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Barrington Tops National Park, Mount Royal National Park, and Barrington Tops State Conservation Area Plan of Management BARRINGTON TOPS NATIONAL PARK, MOUNT ROYAL NATIONAL PARK, AND BARRINGTON TOPS STATE CONSERVATION AREA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT National Parks and Wildlife Service Part of the Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) September 2010 This plan of management was adopted by the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment on 16th September 2010. Acknowledgments The NPWS acknowledges that these parks are within the traditional country of the Biripi, Worimi, Geawegal and Wonaruah Aboriginal people. This plan of management is based on a draft plan prepared by staff of Hunter and Central Coast Hunter Range Regions. During the preparation of this plan of management members of the local Aboriginal community provided assistance, including: Mick Leon (Purfleet-Taree LALC), John Thorpe (Purfleet-Taree LALC), Viola Brown (Maaiangal Aboriginal Heritage Co-Op), Carol Ridgeway-Bissett (Maaiangal Aboriginal Heritage Co-Op), Allen Stuart Paget (Ungooroo Aboriginal Corporation), Gwen Russell (Worimi LALC), Jamie Tarrant (Worimi LALC), Val Merrick (Worimi LALC), Tracey Skene (Upper Hunter Wonnarua Council), Vic Perry (Upper Hunter Wonnarua Council), Luke Hickey (Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation), Tom Miller (Lower Hunter Wonnarua Tribal Council), Dennis J Cavenag (Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation), Bev Manton (Karuah LALC), Kevin Manton (Karuah LALC) and Bev Van Vliet (Wanaruah LALC), Cover photographs by Geoff Woods. For additional information or any inquiries about these parks or this plan of management, contact the NPWS Hunter Regional Office, 12B Teramby Road, Nelson Bay or by telephone on (02) 4984 8200. © Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) 2010 Use permitted with appropriate acknowledgment. ISBN: 978 1 74232 958 1 DECC: 2010/833 FOREWORD Barrington Tops and Mount Royal National Parks and Barrington Tops State Conservation Area are located approximately 90 kilometres north-west of Newcastle and cover a combined area of 89,299 hectares. The parks protect rare and threatened species, many of which are highly sensitive such as the sub-alpine swamps and wetlands, as well as the southern-most part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. They include a large area of wilderness, and Mount Mackenzie which has been declared an Aboriginal Place. From the early 20th century recreational use of the plateau became increasingly popular, as did scientific expeditions attracted by the diversity of plants and animals. The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 requires that a plan of management be prepared for each national park and state conservation area. A plan of management is a legal document that outlines how an area will be managed in the years ahead. A draft plan of management for Barrington Tops and Mount Royal National Parks and Barrington Tops State Conservation Area was placed on exhibition from 20th March to 23rd June 2008. The submissions received were carefully considered before adopting this plan. This plan contains a number of actions to achieve the State Plan priority to “Protect our native vegetation, biodiversity, land, rivers and coastal waterways”, including control of introduced plants and animals, strategies to stop the spread of weeds and pathogens, implementation of recovery plans and priority actions for threatened species and fire management. The plan also contains actions to help achieve the State Plan priority to “Promote our parks”, including upgraded interpretive and directional signage, continued 2WD scenic driving, additional trails for 4WD and horse riding, and the upgrading of walking tracks. This plan of management establishes the scheme of operations for Barrington Tops and Mount Royal National Parks and Barrington Tops State Conservation Area. In accordance with section 73B of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, this plan of management is hereby adopted. Frank Sartor MP Minister for Climate Change and the Environment TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A: MANAGEMENT CONTEXT ................................................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 PLAN PREPARATION .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 FORMAT OF THE PLAN .............................................................................................................................. 3 2 THE PLANNING AREA ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 LOCATION AND REGIONAL CONTEXT .................................................................................................... 4 2.2 AREA AND DEDICATION OF THE PARKS ................................................................................................ 5 2.3 WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE PLANNING AREA? ................................................................................ 6 3 LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 8 3.2 MANAGEMENT PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES........................................................................................ 8 4 MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES .................................................................................... 13 PART B: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ........................................................................................................... 15 5 NATURAL HERITAGE ...................................................................................................................................... 16 5.1 CLIMATE .................................................................................................................................................... 16 5.2 GEOLOGY, SOILS, LANDFORMS AND SCENIC VALUES ...................................................................... 17 5.3 CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................. 19 5.4 NATIVE PLANTS ........................................................................................................................................ 20 5.5 NATIVE ANIMALS ...................................................................................................................................... 24 5.6 MONTANE PEATLANDS AND SWAMPS ON THE BARRINGTON TOPS PLATEAU .............................. 27 6 CULTURAL HERITAGE .................................................................................................................................... 30 6.1 ABORIGINAL HERITAGE .......................................................................................................................... 30 6.2 HISTORIC HERITAGE ............................................................................................................................... 32 7 INTRODUCED SPECIES .................................................................................................................................... 36 7.1 INTRODUCED PLANTS ............................................................................................................................. 36 7.2 INTRODUCED ANIMALS .......................................................................................................................... 42 7.3 PHYTOPHTHORA ...................................................................................................................................... 46 8 FIRE MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 49 9 VISITOR USE ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 9.1 INTERPRETATION, EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ........................................................................ 53 9.2 VEHICLE ACCESS ..................................................................................................................................... 55 9.3 CAMPING ................................................................................................................................................... 59 9.4 DAY USE ..................................................................................................................................................... 62 9.5 WALKING TRACKS .................................................................................................................................... 66 9.6 HORSE RIDING .......................................................................................................................................... 69 9.7 CYCLING .................................................................................................................................................... 70 9.8 FISHING