National Parks Act Annual Report 2003 Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment October 2003 Also published on <www.dse.vic.gov.au/parks/> © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2003 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne Printed by Finsbury Printing, 46 Wirraway Drive, Port Melbourne ISSN 1031-7899 This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. For further information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963. Notes • On 5 December 2002 the Departments of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Primary Industries (DPI) and Victorian Communities were created, each including parts of the former Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE). In this report, in relation to the period before 5 December 2002, a reference to DSE and DPI means the former NRE. • All Acts referred to in this report are Victorian Acts of Parliament. Source of photographs: Parks Victoria (front cover; pages 1, 14 and 18), DSE (pages 3, 5 and 13), Glen Johnson (page 10), Martin Klabbers (page 15) and William Boyle (page 32) Cover: Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park Foreword Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park and Wilsons Promontory Islands Remote and Natural Area This annual report on the working of the National Parks Act nearly 20 per cent of the parks system. The response to the 1975 for the year ended 30 June 2003 is provided to the Victorian Alpine Fires was the largest emergency response in the Minister for Environment, the Hon. John Thwaites MP, under state’s history, involving several thousand individuals from many section 35 of the Act. organisations, including from interstate and overseas. Then, even before the fires were contained, a major bushfire recovery Victoria’s parks system is one of Victoria’s greatest assets. It program commenced. plays a vital role in helping to achieve the government’s vision of protecting our precious environment for this and future The fires impacted on the availability of staff for normal park generations and ensuring a more sustainable Victoria. management programs and also required a significant redirection of resources into the fire recovery program. The 2002–03 year included major achievements and major Nevertheless, Parks Victoria was still able to deliver a substantial challenges. In the first half there were some long awaited program of park management services across the parks system, additions to the parks system. In the second half the largest including the implementation of the 11 new or expanded fires in more than 60 years burnt substantial areas of some of box-ironbark parks and the 24 new marine national parks and our most treasured parks. Despite these challenges, a marine sanctuaries. Examples of the range of activities and considerable program of park management activities was still achievements are included in this report. able to be achieved. I would like to thank all those who contributed to the The expansion of parks in the box-ironbark region of north enhancement, protection and management of the parks system central Victoria on 30 October 2002 was the first of two major during this challenging year. The commitment and efforts of the additions to the parks system during the year. The new park many individuals and organisations who contributed to the fire areas, involving 11 new or expanded parks, will significantly fighting efforts and the fire recovery program, as well as those enhance conservation in a highly modified part of the state who maintained core services and kept other programs going where there are many threatened species and where urgent throughout the year, were outstanding. action is required to protect, restore and enhance the remaining natural values. Then, on 16 November, after many years of investigation, consultation and debate, a world-class representative system of 13 highly protected marine national parks and 11 marine sanctuaries was created. Protecting 5.3 per cent of Victorian Professor Lyndsay Neilson marine waters, they highlight the diversity of Victoria’s marine Secretary to the environment and fill a major gap in the state’s representative Department of Sustainability and Environment parks system. Like the box-ironbark initiative, this was a major achievement for all involved and is a splendid legacy for future generations. These events were soon overtaken by Victoria’s most severe fire season for many years. Of particular note were the Big Desert Fire in December 2002 and the Victorian Alpine Fires in early 2003 which burnt approximately 580 000 hectares of parks, or 1 Contents Foreword 1 Representative system 3 Areas managed under the Act 3 Changes to the parks system 3 Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve 4 Natural values management 5 Planning 5 Research 6 Environmental management 7 Wildfire 10 The fire season 10 Main fires affecting parks 10 Prescribed burning 12 Bushfire inquiries 12 Cultural values management 13 Indigenous program 13 Non-Indigenous program 13 Community involvement 14 Volunteers 14 Community Grants Program 14 Visitor and tourism services 15 Information, interpretation and education 15 Enhancing park visits 16 Visits to parks 17 Licensed tour operators 17 Supporting park management 18 Park management arrangements 18 Finance 18 Staff 18 Legislation 19 Agreements and other authorities 20 Enforcement 21 Interstate cooperation 21 Advisory bodies 22 Appendixes 23 1 Land managed under the National Parks Act 23 2 Pest plant control projects 27 3 Pest animal control projects 29 4 Locations of parks and other areas 30 2 Representative system Broken-Boosey State Park Areas managed under the Act Box-ironbark parks As at 30 June 2003 there were 134 areas with a total area of On 30 October 2002, the National Parks (Box-Ironbark and approximately 3.2 million hectares managed under various Other Parks) Act 2002 amended the Act to expand the parks provisions of the National Parks Act (the Act). Appendix 1 lists system in the box-ironbark region by nearly 68 000 ha. This the areas and Appendix 4 shows their location. The areas resulted from the government’s decisions on the Environment comprised: Conservation Council’s Box-Ironbark Forests and Woodlands Investigation Final Report (2001). • 118 areas on the main schedules to the Act – 39 national parks, 3 wilderness parks, 30 state parks, 13 marine national Five new or expanded national parks (Chiltern-Mt Pilot, Greater parks, 11 marine sanctuaries, 11 marine and/or coastal Bendigo, Heathcote-Graytown, St Arnaud Range and Terrick parks or reserves, 1 national heritage park, 4 regional parks, Terrick), five new or expanded state parks (Broken-Boosey, 3 historic parks, 2 nature conservation reserves and Haining Kooyoora, Paddys Ranges, Reef Hills and Warby Range) and Farm Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park (a new category of park) were created. • 16 non-scheduled areas to which particular provisions of the Act apply. The parks are largely representative of the natural diversity across the box-ironbark region, including the dry forests and The Act also defines 19 wilderness zones and 22 remote and woodlands of the inland hills of the Great Dividing Range, the natural areas within 13 national parks (Appendix 1) and 2 woodlands and grasslands of the northern plains and the designated water supply catchment areas (those parts of distinctive mallee communities of the Whipstick. They also Melbourne’s water supply catchments and their buffers within contain numerous historic and cultural values and, being easily Kinglake and Yarra Ranges National Parks). accessible, provide many opportunities for visitors to enjoy this Changes to the parks system distinctive part of Victoria’s natural and cultural heritage. There were very significant additions to the parks system during Several existing parks were included in the new parks, the year totalling nearly 124 000 hectares. The expansion of as shown in Table 1. parks in the box-ironbark region of north central Victoria and the creation of a representative system of highly protected Table 1 – Existing parks included in new box-ironbark parks marine national parks and marine sanctuaries along the New park Existing park Victorian coast filled major gaps in the state’s representative Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP Chiltern Box-Ironbark NP parks system. Smaller additions were made to Mitchell River and Beechworth HP (part) Wilsons Promontory national parks. Further details of the Greater Bendigo NP Kamarooka SP relevant legislation are included in the Legislation section of this Whipstick SP report. St Arnaud Range NP Kara Kara SP Reef Hills SP Reef Hills Park 3 There were also several excisions from existing parks: sections of Parts of several existing national and other parks and reserves several roads from Chiltern Box-Ironbark National Park, were incorporated into some of the marine national parks and Kamarooka, Kooyoora and Whipstick state parks and marine sanctuaries. Beechworth Park; three shooting ranges from Reef Hills Park; and land more than 100 metres