

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Reply By: Jon - '88 TD42 GQ - Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 13:38

Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 13:38
If this is true we must, for once, make some noise. As a trout fisherman the park is one of the few places where quality fishing is still accessible. If the only way in is on foot the 2 week trip I have planned for later in the year would take abut 2 months!! Not to mention it is a beautifull place for camping and photography, both keen interests, and one I want to share with my kids some day. A 10 year old cannot be expected to hike in. I did it a few years ago for 5 days and loved every exhausting minute of it, but it's just not suitable for everyone.

It seems NPWS sole objective these days is creating untouched wilderness with no humans in it - except them of course. What they need to be about is managing a sustainable wilderness environment that can be enjoyed responsibly by all. If that means being banned from all parks for life if you do donuts in the park I am all for it.

Cheers.
AnswerID: 42056

Reply By: Rowan - Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 15:04

Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 15:04
There is a significant amount of information on the NPWS web site about this - No report yet. From what I have read today it would appear that closing the entire park down to all but bush walkers might be rumor - but as they say it's not over till the fat lady sings.

I believe that everyone needs to get involved and have their say in this park review, the ability to do this electronically should greatly increase the number of submissions received by NPWS.

Below are some paragraphs in no particular order of signifcance taken from the various press releases and informtaion on the site npws.nsw.gov.au web site.

-Rowan
Canberra

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At this point, the plan is still being prepared and has not been officially released to the public for comment. This will happen in early 2004, when the draft plan of management will be placed on public exhibition for a period of three months. Comments received during the public exhibition period will be reviewed for preparation of the final report.

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The NPWS has created an exciting new on-line submission facility for the Kosciuszko National Park draft plan of management, allowing people to submit comments over the Internet for the first time. Stay tuned to hear more about the public exhibition process, ways to get involved and the new on-line submission facility!

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The zoning scheme allows for horse riding in most of the Backcountry Zone (approximately 43 per cent of the park) and in the minor road corridor zone.

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At this week's meeting the NPWS, together with members of the Forum will review management of the Cooleman karst catchment. It will consider the option of reducing the exclusion area for horse riding to specific areas, along with the introduction of a monitoring program to assess impacts from a range of recreation activities
AnswerID: 42066

Follow Up By: brian - Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 21:51

Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 21:51
Ill go, havent been there recently can anyone give directions so i can find long plain on a map thanks,Anyone else going???
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FollowupID: 304587

Reply By: Rowan - Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 22:46

Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004 at 22:46
Follow the Snowy Mountains Hghway from either the East (Tumut) or the West (Adaminaby/Cooma) to Rules Point. GPS: 35 43' 15"S 148 31' 53"E

Long Plain Road intersects with the Snowy Mountains Highway at this location. Follow Long Plain Road North. Continue along Long PLain Road until you reach the right hand turn to Cooinbil Hut. GPS: 35 37' 27"S 148 35' 24"E

Follow this road to the hut about 1Km: GPS: 35 37' 53"S 148 35' 50"E

There is a huge area around the hut. Plenty of room for the numbers they are expecting.

A friend of mine rang the BUG president to get some info on Saturdays activities:

Apparently they have accessed a leaked copy of the management plan. They indicate it will be quite restrictive.

The function on Saturday, is a general meeting at 16:00 followed by a meal and entertainment. The meeting is to fill people in on where things are at and to inform on what protest activities have been planned.

The meal is bit of a fund raiser for their work. The are going to have bush poets / bush ballad people around on the Saturday night for entertainment. Mention an Australian champion poet John 'Tractor' Reedy.

They are expecting around 300-400 people. The BUG are keen on having any groups with a recreational interest in the area being represented. The bug is offering $10 individual and $20 family memberships as a fundraiser for their activities.

Hope this hepls.

-Rowan
AnswerID: 42146

Reply By: Member Colin - NSW Bungendore - Monday, Jan 12, 2004 at 22:08

Monday, Jan 12, 2004 at 22:08
I attended this 'meeting' - it was well attended by about 200 people, mostly 'local' horse people (my guess).
The meeting had many valid points and I hope the 4WD community gets behind this group because we are the people who require NPWS tracks to access the parks of NSW.

I drove to the meeting via Brindabella Rd/Broken Cart Track and the country looks great, although there is a section of track (Barnetts Rd ?) that had quite a lot of wet weather vehicle damage and NPWS were installing gates on this section (Dubbo Creek to Broken Cart) of track for winter closure.
I'm not sure what NPWS are worried about - most visitors don't go beyond the tracks or camp grounds and those that do travel further, walkers and riders, must have minimal impact. Of course a little bad publicity can ruin it for the majority - like the Bendethera NP incident and the track damage I mentioned above. I also think that a limited budget has a lot to do with decisions made from a high rise in Sydney.

BUG (Snowy Mountains Bush Users Group) needs a lot of support and will need to carefully select a suitable articulate person to represent them.
Subaru Forester
"size isn't everything"
AnswerID: 42741

Follow Up By: Member - Bob L - Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004 at 00:04

Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004 at 00:04
Colin
I was there too!
Patrol with Tvan attached.
Found the meeting informative and enjoyable, certainly a friendly crowd. The evenings entertainment was unreal.
I agree it will take a hell of a lot of support to achieve a positive result and intend to motivate our4wd club for starters. The greens have a strong influence with Bob Carr and it will take more than say 50,000 country (Lib/Nat) voters to effect any change.
The chap from Sydney who stated the National Parks were created for the people ie "Recreational Use" hit the nail on the head.
Glad you made it too.
Cheers
Bob L

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FollowupID: 305192

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