Franklin News and Views

A couple of photos taken this week in the garden A Trigger Plant in the front which was a gift from Dave and Jenny Tucker     Out the back our Ficifolia (used to be known as a Eucalyptus but now classified as Corymbia) is in fine flower

This is not written in anger but with a feeling of sadness. Some years ago there was plenty of controversy about managing the environmental issues resulting from bushwalking, especially in the more vulnerable alpine areas.   Parks and Wildlife Service put together a stakeholder group to work through the issues and try to find solutions.   The outcome of this was a mechanism that would trigger increased management actions as thresholds were approached or exceeded. The initial target area was the Western Arthur range and PWS put in registration boxes to monitor campsite occupancy.  Books to record the information were printed for 2006 to 2007 and placed in the boxes. Since then PWS have never reconvened the advisory group, however I recently walked along the Western Arthur  and what should I find but these very books still there at Cygnus and Oberon with all the data recorded by walkers for  the period in question (2006-07) plus plenty more for subsequent months up until now. Two

I recently went on a bushwalk through the Western Arthur Range where we met a commercial party from Tasmanian Expeditions at Lake Oberon. They were camped at lake Oberon and staying there for 3 nights and group of 4 (2 clients and 2 guides) were spread out on 3 of the 4 available platforms.  The leader did offer to consolidate to two platforms to allow our party of 4 room, but as no one else arrived that day we did not need the space and manage to fit on the hardened area need the lake shore.  However in differing circumstances it could easily get overcrowded there with the limited camping available. I probably would not have thought much more about this, but have just received an newsletter (don’t know how I got on the mailing list) from Tas Expeditions, in which they promote future Western Arthur walks.  These are described as 13 days with 12 nights which includes side trips for “6 trekkers” plus I assume 2 guides and departures  in 2010 for 10 January, 7 Feb and 7 March.  This has