NSW WILDERNESS RED INDEX
Published by The Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd
(September 1999)
2/332 Pitt Street Sydney 2000 ph 02 92997341; fax 02 92995713
email keith@colongwilderness.org.au web site colongwilderness.org.au
| NAME: | Brindabella |
| NOMINATED BY: | The Colong Foundation, Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs and The Wilderness Society on 23rd October 1996 |
| LOCATION: | 32 km west of Canberra. |
| SIZE: | 20,934 ha (nomination divided into two
sections) 17,400 ha (NPWS Wilderness Assessment Study Area) |
TENURE (NSW): Nominated Identified
New NPWS estate (Oct. 1993 to Sept. 1999)
Brindabella National Park 12,280 ha under assessment
Other tenure
Crown land 8,654 ha under assessment
Wilderness Declared:
None
Wilderness Not Declared
Brindabella National Park;
| Size (part of nominated area): | 12,280 ha. |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 59% |
Crown land;
| Size (part of nominated area): | 8,654 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 41 % |
DESCRIPTION:
The Brindabella Range is a granite formation at the northern end of the Australian Alps. The major adjacent valleys of the Cotter and Goodradigbee Rivers are evidence of fault lines which were formed as the igneous intrusion occurred. These valleys have cut into older sedimentary rocks of the area.
A total of 462 plant species are known to occur in Brindabella National Park and further species reach their northern limit just to the south of the reserve. Patches of montane and high altitude tall open forests occur above 1,000 metres. These are dominated by a wet sclerophyll forest community, with principal species Eucalyptus delegatensis (alpine ash), E. dalrympleana (mountain gum), E. viminalis (manna gum), and E. radiata (narrow-leaved peppermint). In sheltered slopes species such as E. fastigata (brown barrel) and E. viminalis are predominant. Sub-alpine tall forests of E. pauciflora (snow gum) also occur on the higher points of the range. Cold air drainage sites especially along water courses feature unusual alliances of River Oak. Some 58 species of sub-alpine plant occur at their northern limit on the Brindabella Range. The threatened plant Rutidosis leptorhynchoides (Button Wrinklewort) occurs between 900 and 1,100 metres altitude.
A 1998 survey of Brindabella National Park found 14 native mammals, 60 birds, 13 reptiles, and 3 amphibians. Endangered fauna of the area include; the Broad-toothed Rat (Mastacomys fuscusi); the rare northern form of the Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne corroboree), Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua), Olive Whistler (Pachycephala olivacea), Pink Robin (Petroica phoenicea), Tiger Quoll (Dasyrus maculatus), Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australia) and a butterfly (Oreixenica kershawiphryne) which is endemic to the Brindabella Range. The rocky peaks of the Brindabella Range are habitat for summer aestivation of the Bogong Moth (Agrotis infusa).
LAND USE HISTORY:
| Aboriginal | The area is part of the territory traditionally occupied by the Walgalu Aboriginal People, who were joined in the summer months by the Ngarigo and Ngunawal for the Bogong feasts. |
| Grazing | The Brindabella Valley was taken up for grazing in 1863 by the Franklin family. The high range had already begun to be used as relief pasture for cattle and sheep grazing during the non winter months. |
| Prospecting | The Mountains in this area were prospected for gold in the 1850s, without major success. |
Electricity
| 1960-61 | Snowy Mountains Authority (SMA) erects 330,000 volt pylons between lower Tumut and Canberra, through the nomination. These pylons isolate the southern third of the wilderness, compromising the wilderness values of the area. |
HISTORY OF CONSERVATION MEASURES:
| 1986 | Australian Alps Memorandum of Understanding signed between ACT, NSW, Victoria, and Commonwealth governments. |
| 1995 | The Forestry Interim Assessment Process (IAP) undertakes a rapid desktop assessment of all areas with high wilderness quality exceeding 8,000 hectares in the eastern forestry regions of NSW. The assessment outlines several new park areas and additions to existing areas, including two adjacent parcels of land on the Brindabella Range. |
| 1996 | 4 April: Brindabella National Park of 12,280
ha is gazetted. A further 2,700 ha of Crown Land is sought by the NPWS for inclusion but
is blocked by objections from the Department of Mineral Resources. May: The Draft report of the Forestry Interim Assessment Process (IAP) outlines the results of a rapid desktop assessment of potential wilderness in the eastern forestry areas. Several provisionally identified wilderness areas are delineated including two areas on the Brindabella Range, divided by powerlines. June: The Draft Interim Forestry Assessment Report is released by the Government body Resource and Conservation Assessment Council (RACAC). As part of this process a desktop assessment of potential wilderness in eastern NSW is undertaken. Areas outside the existing NPWS identified wilderness boundaries are termed provisionally identified wilderness. Some 20,934 ha in the northern Brindabella Range is provisionally identified through this process. |
| October: Nomination under section 7 of the Wilderness Act submitted by Colong Foundation, Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs and TWS for 18 wilderness additions or new areas, provisionally identified through the Forestry Interim Assessment Process (IAP), including the two areas at Brindabella. | |
| 1999 | 19 March: The Carr Government presents its
wilderness policy to environment groups. The Government commits to complete the
Brindabella assessment and publicly exhibit by the end of 1999. 31 May: The NPWS releases its wilderness investigation areas for the southern and Tumut forest Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) regions. An area of 17,400 ha is adopted as the Brindabella investigation area. The section of the original Provisionally Identified Wilderness (PIW) and part of the nomination area that was isolated by power lines is not included in the investigation area. |
THREATS:
| Conservation of Crown land areas | The Crown land areas have not been included in the national park due to obstruction by the Department of Mineral Resources. No major mining activity has occurred in the area for about 100 years and the Department should not obstruct the proposed park additions. |
Recommendations: The exploration licences in the area should be allowed to lapse on expiry and Crown lands around the Brindabella Range should be added to the Brindabella National Park as soon as possible.
| Management tracks |
The current network of management tracks in the Brindabella Wilderness are a major cause of ecological degradation. Management tracks facilitate illegal off road vehicle use. Illegal management trail users cause fires, introduce noxious weeds and rubbish, often carry guns, and degrade stream banks, fragile wet heaths and sphagnum bogs, creating many management problems. These same problems are used to justify retention of management trail systems in wilderness. |
Recommendations: Closure, rehabilitation and revegetation of management trails in the Brindabella Wilderness would reduce the occurrence of the above environmental impacts.
| Power lines and associated roading | The 330kV power lines and associated roads divide the wilderness into two areas and mar the landscape. |
Recommendations: Alternative routes should be found for the transmission line which does not compromise wilderness values.
A ten year replacement plan should be established with construction of a new transmission line around the National Park by the end of this period. In the meantime only essential maintenance should be undertaken on the transmission line. Entry to management trails traversing the powerline easement should be through locked gates.
| Vehicle access - related problems | The State Pollution Control
Commission 1974 Inquiry into the Recreational Use of Off Road Vehicles found "The use
of vehicles in areas with high wilderness value, jeopardise wilderness qualities". Recommendations: Vehicle use of the wilderness should cease and the road network should be ripped and allowed to revegetate. |
|
| Feral animals | The area is being impacted upon by feral pigs.
The breeding habitat of the Corroboree Frog is damaged by pigs churning up of shallow
pools. Recommendation: A well funded pest species eradication program should be introduced by the NPWS in conjunction with other land management agencies. |
|
CONTACT ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
The South East Forest Alliance
C/- National Parks Association
P O Box A96
Contact: Noel Plumb Ph: (wk) 02 9233 4660
FAX: 02 9233 4880
Mob: 0412 975 575
e-mail npansw@bigpond.com The Wilderness Society (Canberra)
P O Box 188
CIVIC SQUARE ACT 2608
Contact: Andrew Wong Ph: (wk) 02 6249 6491
FAX: 02 6249 1002
e-mail awong@netinfo.com.au