A copy of a post on another forum:
If you fossick in the Tuena area, you need to have a look at this urgently. It arrived in my email today after an inquiry I made about one year ago! I have spent a few days scrub bashing there and there are some old diggings and it is a know gold area.
It is a public consultation notice on a draft Plan of Management (POM) for what is collectively known as the Crookwell Reserves, located north of Crookwell in the Central Tablelands of NSW. They cover a combined area of 2779 hectares.
Whether intentional or not consultation period is just ONE WEEK! It needs to be in on 25th February.
Thalaba State Conservation Area (31 hectares), Gillindich Nature Reserve (1225 hectares), Burwood Creek Nature Reserve (34 hectares), Nuggetty State Conservation Area (1146 hectares) and Mount Davies Nature Reserve (343 hectares) were gazetted in August, 2010 (certainly without any known consultation with the fossicking community).
All were previously areas of Crown Land recommended for addition to the protected area to enhance the protection of a number of key vegetation communities, and to improve habitat connectivity in this fragmented landscape by incorporating reserves into this poorly conserved region.
What you need to know is that Fossicking can be permitted under the NSW National Parks Act in State Conservation Areas provided it is allowed for in the Plan of Management. This document is setting up that plan of management.
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/parkmanagement/CrookwellReservesdraft.htm
So, if you are familiar with this area because you fossick there, or you wish to retain it for future fossicking NOW is the time to do something about it.
Dont sit back now and then whinge about it later!
NAPFA will put in its own submission but your own personal stories and contributions are vital for NSW NPWS to understand that these areas matter to fossickers.
In doing so you may be able to weave in the following points (in your own words please):
Prospecting activity adds significantly to the economy of town in those areas where it is permitted (Tuena in particular needs all the help it can get);
Responsible prospecting involves only a very limited, passing environmental effect;
People have been prospecting in NSW since the 1850s and this is a heritage cultural activity that should be encouraged and protected in its own right;
There are known gold diggings in these areas;
Prospectors can be the eyes and ears of the NPWS in the field and able to report illegal or suspicious activity;
Prospecting in largely undertaken by older people who enjoy this healthy, outdoor recreational activity;
Gold Panning and sluicing removes mercury and lead from rivers and streams;
Prospectors routinely take more than their own rubbish out of areas;
There are bigger environmental issues to focus on such as blackberries, foxes, rabbits etc.
There is no scientific basis to deny a relatively small group of individuals the opportunity to be able to fossick for gold, gems and other minerals in these areas. It will have no lasting impact on the environment.
Fossickers are not looking for money or hand-outs just the right to enjoy the natural bounty of NSW.
Allowing fossicking in the plan of management for this area will increase the enjoyment of the natural estate, in-line with stated policies of the State Government to encourage more recreational use of public land in NSW.
If possible please send a copy of your submissions to [email protected]
Thanks!
Stephen Dangaard
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association Inc.
If you fossick in the Tuena area, you need to have a look at this urgently. It arrived in my email today after an inquiry I made about one year ago! I have spent a few days scrub bashing there and there are some old diggings and it is a know gold area.
It is a public consultation notice on a draft Plan of Management (POM) for what is collectively known as the Crookwell Reserves, located north of Crookwell in the Central Tablelands of NSW. They cover a combined area of 2779 hectares.
Whether intentional or not consultation period is just ONE WEEK! It needs to be in on 25th February.
Thalaba State Conservation Area (31 hectares), Gillindich Nature Reserve (1225 hectares), Burwood Creek Nature Reserve (34 hectares), Nuggetty State Conservation Area (1146 hectares) and Mount Davies Nature Reserve (343 hectares) were gazetted in August, 2010 (certainly without any known consultation with the fossicking community).
All were previously areas of Crown Land recommended for addition to the protected area to enhance the protection of a number of key vegetation communities, and to improve habitat connectivity in this fragmented landscape by incorporating reserves into this poorly conserved region.
What you need to know is that Fossicking can be permitted under the NSW National Parks Act in State Conservation Areas provided it is allowed for in the Plan of Management. This document is setting up that plan of management.
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/parkmanagement/CrookwellReservesdraft.htm
So, if you are familiar with this area because you fossick there, or you wish to retain it for future fossicking NOW is the time to do something about it.
Dont sit back now and then whinge about it later!
NAPFA will put in its own submission but your own personal stories and contributions are vital for NSW NPWS to understand that these areas matter to fossickers.
In doing so you may be able to weave in the following points (in your own words please):
Prospecting activity adds significantly to the economy of town in those areas where it is permitted (Tuena in particular needs all the help it can get);
Responsible prospecting involves only a very limited, passing environmental effect;
People have been prospecting in NSW since the 1850s and this is a heritage cultural activity that should be encouraged and protected in its own right;
There are known gold diggings in these areas;
Prospectors can be the eyes and ears of the NPWS in the field and able to report illegal or suspicious activity;
Prospecting in largely undertaken by older people who enjoy this healthy, outdoor recreational activity;
Gold Panning and sluicing removes mercury and lead from rivers and streams;
Prospectors routinely take more than their own rubbish out of areas;
There are bigger environmental issues to focus on such as blackberries, foxes, rabbits etc.
There is no scientific basis to deny a relatively small group of individuals the opportunity to be able to fossick for gold, gems and other minerals in these areas. It will have no lasting impact on the environment.
Fossickers are not looking for money or hand-outs just the right to enjoy the natural bounty of NSW.
Allowing fossicking in the plan of management for this area will increase the enjoyment of the natural estate, in-line with stated policies of the State Government to encourage more recreational use of public land in NSW.
If possible please send a copy of your submissions to [email protected]
Thanks!
Stephen Dangaard
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association Inc.
