Grampians National Park – An Update – David Roberts
Despite the challenges we face with floods and the evolving recovery program, some excellent news has presented itself over the past few months with the commencement of a number of key staff. As mentioned below, Ryan Duffy fills the shoes left behind by Mike Stevens and will bring a new flare, passion and commitment to the job. We also welcome 2 new additional staff to our team as part of our Fire Operations delivery. Emily Barnes and Jonathan Almond commenced with Parks Victoria at Halls Gap in early March 2011 and haven’t stopped since. Emily and Jonathan will assist us in our fire program including burning, preparations, monitoring and providing leadership for the seasonal fire fighter workforce.
We have been busy delivering an increased burn program in the Grampians and Reserves over the past 8 weeks, taking advantage of mild and stable conditions. We’ve also been busy preparing the park for the expected influx of Easter visitors to the region who will be unfortunately compressed into a small section of the park around Halls Gap, North of Roses Gap Road and the southern walks around the Piccaninny and Mt Sturgeon. Our walking track crew have been busy rebuilding the Silverband Falls Walk and I’m excited and pleased to announce that this walk will be open for the Easter Long Weekend. It won’t be as it was but will provide visitors to the area an insight into the force of the water and the amount of debris movement which occurred in the January 2011 flood.
Easter is shaping up as a challenging time for the open areas of the park with congestion unavoidable and visitor frustration expected. Extra rangers and Parks Victoria staff are rostered on for Patrol over the weekend which will provide much needed assistance to all park users. We urge visitors to have patience and respect the closures that are in place to protect people from unsafe and damaged assets.
We look forward to a period of renewal and recovery.