Environmental Vandalism says 4WD Magazine

It is not my normal practice as Conservation Officer, to write reports for the Bushwalker as a reaction to other media articles. A recent article however, in a four wheel drive magazine happened to fit in well with this general topic and deserves some scrutiny.

One of the most unworkable park boundaries I have yet come across was Yalwal Creek, a tributary of the Shoalhaven River and until last year, dividing Morton National Park from adjacent State Forest.

This very attractive creek is popular for liloing, canoeing and walking, with nearby Ettrema creek being a favourite NSW area for remote walks. The gentle gradient of the creek bed also allowed off road vehicle use along the water course for many kilometres, which took place to the extent that a ‘road’ like imprint had formed in the stones and pebbles on the dry part of the bed. I was told on my last visit that collisions between canoes and vehicles were a real risk and I thought that was a nice metaphor for landuse conflict (water use conflict?)

Since a fence cannot be built along a river bed, the park boundary was an arbitrary one with generally everything to the west National Park and declared wilderness and to the east Yalwal State Forest. This presented a good opportunity to test the idea of self regulation by motorised recreation groups, something they often champion as a concept. Unfortunately self regulation was discredited here with Ettrema Creek, within a declared wilderness, receiving regular vehicle use in the same manner as Yalwal Creek - along the river bed, for several kilometres into its gorge. A fire trail onto Drovers Ridge in the wilderness was also accessed regularly from Yalwal Creek and used to the extent that it had become braided and deeply pot holed along much of its route. Is playground too strong a term?

The State Government proposed eastern extensions to the Ettrema Wilderness in late 1995 which included the Yalwal Creek Valley. Confederation made a supporting submission and also raised with the National Parks and Wildlife Service our concerns about illegal vehicle use of the existing wilderness.

In April 1996 the addition of the Yalwal lands was announced and has since been declared. With a much improved boundary with which to manage, we reminded the NPWS of the need to protect and restore the area to a primitive state. Our long standing policy on wilderness is that there should be not only no vehicle use, but no roads on which they could be used. In this case physical closures of a few routes would be required. The affected creek bed was subject to a grading to remove the trail formed by the imprint of vehicles, and some large rocks and boulders were strategically placed so as to form barriers of natural materials. The Drovers ridge trail was also closed off and should now begin to revegetate.

Confederation congratulates the Nowra district of NPWS on this work. In many other areas of declared wilderness, park managers have hung on to vehicle tracks, when according to our policies and the spirit of the wilderness act, they should be closed and revegetated.

Now, the four wheel drive magazine took a rather different view on this work, heralding it as an act of environmental vandalism by the service and pledging support for some recreationalists’ aims of reversing the work in the name of the environment. Considerable outrage has also been expressed by some, over the severe damage sustained to a Wombat’s residence during the works!

I say let them bellow and chest beat, a new playground will be found soon if it has not been already. Ettrema Wilderness is one of those wonderful natural places that should be set aside foremost for nature, with human use taking a small and unimposing second place behind that preservation goal.