Official Notice
Starting 12th – 14th March 2025
Parks Victoria is conducting a conservation program to improve the health of the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park native animals and plants following the devastating recent fires.
The recent Yarram Gap and Wallaby Rocks fires affected over 70% of the Grampians National Park impacting native plants, animals, aquatic species and invertebrates.
Urgent action is being taken to reduce predators (foxes and feral cats) and introduced herbivores (deer and feral goats), threatening the survival and recovery of vulnerable native plants and animals.
An aerial control operation will be conducted Wed 12th – Fri 14th March 2025 to support the recovery of native animals and plants after the Wallaby Rocks and Yarram Gap fires.
Foxes and feral cats prey on Grampians native animals such as the Brush tailed Rock Wallaby, Long nosed Potoroo, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Smoky mouse, Heath mouse, and Grampians Mountain Dragon. These native animals are now more exposed to predation due to the loss of vegetation cover because of the Yarram Gap fire.
Deer and feral goats cause serious damage to native plants, animals, and habitat by trampling and destroying plants, increasing grazing pressure, ring-barking young trees, fouling waterholes, causing soil erosion, and spreading weeds. They compete with native animals for forage in remaining in unburnt areas and set back the recovery of burnt native plants by browsing new regrowth and seedlings.
Weather permitting, an aerial shooting operation will be undertaken on weekdays between Wednesday the 12th – Friday 14th of March 2025 to target these pest animals in parts of the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park (see attached map).
The extent of the upcoming operation will be in the current fire affected areas. No additional closures of visitor sites or campgrounds are being implemented, including any sections of the Grampians Peaks Trail that may have been reopened – the trail will be buffered out of the operations area.
To ensure visitor safety, warning signs will be placed at temporary closures and major road access points to the control area. Visitors are encouraged to follow all instructions on permanent and temporary signage.
For further information please contact 13 1963.