bundyjd
John
mbasko said:After nearly 3 years the Deua Catchment Parks Plan of Management has been signed off on by the Minister for Energy & Environment.
They said in my email that only a modest number of submissions were received during public exhibition of the draft plan. Changes made to the exhibited plan include clarifying the reason for not allowing fossicking so I assume there were some other submissions apart from mine that asked for fossicking to be considered?
Quote "Although fossicking is not consistent with the management principles of nature reserves, it can occur in state conservation areas subject to appropriate environmental and risk assessment.
Fossicking, such as panning and detecting, could potentially be undertaken on creeks within Majors Creek and Berlang state conservation areas. However, visitor activities in Majors Creek State Conservation Area are limited by the lack of suitable public access. Areas around Bells Creek are accessible but contain the remains of dwellings and mine workings which have not yet been assessed for their shared cultural heritage significance (see Section 3.4). The former mine workings pose a safety risk to visitors. Fossicking in Majors Creek State Conservation Area will not be allowed unless visitor access is improved and shared cultural heritage values around Bells Creek are assessed.
Visitor access at Berlang State Conservation Area is provided along Berlang and Telowar trails. Being located on higher ground, along ridge lines and spurs, these trails are not expected to provide suitable opportunities for fossickers. Fossicking will not be allowed in Berlang State Conservation Area.
Issues There is limited public access to the parks.
Desired outcomes Any visitor use of the parks is ecologically sustainable.
The parks continue to provide opportunities for nature-based recreation with minimal impact on natural and cultural values." End quote.
That's an interesting statement, given all of the workings and historical artifacts along Bells Creek are on private, fenced land as far as I know. And the main safety risk to visitors would be the landowner who has been known to fire the odd shot at trespassers over the years....