NSW WILDERNESS RED INDEX
Published by the Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd
(September 1999)
2/332 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000 ph 02 9261 2400; fax 02 9261 2144
email keith@colongwilderness.org.au web site
colongwilderness.org.au
| NAME: | Nattai |
| NOMINATED BY: | Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd and Total
Environment Centre. (December 1987). |
| LOCATION: | 75 km south west of Sydney. |
| SIZE: | 30,424 ha |
| TENURE: | Existing NPWS estate (Oct. 1993) Nattai National Park 29,839 ha New NPWS estate (Oct. 1993 to Sept. 1999) Former freeehold land 108 ha Other tenure Freehold land 477 ha |
Wilderness Declared:
Nattai National Park;
| Size: | 29,947 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 98% |
Wilderness Not Declared:
Freehold land;
| Size: | 477 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 2% |
DESCRIPTION:
The Nattai is a romantic landscape of massive sandstone escarpments, such as Grant Head and Golden Moon Bluff. Yet in spite of the towering cliffs, the Nattai is one of the most accessible wilderness areas in New South Wales. Its recreation value is greatly enhanced by its accessibility and proximity to Sydney.
The wilderness lies within the uplifted south-west sector of the Permo-Triassic Sydney Basin. Due west of Mt Wanganderry, between Basket and Goodfellow Creeks, the extremities of the Basin are partly defined by the underlying Ordovician metamorphics of marine origin. These are the oldest rocks within the national park (about 440 million years old). West of Wollondilly River, Devonian volcanics, granites and sedimentary rocks form the majority outcrop. East of the Wollondilly River, the Wanganderry and Nattai Tablelands, of massive Narrabeen and Hawkesbury sandstones 180-220 million years old cover the majority of the park. Permian sedimentary rocks are exposed below the sandstone in the stream beds of the Nattai, Alum, Little Rivers and the most northern reaches of the Wollondilly River.
The area's spectacular gorge terrain has been formed by the action of the Nattai River and its tributaries: the Little and Alum Rivers; and the Wanganderry and Martins Creeks. These streams flow into Sydney's main water supply, Lake Burragorang, the waters stored by Warragamba Dam.
The Nattai and Wanganderry Tablelands, with the intervening canyons and gorges, cover a wide range of climatic conditions, soil types and topographic habitats. The vegetation which has developed under these conditions is equally diverse. Many plant associations can be identified within the wilderness. The four major vegetation alliances are: Sandstone Complex, a dry sclerophyll forest typified by a variety of small to medium sized Eucalypt trees and a xeromorphic or mesomorphic shrub layer; "Eucalyptus eugenioides" dry sclerophyll forest, consisting of vegetation ranging from Broad-leaved Red Iron Bark (E. fibrosa ssp. fibrosa) and a variety of Stringybarks to pure stands of cypress pine (Callitris muelleri), below Bonnum Pic in the relatively dry Burragorang Valley; and E. sieberi - E. blaxlandii Alliance on steep slopes and skeletal soils of the Bindook Porphyry Complex featuring Silvertop Ash (E. sieberi) and Blaxlands Stringybark (E. blaxlandii) among other eucalypt species; E. fastigata - E. viminalis Alliance on the richer soils of Triassic Wianamatta shales. These more fertile soils favour medium to tall eucalypts with a more continuous canopy. The shrub understorey is sparse and there is a ground cover of tussock grasses, herbs and ferns.
The Nattai River valley is renowned for its majestic River Oaks (Casuarina cunninghamiana), a gallery forest which follows the river for most of its length. On the richer alluvial soils good stands of Deanes Blue Gum (E. deanei) have developed, comparable to those in the Grose Valley. The rare Camden White Gum (E. benthamii) occurs along the Little River near its junction with the Nattai River.
An incomplete vegetation list of the area reports that seventeen plant species in the area are either rare, threatened, of botanical significance in terms of geographic distribution or restricted in occurrence.
No detailed studies of fauna have been conducted in the wilderness. Fourteen mammal species are known to live within the area and a total of twenty-nine mammals are considered likely to be found within the wilderness Four types of macropod are known to occur: the Grey Kangaroo; Wallaroo; the endangered Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby; and endangered Long-nosed Potoroo. In late 1997, Koalas were sighted in the Hilltop and Bargo areas. Due to the essentially undisturbed eucalypt forests within the area, eighty bird species have been recorded within the wilderness. Very little is known concerning reptiles and amphibians. The Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko and the Bleating Tree Frog have been identified around Mt Alexandra just to the south of the wilderness at the very edge of their known range.
LAND USE HISTORY:
| Aboriginal | Occupation and use of the Nattai area by
Aboriginal communities is poorly known. The Gundungurra tribe are understood to have
occupied the fertile flats adjoining the Wollondilly River and possibly the Nattai River
as well. The area contains a number of Aboriginal deposits and occupation sites. Three sites thought to be of traditional significance and forty four archaeological or prehistoric sites have been recorded within the wilderness area. Sites of traditional significance include two burial sites marked by carved trees and one major art site near Mt Jellore, which may record the mythology of this mountain. An engraving site, axe grinding stones, cave art, shelter caves and open camp sites are also found in the wilderness. |
| Grazing | The explorer, Barrallier was the first white man to see the Nattai valley in 1803 when exploring for a route over the Blue Mountains. By 1833 the upper Burragorang Valley was settled with small family farms. The rugged terrain, however, limited development to the small alluvial flats, and wilderness values were little affected. From that time until the dedication of the present park, a number of subsistence farmers scratched a living in the area until these holdings were abandoned in the late 1920s. A number of grazing leases were issued for Crown land within the Burragorang Valley on both sides of the Wollondilly River and further west of the wilderness area, particularly in and around the Jooriland Range. Heavy grazing led to severe sheet erosion, particularly around the Bonnum Pic Creek area until cattle numbers were reduced in the early 1960's with the completion of Warragamba Dam and the resumption of several cattle properties in the Burragorang Valley. |
| Logging | Parts of the wilderness area have undergone selective logging in the past, most of which occurred in the 1930's along the Little River valley. In more recent times, minor selective logging has occurred on the moister scree slope of the Wild Goat Plateau. In 1987 about ten logs were extracted from Crown Land in this area. To obtain these logs, approximately two kilometres of track were bulldozed, including a snig track extending a half kilometre below the Tableland escarpment. Such operations have caused significant soil erosion and subsequently facilitated off-road vehicle use in what is now declared wilderness. |
| 1990 | A plan for extracting "house poles" from the wilderness area is proposed by a local land owner but was rejected by Wollondilly Shire Council following objections by Sydney Water. Logging would have severely damaged catchment values by causing soil erosion. |
| Mining | There has been a relatively long history of mining around the Nattai Wilderness. In the west, mining of silver and lead ore at Yerranderie commenced in the 1897. The town was home to over 2,000 miners by 1911, however the boom was short-lived as the mine ceased to be worked commercially by 1925, and was finally closed in 1950. By the completion of the Warragamba Dam in the 1960's Yerranderie had become a ghost town. |
| Coal Mining | Coal has been mined in the Crown lands adjoining the Nattai National Park since the 1880's. Oil shale was also mined at Joadja to the south of the national park from ca. 1870 to 1911. The history of coal mining in the Nattai indicates that the area's coal resources are difficult to exploit. Of the six mines established on the perimeter of the proposal, none have been expanded into the wilderness area. All these mines became uneconomic and have closed. |
| 1957-1971 | Mount Waratah Colliery, in the south eastern corner of Mining Authorisation A278 was mined intermittently from 1957 to 1967 and again from 1970 to 1971. It was claimed that the Wongawilli Seam near Mount Jellore may contain ore of a similar anthracitic grade to that mined at Waratah. Neither prospect was of interest to the large mining companies. |
| 1987-1991 | The Department of Mineral Resources retained a large authorisation to prospect A278 over the wilderness . The Departmental Report, Minfo, considers that the coal resources within the area are of little interest as the seams are too thin, the coal contains considerable amounts of reject material and is therefore of an inferior quality. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) point out that environmental protection requirements for any mining so close to Lake Burragorang would be costly Some seams may contain coal of a quality sufficient for use in power stations or cement manufacture. They are, however, probably precluded from exploitation as a result of the economic and environmental factors outlined above. This is disputed by the Department of Minerals and Energy, who undertook "comprehensive re-assessment of the coal resource information in this area." This was expected to lead to further reconnaissance drilling in the area in 1991/92. The dedication of the Nattai National Park prevents any further exploration activity under current park legislation which prevents mining in national parks. |
Following re-appraisal in December 1990, the Department of Minerals and Energy believes the coal resources of the eastern part of A278 are amenable to underground mining. The Department considers that the inferred resources in the eastern quarter of A278 are up to 650 million tonnes for the Bulli Seam and 1500 Million tonnes for Wongawilli. These reserves are outside the wilderness boundary. Further exploration in the first part of 1991, ascertained the economic potential of the Wongawilli and Bulli Seams.
The objections by the Department of Mineral Resources led to the declaration of Nattai Wilderness being limited to a depth of only sixty metres. Maps from the 1990 Southern Coalfields Study, however, show that almost the entire park is outside the current economic limit for coal extraction. Merideth Hellicar, Director of the NSW Coal Association, was as surprised as the Colong Foundation about the depth limitations on the Nattai National Park (but pleased with the precedent established).
| 1998 | The Department of Mineral Resources relinquished the prospecting area A278 over Nattai National Park but retains other areas within the adjoining State Recreation Areas. |
| 1998 | The Oakdale colliery, adjacent to the east of the wilderness, closes due to economic circumstances and the mining equipment is sold off. |
Mt Flora Hard
Rock Quarry
| 1985 | An inquiry into hard rock deposits under Section 19 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 determines that a quarry site at Mount Flora on the southern edge of the Nattai wilderness is of significance for the Illawarra region. The Nattai National Park proposal was not considered at the Inquiry which found that land use competition was "not an issue" and that heritage concerns were "not applicable" at the Mount Flora site. | |
| 17 Dec 1990 | CSR Readymix wins its appeal in the Land and Environment Court and is granted approval to quarry hard rock at Mount Flora on the southern edge of the Nattai Wilderness. Stringent environmental conditions are imposed on the quarry to address the concerns of the Wingecarribee Shire Council, community groups, affected local residents and the Colong Foundation. The Mount Flora deposit covers 770 ha and contains an estimated 80-100 million tonnes of rock aggregate. Development of an obvious alternative source of equal quality and size at Mount Misery-Hurdle Ridge, close to the Mittagong bypass of the Southern Freeway extension, is also approved in separate Court proceedings making the Mount Flora quarry redundant. No quarrying has commenced since approval nearly ten years ago. Another alternative quarry near Oberon has since been approved. | |
| Petroleum | Petroleum Exploration Licence PEL255 originally covered a large part of DME A278, and was held by AGL Sydney Ltd. Amaco Australia Petroleum Co., International Oil P/L now holds PEL 2 of 120 square kilometres which covers the national park and expires 28/3/1999 These licences were issued to explore for coal gas, in order to develop alternative natural gas resources for Sydney. Amaco is exploring 11,370 square kilometres of the Sydney Basin for gas. Mr Bill Moehl has admitted that Nattai did not represent a problem to Amaco. It only represents a small area of the potential reserve. Exploration of the Nattai National Park would require a decision by Parliament to permit mining in National Parks. | |
| Tourism 1991 |
June: The Wollondilly Shire Council receive a development application for a large two-story dwelling with five to ten bedrooms in the Nattai Valley. Sydney Water object to the proposal and the Council refuses development consent. The large influx of visitors to an unsewered dwelling was unacceptable to the protection of the inner catchment. If approved, the Colong Foundation suspected that the dwelling would be used for tourism purposes owing to the large number of bedrooms. | |
| The Proposed Badgerys Creek Airport | 14 December, 1979, Major Airport Needs Study examines alternative sites for a major second airport and recommends Badgerys Creek as the preferred site. | |
| 1985 | Badgerys Creek becomes targeted as the preferred site of a Sydney’s second airport by a site selection process based on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) funded by the Department of Aviation. | |
| 1991 | A Badgerys Creek airport proposal with a 1,800 metre runway announced as a "sop" to the noise affected inner Western Suburbs of Sydney when the decision is made to construct the 3rd runway at Kingsford Smith Airport. | |
| 1996 | May: The Howard Government announces it will build a second major airport for Sydney. A draft second airport EIS is commissioned with the "Claytons choice" between a rugged bush site at Holsworthy Military Base and the flat semi-cleared Badgerys Creek. | |
| 1999 | 4 May: Dr Jim Thorsell, a field assessor for
the Blue Mountains World Heritage nomination area, considers the impacts of Badgerys Creek
are worse than he previously thought, damaging the chances of listing. 30 June: Final Environmental Impact Statement for a second Sydney airport is completed. The proposed airport at Badgerys Creek will generate up to 360,000 aircraft movements a year. Maximum use will be made of airspace to the west, threatening the natural quiet of the Kanangra-Boyd, Nattai and Grose Wilderness Areas. The Federal Government’s EIS, however, fails to consider impacts on wilderness users and other park visitors, or any reasonable measures to mitigate these impacts. |
|
| Warragamba Dam |
Planning for the construction of Warragamba Dam commenced in the 1940s. Following the interruption of the war period the dam was constructed in the 1950s and the impoundment, Lake Burragorang was flooded by 1960. The lake has a maximum storage level of 125 Metres ASL, inundating the Nattai River and its tributaries upstream to just above the junction with Little River. | |
| 1987-89 | 4 August 1987: Work starts to strengthen and
raise dam wall by five metres to protect the wall from 73% of potential extreme flood
events, following a review by the NSW Dams Safety Committee. These works were to cost 29
million dollars. A second stage of response is also proposed, to provide dam safety in maximum probable flood conditions. Options included: mitigation dams in the catchment area; including one on the lower Kowmung River; tunnels to transport flood waters around the dam; a side spillway on one or both sides of the dam; or raising the dam wall to enable storage of major floods. The last of these options was also under consideration as a means of augmenting Sydney’s water supplies. |
|
| 1994 | An EIS is prepared for the augmentation of Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation purposes. This proposal involves raising the wall by 23 metres and other strengthening work, to enable short or indefinite storage of water above the present full storage level. | |
| 1995 | August: The Carr Government rejects the proposed mitigation project and instructs Sydney Water to commence planning for an auxiliary spillway to safeguard the dam without increasing storage capacity. | |
| 1998 | December: Tender for the Warragamba spillway
is awarded to Abigroup for $90 million. The State Opposition remain committed to raising the dam and this policy becomes part of its March 1999 election strategy. |
|
| 1999 | February: Work commences on the Warragamba side spillway. | |
HISTORY OF CONSERVATION MEASURES:
| 1932 | Myles Dunphy puts forward a Nattai Park as part of the proposed National Parks and Primitive Areas Council's Greater Blue Mountains National Park with Primitive Areas proposal. |
| 1937 – 1944 | Sydney Water Board reserves 38,870 ha as part of Warragamba catchment. Additions of mainly Crown land to the Warragamba Catchment Area are proclaimed in 1942 and 1944. Although this did not directly serve the interests of recreational use, and effectively blocked moves for the Greater Blue Mountains National Park Southern and Nattai Sections, it nevertheless protected a considerable area of native flora. |
| 1950's | Water Board begins acquiring large areas in the eastern and northern sections of the Nattai. These were subsequently declared part of the Warragamba Catchment Area under the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Act, and subsequent legislation as Special Area catchments. |
| 1968 | National Trust of Australia (NSW) publishes Sydney 2000 - Requirements for Conservation of Natural Areas, Scenic Preservations and Recreation, recommending a Nattai National Park. |
| 1972 | 7 April: Thirlmere Lakes National Park of 627 ha dedicated. |
| 1974 | National Parks Association (NPA) reactivates campaign for a national park with a new proposal. |
| 1979 | NSW Premier Wran declares Nattai would be
investigated as a possible national park. Thirlmere Lakes National Park Plan of Management issued. |
| 1985 | The former Department of Environment and Planning Task Force on Regional Open Space for the Macquarie Region produces its Regional Open Space and Recreation Study recommending that the Nattai catchment become National Park. |
| 1987 | Nature Conservation Council of NSW repeats
previous support for a park at its Annual Conference. December: Colong Foundation and Total Environmental Centre submit Nattai National Park Proposal to the Unsworth Government. |
| 1989 | Colong Foundation for Wilderness release
"Blue Mountains for World Heritage", proposing 897,661 ha of the Blue Mountains
for inscription on the IUCN World Heritage list of properties. Wingecarribee Shire Council produces its Local Environment Plan in which the Nattai Valley is zoned for Environmental Protection, placing certain limits on development. Friends of the Nattai founded to campaign for the protection of the Nattai and its declaration as a national park. |
| 1991 | 13 December: 47,504 ha Nattai National Park gazetted with a 29,824 ha Nattai Wilderness Area declared under Wilderness Act 1987 to a depth of 60 metres. Also declared are four adjoining State Recreation Areas: Yerranderie (12,192 ha); Burragorang (17,312 ha); Bargo (5,660 ha); and Nattai (3,383 ha). |
| 1994 | A preliminary assessment of the Colong Foundation’s 1989 Blue Mountains for World Heritage proposal by the National Herbarium identifies most of the Sydney Basin sandstone National Parks and adjoining areas as suitable for inclusion in a nomination boundary. |
| May: The Kowmung Committee is reactivated by the Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs and other conservation groups to actively campaign against the raising of Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation as proposed by the Fahey Government. | |
| 1995 | August: The Carr Government cancels the
proposed raising of Warragamba Dam in favour of a side spillway. September: The Draft Plan of Management for the Nattai reserves is released for public comment. The plan does not address necessary track closures and the section on wilderness records no actions to be implemented. |
| 1996 | December: The government, as part of its Interim Forestry Reform Package, establishes the Dunpy Wilderness Fund of 1 million dollars per year for 5 years for the acquisition of private lands in identified wilderness. |
| 1997 | 7 November: Minister for the Environment, Pam Allan, approves the new Plan of Management for Thirlmere Lakes National Park which bans powered boats on these unique freshwater lake systems due to bank erosion and decline in wildlife, including platypus. |
| 1998 | January: Wingecarribee Shire Council release
environmental impact statement for a tertiary standard sewerage treatment plant for the
Mittagong area, that would greatly improve the water quality of the Nattai River. This was
subsequently approved. February: Planning Minister, Craig Knowles, approves the construction of a side spillway on Warragamba Dam following an Environmental Impact Statement, public comment and review processes, with work to commence in late 1998. 27 March: The Dunphy Wilderness Fund used to acquire four freehold properties along the Nattai River, totaling 107.6 ha. These are subsequently gazetted as part of Nattai National Park and Wilderness. June: The State and Federal Governments lodge a nomination to UNESCO for World Heritage listing of the greater Blue Mountains. The nomination covers Blue Mountains, Gardens of Stone, Kanangra Boyd, Nattai, Thirlmere Lakes, Wollemi and Yengo National Parks. |
| 1999 | 12 March: A further 16 hectare former freehold property on Jellore Creek is gazetted as part of Nattai National Park and Wilderness following acquisition by the Dunphy Wilderness Fund. |
THREATS:
| Mining | In December 1991 the giant C.S.R. multinational won a court battle against the Colong Foundation for Wilderness to establish a enormous hard rock quarry on the scenic southern rim of the national park proposal at Mt Flora. Extensive pollution controls are required but the project is likely to degrade wilderness values in that quarter, especially the acoustic and visual amenity. |
The Department of Mineral Resource's objections to the wilderness, because of the presence of marginal coal and coal seam gas resources, led to restricting the dedication of the area to a depth of only sixty metres. This established a precedent with Nattai National Park the only fully depth restricted national park in NSW. Six coal mines have been established on the edges of the wilderness but no mines have successfully penetrated the wilderness in 100 years of mining activity. Given this history, a coal mine in the Nattai heartland would be a doubtful economic proposition. Coal mining would also put at risk Sydney's main drinking water supply, as costly pollution controls would probably not be successfully implemented by any colliery developing a sub-economic deposit in the area.
The U.S. oil company Amaco threatened to withdraw from gas exploration in NSW and the then Premier, Mr Greiner, said that overriding exploration licences would influence NSW's AAA credit rating. AGL, a partner with Amaco, succeeded in getting the national park restricted in depth to allow for gas extraction This is consistent with the NSW Coal Association's desire to gain mining and exploration access to national parks.
Recommendation: That the Labor Government be urged to proceed with its 1991 proposal when in Opposition, that is: to abolish the depth limit placed on the park through legislation, dedicating Nattai National Park to the centre of the earth.
| Sewage and stormwater pollution |
The Nattai River, the steepest of all streams feeding the Warragamba Dam storage, is a prescribed stream under supervision of the Catchment Areas Protection Board. It is polluted by treated sewage which discharges into Ironmines Creek, and by urban runoff from Mittagong. Ironmines Creek is now a cloudy brown colour because of Mittagong's discharges. Excessive weed growth and a drain-like smell are apparent in upper parts of the Nattai River. Sediment associated with urban runoff provides a suitable substrate for weed establishment. The Nattai, being so short and steep, does not have much pollution absorption capacity, and such pollutants find their way into Lake Burragorang. Native fauna drinking such water may suffer enteric illnesses, leading to population decline. Such continuing pollution severely degrades the Nattai River as well as Sydney's main water supply. If unchecked this will necessitate costly drinking water treatment. |
Seepage and stormwater runoff from the Welby Tip may also pollute the Nattai River with plant nutrients, heavy metals and other toxic substances. The tip is also a source of weed infestation and possibly of plant pathogens such as Phytophthora cinnamoni.
Recommendations: Mittagong's upgraded sewage treatment plant (STP) should include nutrient removal, and stormwater basins should be established to contain urban runoff from the town.Collected leachate from Welby Tip should be directed to the STP for treatment. The villages of Balmoral, Hilltop, Welby and Couridjah should be connected to reticulated sewerage.
The Welby Tip, should be ultimately relocated and its disturbed areas rehabilitated in order to improve the water quality of the Nattai River. Subsequent tips should be located well outside the Warragamba Catchment Area.
| Warragamba Dam |
The planned side spillway for Warragamba Dam will protect the dam from collapse in the event that the PMF occurs. The State Opposition continues to endorse the raising of Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation and have indicated an intention to proceed with this project even if the side spillway is underway or completed when they next take office. The dam raising proposal would result in flooding the Nattai River Valley to its junction with Martins Creek Canyon. Considerable sections of the Little River would also be flooded. It has been claimed this flooding would be for short periods of time only. Such a scheme would nevertheless result in extensive habitat alteration in the river valleys concerned, which is incompatible with the protection of wilderness values. It seems likely that the scheme also fits in with desires to create a larger water storage capacity for the Sydney Metropolitan Region, in line with predicted population growth. |
Recommendations: If flood mitigation is the only justification for a new dam wall, then the current full storage level could be lowered 10m, resulting in downstream protection during more typical flood situations (e.g. 1 in 50 year events). It would of course reduce the dam's capacity. Removal of toxic effluent, tertiary treatment, recycling of "grey" water waste and implementation of the "user pays" principle would obviate the need to "flush" the Hawkesbury as well as reducing Sydney's water demand, thus enabling the full storage level to be safely reduced. Recommendations for alternative ways of meeting Sydney's water supply needs are given by Grunmuller and Bacher (1991) and Macquarie University Graduate School of the Environment (1992). These proposals rely on water consumers paying for water use, thereby encouraging water conservation.
| Management trails |
A number of management trails bisect the wilderness, in particular the Wattle Ridge-Long Nose Ridge Track, which finishes on the Wild Goat Plateau. Such tracks encourage off-road vehicles, introduce weeds and facilitate arson. |
Recommendations: In addition to their severe environmental impacts, maintenance of trails in wilderness areas do not comply with the management principles laid down under the provisions of the Wilderness Act. Trails in wilderness areas should not be maintained and should be closed and revegetated.
| Airport Developments | If Badgerys Creek airport is constructed, the residents of Western Sydney will seek to push flight paths over catchment areas to help mitigate their noise impacts in settled districts. Aircraft on take off will spread a ‘lawn mower equivalent racket’ of 69-79 decibels over the Nattai Wilderness, eliminating the area’s natural quiet. |
Recommendation: The only way to effectively solve the aircraft noise problem is to construct a replacement airport outside Sydney, away from urban settlement and environmentally sensitive lands, and connected to the city by fast rail.
| Fire management | Both Sydney Water and local bushfire services
have access to the wilderness area for purposes of fire management (ie lighting fires).
Hazard reduction burning: can lead to the extinction of fire-sensitive plant species;
kills fauna; promotes soil erosion, stream sedimentation and nutrient pollution from the
fire's rich ash beds; and be the cause of wildfires which this form of fire management is
supposed to minimise. Fires also a wipe out fauna populations and destroy the old growth
vegetation. Often it is these very oldest plants that provide most of the nesting and
roosting places. The assertion that Australia’s forest land was once all some sort of
grassland and that it should be burnt more often to mirror Aboriginal burning practices,
is incorrect. Dr John Benson is adamant that "most forests and woodlands of Australia
would not have been subject to frequent (less than ten-year) burns". The December 1997 wildfires were controlled by the Army using very large bulldozers to cut wild control lines, with no regard to wilderness values. |
Recommendations: The protection of wilderness values in fire management plans needs to be a priority. During fire emergencies bulldozers should not be allowed to scar the scenery by cutting fire control lines on steep slopes. All too often these measures fail to contain a wildfire. Decisions on damaging suppression practices should be addressed during management planning, not in a fire crisis. Except for fire trails in perimeter areas, trails constructed during fire fighting operations should be closed and rehabilitated immediately following the operation.
Most fires in wilderness areas occur as a result of introduction of fire from outside, usually through human agency. Fire trails should be closed to prevent arsonists gaining ready access to remote areas. Effective firebreaks around inhabited areas, coupled with design of fire resistant dwellings and public education are the most effective fire management options. Fire management plans should be developed which protect wilderness values, such as the Willi Willi National Park Draft Fire Management Plan (July 1998).
Effective fire fighting in wilderness requires constant aerial or satellite surveillance in bushfire danger periods to enable rapid detection and response. Such an approach eliminates the need for fire towers in wilderness areas. To effectively tackle fires in remote areas while they are still small, more fire fighters need to be trained as ‘smoke jumpers’ and helicopter crews.
| Freehold land | There are five freehold properties in or adjoining the wilderness area. While most of these do not pose a threat to the area, the largest, at 320 ha, has put in two development applications. The first, a plan to establish a "house pole" logging operation and market garden, was refused by Sydney Water in early 1991. A subsequent application to build a five to ten bedroom two-story house, possibly for tourist accommodation, was also refused in 1994. Such constructions would destroy the wilderness values of a significant area of the wilderness. |
Recommendations: Freehold lands within wilderness areas should be voluntarily acquired by the NPWS using the Dunphy Fund and added to Nattai National Park. As an interim measure, wilderness protection and conservation agreements between the NPWS and land owners and managers should be negotiated under the provisions of the Wilderness Act 1987. Where a land owner is unwilling to sell, it is possible for local councils to refuse development consent when a proposal is inconsistent with protecting wilderness values and place a notice of the development restrictions on the title deeds.
| Mittagong Bypass | The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has constructed the Mittagong Bypass upstream of the Nattai Wilderness. This includes twin road bridges over the Nattai River. The earthworks of this bypass caused considerable siltation in the Nattai River. Large numbers of fauna, particularly wombats, have been killed crossing the freeway from the neighbouring bush. |
Recommendations: The RTA should continue the rehabilitation work and plant native species so as to mitigate the problems of stream siltation caused by the bypass. The management plan being prepared by the NPWS should also address the problem of siltation and pollution of the Nattai River. The freeway should be fenced to redirect wildlife to underpasses.
CONTACT ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
Colong Foundation for Wilderness
2/332 Pitt Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Contact: Keith Muir Ph: 02 9261 2400
Fax: 02 9261 2144
email keith@colongwilderness.org.auNational Parks Association
Southern Highlands Branch
P O Box 657
Hilltop NSW 2576
Contact: Mike Thompson Ph: (0500) 888 876
Fax: 02 4872 1116
email MikeT@Nature.net.au
RELEVANT CORRESPONDENCE:
| 14/9/90 | Dept. of Mining and Energy to Gillooly, Director NPWS, re: views on Nattai and mining potential. |
| 6/7/91 | Muir to Lewis, Town Clerk, Wollondilly Shire Council re: objections to Mr G. Sharer's Development Application. |
| 19/1/96 | Muir to District Manager, South Metropolitan District, NPWS, Submission on the Nattai Reserves System Draft Plan of Management. |
| 22/1/96 | Muir to District Manager, South Metropolitan District, NPWS, Submission on the Thirlmere Lakes Draft Plan of Management. |
RELEVANT COLONG BULLETIN ARTICLES:
See Bulletin Index under "Blue Mountains - Nattai N.P.", note especially:
Colong Bulletin, 124, "Mt Flora to be quarried", p4.
Colong Bulletin, 130, January 1992, "Nattai Park - What's left of it!!", p 8.
Colong Bulletin, 131, March 1992, "The Significance of Nattai Park.", p 8.