ALPINE NATIONAL PARK EXCISION
Controversy has followed the State Government's decision late last year to carve 285 hectares from the Alpine National Park at Falls Creek. A strip along the southern boundary of the existing Falls Creek alpine resort from the southwest face of Mt McKay to Rocky Valley dam and the road across the dam wall has been handed to the resort. The map shows the extent of the excision. Different shadings indicate different uses proposed in the 1977 Land Conservation Council (LCC) recommendations. Various landmarks and features have been added and/or labelled as reference points.
The excision was motivated by plans to expand the Falls Creek alpine resort. According to various protagonists in the debate, possible expansion plans include:
- Ski lifts at Mt McKay.
- Car parks for downhill skiers near Rocky Valley Dam in the eastern part of excision.
- Facilities for cross country and summer activities at Rocky Valley Dam.
- Cabin style accommodation near Rocky Valley Dam.
- Other commercial development near Rocky Valley Dam.
- Extension of regular cross country trail grooming into the National Park.
- Car parking and day facilities for cross country skiing to move to a site just before the Nordic Bowl.
- Clearing of the road from Windy Corner to the dam wall.
- Construction of a chairlift from near Rocky Valley Dam to Cloud Nine Restaurant.
Although the last four of these proposals would probably not occur on any of the excised land, the last two seem inextricably linked to proposals for development on excised land near Rocky Valley Dam. Members of the cross country community seem to be divided on the merits of the excision. On one side, the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) is adamantly opposed and recently organised a protest at Falls Creek (see below). Their main arguments against the excision include:
- It was kept secret by the government and made without any public consultation.
- It sets an alarming precedent as no previous excision has been made from Victoria's National Parks save for some minor boundary adjustments of a few hectares.
- The land includes a mountain pygmy possum management zone near Mt McKay.
- It is contrary to the 1983 LCC recommendations for the area and the decision to reserve this land in the Alpine National Park in 1989.
- No advice was sought from the National Parks Advisory Council, nor was the proposal put to the Environment Conservation Council (the LCC's successor).
- The views from the summit of Mt McKay and surrounding parts of the Bogong High Plains will be adversely affected by ski lifts and other development.
On the other side of the debate, some representatives of the cross country racing community have challenged the VNPA position, claiming that 20-30% of the land was added to the National Park around 7 years ago and that the remaining land became part of the National Park in August 1997, in both cases without public consultation. They criticise the VNPA's opposition to trail grooming in the National Park, suggesting that this places serious limits on many cross country skiing activities in the area, particularly major races like the Hoppet. On this view, cross country skiing at Falls Creek is being squeezed between the expansionism of the resort on the one hand and a National Park boundary which has moved progressively closer to Falls Creek on the other. They also suggest that talk of cabins near Rocky Valley Dam is rather speculative, especially since the Draft Planning Scheme for the resort restricts residential development to areas near the village.
Development proposals for Falls Creek obviously raise a series of issues for cross country skiers. While some skiers may be agnostic or even supportive of the proposal, many will be opposed in principle to the removal of chunks of National Parks. Some will regret the loss of beginner skiing on the High Plains Road, while others will look forward to quicker access to Heathy Spur. In this connection, it remains to be seen whether we would have to pay trail fees just to cross the dam wall. Indeed, it is not clear whether extension of regular trail grooming into the National Park would effectively force payment of trail fees to use the Heathy Spur area at all. At the other end of the excision, some XCD enthusiasts will regret the loss of another slice of terrain to lift served skiing, especially in the wake of Hotham's recent encroachment on Mary's Slide. No doubt there will be more discussion of the issues in future editions of Skitour.
More information on these issues can be found on the web sites of the Melbourne Nordic Ski Club http://www.vicnet.net.au/~mnsc or the VNPA http://www.vicnet.net.au/~vnpa.
VNPA Protest Wins Promise from Shadow Minister.
On Saturday June 6th, the VNPA held a protest at Falls Creek against the excision. About 75 people marched in apalling weather from the ticket office to the resort administration. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the day was an undertaking given by Sheryl Garbutt, state Shadow Minister for Environment, that a future ALP Government would reverse the excision. Since such a reversal seems unlikely to happen once significant development has taken place, it appears that this promise is only likely to be kept if the ALP wins the next state election.