Graham Parkes
Staff
We congratulate Emily Bedggood in her appointment as Ranger to support the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (BTRW) project. Emily will be helping Tony Corrigan to prepare for the re-introduction of BTRW into the Grampians national park, and will also be assisting with post release field monitoring.
The new financial year will see Lockeah Sabbo move from the Visitor Services team to the Natural Values team. Locky will be assisting Jake Goodes with Pest Plant and Animal control works within the Park.
We would also like to welcome Adam Tribe and Kyle Hewitt to the team. Adam and Kyle were previously part of our Fire Recovery team and have since been appointed to Field Services Officer positions provided through the Public Land Fire Initiative.
We would also like to take this opportunity to give our sincere thanks to all those staff who have contributed to the fire recovery works over the last two years. They have made a wonderful contribution to the restoration of the work which will be appreciated by visitors for many years to come.
Fire Recovery Works
The Fire Recovery Crew faced a challenging task with the replacement of the toilet at the First Wannon and several sections of boardwalk between First Wannon and Reservoir Creek. Conditions were not always ideal and the crews often found themselves working in temperatures in the single digits with strong winds and poor visibility. Despite tough conditions, the works on the Major Mitchell Plateau were completed one week ahead of time. Only minor work is required before the area is re-opened to the public on 1st July.
Fire Operations Plan
It is that time of year again and Rhonda McNeil (Fire Operations Officer) and Dave Handscombe have been busy preparing for the Fire Operations Plan for 2008-2011. The draft document will be available for public comment from 30 July to 29 August. The final plan will be released in September. Any enquiries about the preparation of the FOP can be addressed to Rhonda McNeil on 5461 4027.
Bush Camping Workshop
Members of the community and interested organisations were invited to attend a workshop on the future management of bush camping in the Grampians National Park (camping in areas with limited or no facilities) on Monday 2nd June. The topics discussed included:
Future directions for bush camping – The number and location of bush camps, and how we manage the increasing impacts on the environment.
Booking camp sites.
Visitor expectations of bush camp sites.
The challenges we face – Fire dams, bee sites, camping in inappropriate park zones, campfires, site degradation and erosion, waste management (rubbish and human waste)
Attendees at the workshop appreciated the opportunity to discuss these topics and other related issues. The feedback gathered from this workshop will be incorporated into any future plans for bush camping in the Grampians National Park.
Apiarists Field Day
On Tuesday 3 June Parks Victoria hosted an Apiarists Field Day in the Grampians National Park. The aim of the day was for land managers and key policy staff from PV and DSE to meet with members of the Apiarists Association to discuss a range of topics, including:
Track and Bee Site maintenance – responsibilities of both the apiarist and the land manager
Access to existing Bee Sites
Apiary site signage – proposed signage for State-wide usage
The field day was extremely positive and was obviously appreciated by industry and Government staff alike. The discussions relating to and the issues raised on site management, Apiarist expectations, and communications between Government and Apiarists were particularly useful and will go a long way to providing guidance for future policy and management.