President's Report Caring for Namadgi Marlboro
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September 2002 President's report Caring for Namadgi Marlboro Man NPA BULLETIN Volume 39 number 3 September 2002 CONTENTS Annual General Meeting 3 Bush regeneration progress at Gudgenby 13 Syd Comfort Eleanor Stodart "'Caring for Namadgi Together"—NPA's Namadgi project. 3 Your Canberra Your Future 14 Eleanor Stodart Syd Comfort Annual Report—August 2002 4 A new focus for nature conservation 14 Clive Hurlstone Syd Comfort Liquid Assets—two marine parks in NSW 5 Meeting with ACT Planning Minister 15 Len Haskew Clive Hurlstone Marlborough Man and the Man from Snowy River 6 Judy Kelly When suburbs reach Mulligans Flat 15 Clive Hurlstone New VP is earthquake expert 7 Reg Alder Parkwatch 16 Compiled by Len Haskew Huts—environmental challenges 8 Timothy Walsh Book Review 18 Syd Comfort Using the NPA environmental monitoring form 9 Adrienne Nicholson Carnarvon Station, central Queensland 18 Current environmental issues 10 Laurie Westcott Syd Comfort Sullivans Creek Catchment Group 19 Hard labour to Split Rock 11 Len Haskew Martin Chalk Meetings and Calendar of events 20 Cape to Cape...well almost 12 Syd Comfort National Parks Association of the ACT Incorporated The NPA ACT office is located in MacLaurin Crescent, Chifley. Inaugurated 1960 next to the preschool. It is staffed by volunteers but, at present, not on a regular basis. Callers may leave phone or email messages at Aims and objectives of the Association any time and they will be attended to. Mail from the post office box • Promotion of national parks and of measures for the protection of is cleared daily. fauna and flora, scenery, natural features and cultural heritage in the Australian Capital Territory and elsewhere, and the Phone/Fax: (02) 6282 5813 reservation of specific areas. Email: [email protected] • Interest in the provision of appropriate outdoor recreation areas. Address: PO Box 1940, Woden ACT 2606 • Stimulation of interest in, and appreciation and enjoyment of, such natural phenomena and cultural heritage by organised field Internet: outings, meetings or any other means. http://www.users.bigpond.com/npaact.ht • Cooperation with organisations and persons having similar m interests and objectives. • Promotion of, and education for, conservation, and the planning Subscription rates (1 July to 30 June) of landuse to achieve conservation. Household membership S40 Single members $35 Office-bearers Corporate membership $30 Bulletin only $30 Concession $25 President vacant Vice-president Kevin McCue 6251 1291 (h) Advertising Secretary vacant The Bulletin accepts advertisements and inserts. The standard cost Treasurer Steven Forst 6251 6817 (h), 6279 1326 (w) of an A4 insert is $310 but some concessional rates may be Committee members arranged. Chris Emerv 6249 7604 (h) NPA Bulletin Rod Griffiths 6288 6988 (h) Contributions of articles, line drawings and photographs, including David Large 6291 4830 (h) colour prints, are welcome and should be lodged with the office or Lyndall Young 6286 3277 (h) Syd Comfort (02) 6286 2578. Immediate Past President Deadline for December 2002 issue: 1 November 2002. Clive Hurlstone 6288 7592 (h) Articles by connibutors may not necessarily reflect association 040 778 3422 (mob) opinion or objectives. Convenors This Bulletin was produced by the NPA Bulletin Working Group. Outings Sub-committee David Large 6291 4830 (h) Printed by Copy-Qik, Canberra, ACT. Bulletin Working Group Syd Comfort 6286 2578 (h) ISSN 0727-8837 Environment Sub-committee Clive Hurlstone 6288 7592 (h) Cover photo: An early start with the sun on the landward side. contact 040 778 3422(mob) Dunes south of Willyabrup Brook. See page 12. Photo Syd Comfort Annual general meeting 2002 There was a very good attendance at the had served as office-bearers of the office-bearer and committee vacancies. AGM held at Weston on Thursday association for many years. The meeting recognised the importance August 15. The minutes of the 2001 The business then moved to the of member support for the new AGM were accepted and the retiring election of committee members for the Committee during the coming year. President, Clive Hurlstone, made his ensuing year. In the course of this there At the conclusion of the formal part annual report which is printed in full on was wide ranging discussion on future of the meeting, Association members page 3. Treasurer Mike Smith presented directions for the association and Esther Gallant and Barrie Ridgeway the financial report which showed that although all vacant positions were not gave a fascmating presentation on a an operating profit of just over $1 000 filled a nucleus Committee was elected: rafting adventure down the Firth River had been achieved. Both reports were Vice-president, Kevin McCue; in the Yukon that they had undertaken accepted by the meeting. The work of Treasurer, Steven Forst; and Committee last year. An account of this will be a all committee members was recognised members, Chris Emery, Rod Griffiths, feature of a future Bulletin We then and there were individual votes of Clive Hurlstone, David Large and enjoyed one of Adrienne's special AGM thanks to Clive and Mike, both of whom Lyndall Young. The Committee has the suppers. authority to make appointments to fill Syd Comfort "Caring for Namadgi Together"—NPA's Namadgi project Three years and several hiccups down the and Garnet and Hyndes The heritage of the species, pests, issues for managing cultural track and we have finished NPA's Namadgi Australian Capital Territory (1992) for values, fuel and fire and visitors are all project The aim of the project was to cultural values. More recent references covered in some detail. The value of complete a resource document that would included work on wilderness areas such as community group involvement is also assist with the production of the new the National Wilderness Inventory and the discussed. Management Plan for Namadgi National Australian Heritage Commission Section 4 is a list of the main Park. NPA received a grant under the ACT Wilderness Delineation, NPA's study of the recommendations that appear throughout the Government's Environment Grants Program Implementaion Plan planning process first three sections. For ease of reference, for the project, but as it became necessary (February 2001) and a new textbook, Appendix A lists management practices for for members to do the work in their own Protected Area Management Principles and cultural sites resources as they appear in the time it took much longer than planned Practices, by G. Worboys, M Lockwood 1986 Plan. Appendix B lists the points in the The completed document, Caring for and T. de Lacy (2001). NPA members' 1986 Plan that need updating; this list was Namadgi Together, has 59 pages. Several wide experience over many years was also prepared by NPA in 1999 in order to members contributed sections, others made valuable. emphasise how urgent was the need for valuable comments, and I brought it all The NPA document is stnictured in four updating the park's management plan. together, in the process learning to use a new sections, plus references and appendices. I feel that NPA can be proud of this computer (jumping 15 years of technology The first section, on the context of the document Members commenting have said in one hit!). planning process, highlights major changes things like "this is an impressive document5' Even though later than planned, the since 1986 to the governance of the ACT and "a lot of research has gone into this". I document's completion has fortunately been and to the boundaries of the park; and the hope that people outside the association will timed well to fit in with the collation of institution of the intergovernmental also find it impressive, and that it will be responses to the Interim Namadgi Advisory Memorandum of Understanding on the effective in helping the preparation of an Board's Discussion Paper about a new Australian alpine parks, the Ginini wetlands outstanding management plan for our park Management Plan. as a Ramsar site, and the agreement with the The document has been presented to In examining references for the Ngunnawal Native Title claimants. Environment ACT in printed and electronic document we discovered that those written Section 2 provides an overview of the form. Printed copies will be available for for the 1986 Management Plan, or in the natural and cultural values of the park contnouting members and for others who next few years, were still very valuable. Section 3 discusses the needs and issues would like one, and will be distributed to These include the NCDC studies prior to the of management and is the longest section, organisations such as the Conservation establishment of the park, the Boden and forming about one third of the whole Council of the Southeast Region and Fraser Review of the significance of the document Here we found Worboys et al a Canberra and the Environment Centre natural and cultural features of Namadgi useful support for some of our arguments, Library. National Park (1991) and Fraser's study of such as the value of experienced staff that Eleanor Stodart the northern Cotter (1988) for natural need to be respected and retained so their values; and the Australian Heritage depth of talent can be fully utilised. The Commisson's Submission for Namadgi need for zoning, the significance of National Park Plan of Management (1985) Namadgi's wilderness values, endangered Annual Report—August 2002 The past year began well for the the Bulletin. Adrienne Nicholson took on association. Many of the issues discussed association and much has been achieved this task and did a splendid job. Syd and worked on by the sub-committee arc overall but problems of process and Comfort and Graeme Wicks shared the long running and can go on for years, involvement have come to the fore in the editing whi le contributing members with levels of activity increasing as new last six months.