NATIONAL PARKS
Blog
How are national park systems in other states faring? What challenges do they face?
The National Parks Association of Queensland caught up with the NPAs across Australia for their perspectives on the biggest issues facing their state’s national parks.
Multi-day walks in national parks are becoming increasingly sought after – especially commercial ‘supported’ walks run by private operators. Walkers only carry a day or light pack, as accommodation and food are typically provided, as well as guides. Such walks make the experience accessible to a wider range of people keen to appreciate the immersion in nature. However, the impacts of commercial walks in national parks are also coming under increased scrutiny.
Two such walks undertaken by the author in the last three years are presented as examples to illustrate diverse models of such walks, with noticeable differences in the impacts and experience.
Inland from the coastal town of Mackay in central Queensland and bordering the Pioneer Valley, is the Clarke Range. Recognised as a Key Biodiversity Area by Birdlife Australia, it is home to the endemic Eungella honeyeater (Bolemoreus hindwoodi). This honeyeater has the smallest distribution of any mainland Australian bird and is listed as Vulnerable under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act.
To fully understand how truly amazing this region is, the best way to experience it is on the Cooloola Great Walk. This 5-day hike through the Cooloola region of the stunning Great Sandy National Park will challenge you and amaze with stunning views.
Shellie Cash is Ranger-in-Charge at Currawinya National Park in western Queensland. She has always loved being outdoors studying different animals. Growing up on a farm gave her a passion for land management and, after completing high school, Shellie took on a traineeship with QPWS in Rockhampton. It didn’t take her long to realise that she had found her perfect job.
Since moving to Queensland six years ago our family has made countless holidays and day trips to Queensland’s national parks. There are so many choices.
Our most frequent and favourite day trip though has been to a reserve, not a national park. Located on the Sunshine Coast, Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is a short one hour and 10-minute drive from Brisbane.
Firstly, best wishes to you all as we settle into a not so new year.
We are pleased to hear positive murmurings from Government and Departmental officers regarding a substantial increase in funding for both protected area management and acquisition. This year's State budget allocations and release of the eagerly awaited Protected Area Strategy will determine how much our optimism is justified.
Imagine an isolated strip of tropical rainforest about sixty by three kilometres, surrounded by cleared pastures and swathes of dry eucalypt forest. Give it a bit of altitude, let’s say an average of 800 metres, and almost all of its annual rainfall in summer. Now bless it with almost 900 species of plants and a spectacular array of wildlife, including 227 recorded bird species (one of which is endemic), and presto - Eungella National Park!
Bridget Armstrong is a Senior Conservation Officer in the Great Barrier Reef and Marine Parks Region of QPWS. She spent much of her childhood playing in and exploring the bush, beaches and estuaries. She studied ecology at university, and her first job confirmed that what she loved most was to be out in the field, providing ecological advice for park management.
Marika shares her perspective on national parks as a way to foster a curiosity and interest in the world. We all have a opportunity to help reconnect our children - and each other - with our natural places.
Cats take a hefty toll on Australia’s reptiles – killing an estimated 649 million of them every year, including threatened species – according to our new research published in the journal Wildlife Research.
This time last year Dennis wrote about a looming threat to the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
Sadly the fears he wrote about have become reality and now commercial fishing is encroaching on sensitive marine reserve area.
A founding purpose for NPAQ was to grow and protect national parks and appreciation for nature. Where once this was reflected in photography and sketches, new technology is opening different frontiers for the sharing of our precious natural places.
Parrallel Parks is one example of this.
Veteran (very old) trees are important components of many ecosystems and landscapes. In Part 1 we discussed their environmental values and unique characteristics, as well as their cultural values and benefits. Part 2 will focus on the survival strategies employed by these ancient flora representatives and the range of management actions that will assist their continued survival.
One evening when my boys were younger, Matthew, then ten, looked at me from across a restaurant table and said quite seriously, “Dad, how come it was more fun when you were a kid?”
Park Rangers do an amazing job in our national parks and each edition of Protected we like to recognise one and tell their story.
Articles in the February/March issue of Protected by President Graeme Bartrim and Tony Groom mention how experiencing aspects of nature can trigger an interest in conservation and may also provide real mental and physical health benefits.
When visiting forests or national parks, we often take for granted the large trees that we walk by or camp near. These big, old trees are remarkable, not only for their size, but also because they have many other important values, such as containing their own ‘ecosystem’, showing a slice of the region’s history, significance for Traditional Owners, exceptional age, rarity, important habitat or ecological associations, and having exceptional landscape values and great beauty.
Main Range, like so many Queensland national parks, is home to outstanding walks, wildlife and views. Unfortunately, but also not unlike many Queensland national parks, it is under threat from invasive species, climate change, visitor intensification and ecotourism activities.
Park Rangers do an amazing job in our national parks and each edition of Protected we like to recognise one and tell their story.
Securing our national park protected areas is half the battle. The other, more important, part is how our national parks are managed to protect their natural beauty for the future. QPWS provide some insight into their Values Based Management Framework approach.
Magnetic Island: eight kilometres off the coast of Townsville but a million miles from care, blessed with fringing reefs, giant granite tors and boulder-strewn vistas.
Sometimes it’s a rocky road to protect our natural places.
"To me, we got our national parks not just because of legislation passed in parliament, but because we have had, and do have, people who treasure the idea that the stories and beauty around us exist not just for us, but for all the generations to come."
The Coordinator-General’s evaluation report on the environmental impact statement for the Lindeman Island resort redevelopment has been released. What does it mean?
The Gainsdale Scenic Rim Trail proposed development has the potential to effectively privatise a significant section of Main Range National Park.
Insights into the diverse backgrounds and day-to-day activities of Queensland’s park rangers
When I was a child, visiting a national park was like going on some grand adventure.
How are national park systems in other states faring? What challenges do they face?
The National Parks Association of Queensland caught up with the NPAs across Australia for their perspectives on the biggest issues facing their state’s national parks.