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The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

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The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area By Nicholas Antony Sawyer B.Sc. B.E. Centre for Environmental Studies Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. A thesis submitted in part-fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies. University of Tasmania December, 1990. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other higher degree or diploma in any tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. 5°I'fb • The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Abstract This thesis examines the management problems relating to bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Some background information is provided on the World Heritage Area itself, the development of bushwallcing in the area, the concept of wilderness and the existing management structures and policies. The problems caused by bushwalking are examined in some detail. The most obvious physical problem is the deteriorating state of many of the walking tracks but there are many others including the loss of wilderness quality of remote areas as tracks evolve in previously untracked regions, campsite deterioration, campsite proliferation, fire, litter, disposal of faecal waste, pollution and the spread of Phytophthora. Social concerns include possible overcrowding and the impact of unnatural disturbances such as track work, views of distant roads or forestry operations and low-flying aircraft. All may result in a loss of "wilderness experience" to users of the WHA. The management guidelines for the area are examined in the context of the significance of the World Heritage listing and recommendations made on the priorities for management. In particular, the conflict between preservation and use is examined. The various management strategies relevant to the management of wilderness recreation are examined. These include the more sophisticated applications of the concept of "carrying capacity" as well as the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum and Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) methodologies. The limitations of the LAC are considered and it is used as a basis for much of the subsequent discussion of available management actions and monitoring techniques. The management actions relevant to the problems caused by bushwallcing are considered. Four broad categories are used as a framework for discussion: the control of distribution of use, regulation of use, education of users and physical works. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area A consequence of adopting the LAC methodology is the need to monitor key indicators of environmental and social change to ensure that the acceptable levels of impact are not exceeded. The most appropriate techniques for monitoring environmental change are considered as are the methods for obtaining information about users. Major conclusions include consideration of the practicality of the LAC for both environmental and social monitoring, the need for use limitation in two distinct circumstances, the need for better control of the information available to users and the ongoing need for education of users. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Dedication To my parents. Without their support this project would have come to an abrupt halt when it had barely started. Acknowledgments I am grateful to all of the following who contributed, in various ways, to the successful completion of this project: Airlie Alam, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (who gave me a remarkable amount of leave to work on this project), Rob Beedham, John Davies, Grant Dixon, Tim O'Loughlin (for his cheerful support and careful reading of a draft of this thesis), Michael Pemberton, Cathie Plowman, Sam Rando, Dr.Jim Russell, Gary Witzerman, Phil Wyatt and, especially, Anni McCuaig (for initiating the project) and my supervisor Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Contents Chapter 1- Background 1.1 General 1.2 Background - World Heritage Area 1.3 Background - Bushwalking 1.4 Background - Wilderness 1.5 Background - Management 1.6 Introduction - Summing Up Chapter 2- The Problems 2.1 Track Problems 2.2 Campsite Problems 2.3 Phytophthora 2.4 Social Problems Chapter 3- Management Goals 3.1 Significance of the WHA 3.2 PWH: Management Objectives 3.3 Conclusions Chapter 4 - Management Strategies 4.1 Wilderness Management 4.2 Carrying Capacity 4.3 Recreation Opportunity Spectrum 4.4 Limits of Acceptable Change Chapter 5 - Management Actions 5.1 Control Distribution of Use 5.2 Regulation of Use 5.3 Education 5.4 Physical Works The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Chapter 6- Monitoring Techniques 6.1 Need for Monitoring 6.2 What is the Limiting Factor? 6.3 Monitoring of Physical Conditions 6.4 Monitoring of Social Conditions Chapter 7 - Conclusions References Appendix 1 - Mount Anne: Physical Conditions. A Report to Parks Wildlife and Heritage on a survey of walking track and campsite conditions in the Mount Anne area conducted in the Summer of 1987/88. Appendix 2 - Mount Anne Area User Survey. A Report to Parks Wildlife and Heritage on a survey conducted in the Summer of 1987/88. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Introduction Scope This thesis considers issues relevant to the management of wilderness bushwalldng in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. For this purpose wilderness bushwalkers are defined as all recreational walkers in the World Heritage Area except for those on roads or short, highly developed walking tracks such as nature trails or tracks to lookouts (the main users of which are bus or car-borne tourists). By this definition, most wilderness bushwallcers are making overnight trips (trips which require staying out overnight), but walkers on day-walks (trips which do not involve staying out overnight) are not excluded unless they are only using the short, highly developed tracks referred to above. This thesis does not address the management of non-bushwalldng wilderness recreation such as skiing, rafting or caving. Non-recreational issues such as fire, flora and fauna management are considered only to the extent that they relate to wilderness bushwalking. This thesis is mainly a discussion of the practical options relevant to the management of wilderness bushwalldng. It makes some use of the Limits of Acceptable Change System for Wilderness Planning (LAC) and discusses some of its shortcomings. However, it is not intended to be a complete LAC planning exercise or a critique of the LAC concept. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area This thesis mainly considers conditions in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area which is the area nominated for World Heritage Listing in September 1989. It includes and expands upon the Western Tasmania Wilderness National Parks World Heritage Area which was placed on the World Heritage List in 1982. The wilderness area of Western Tasmania has often been referred to as "the South- West" but since the World Heritage Area extends well into the northern half of Tasmania it is clearly inappropriate to refer to this as "the South-West". The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Studies of the Mount Anne Region The author conducted field work in the Mount Anne Region during the summer of 1987/88 with financial support from the Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife. The data resulting from this work provided the basis for many of the arguments used in this thesis. Two reports were produced; one on track conditions, the other reporting the results of a survey of users of the area. These reports are reproduced as appendices to this thesis. National Park Management Authority The name of the Tasmanian Government Department responsible for National Park management has changed several times in recent years. In 1986 the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) was merged with the much larger Lands Department to become the Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife (LPW). In 1989 it was re- established as a separate department under the new name of the Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage (PWH). In this thesis the Department is generally referred to by its current name but the older names have been used where appropriate. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Glossary The following acronyms are used in the text: ANPWS - Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service LAC - Limits of Acceptable Change LPW - (Department of) Lands, Parks and Wildlife MD3 - Minimal Impact Bushwalking NPWS - National Parks and Wildlife Service PWH - (Department of) Parks, Wildlife and Heritage ROS - Recreation Opportunity Spectrum WHA - (Tasmanian Wilderness) World Heritage Area. The Management of Wilderness Bushwalking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (Map by courtesy of Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage) Devils Gullet Marakoopa Cave State Reserve State Reserve Meander k LilTey Forest Reservt.."%.v FONSI
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