Jess

SAC 3 Preparation Questions Read the handout ‘Victoria’s Public Land’ and answer the following questions  a)  How much land is public land, what does this mean?  8 876 400 hectares of Victoria is public land. Public land is land which belongs to all the people, not to private individuals, families, companies, etc. It is managed by various government authorities.  b)  What is a national park? What is its purpose? A national park is an extensive area of land of nationwide significance because of its outstanding natural environments and features, scenic landscapes and diverse land types. The purposes of national parks are to: - Protect and conserve native flora, fauna and natural features and protect sites of archaeological and historical significance. - Supply water and protect catchments. - Provide recreation and education associated with the enjoyment and understanding of, and compatible with protection of, the natural environment. - Provide limited areas of development for more intensive recreation. c) What is a state park? What is its purpose?  A state park is an area of land containing natural environments and features, scenic landscapes, and one or more land types complementing those found in national parks to provide a system representing the major land types of the State. The purposes of state parks are to:  - Protect and conserve native flora, fauna and natural features and protect sites of archaeological and historical significance.  - Supply water and protect catchments.  - Provide recreation and education associated with the enjoyment and understanding of, and compatible with protection of, the natural environment.  - Provide limited areas of development for more intensive recreation.  d)  How is a state park different to a national park? The difference between state and national parks is the way that State parks don’t contain areas of land of nationwide significance. They contain one or more land types found in a National park but the whole park isn’t as significant. You are able to do more things in a state park because of the lower significance, lower conservation methods. e) What is a regional park? What is its purpose?  A regional park is an area of land containing indigenous or non-indigenous vegetation readily accessible from urban centres or major tourist routes and capable of providing opportunities for informal recreation for large numbers of people. The purposes of regional parks are to:  - Provide recreation for large numbers of people associated with the enjoyment of the natural surroundings  - Protect and conserve native flora, fauna and natural features compatible with the above.  - Limited exploitation of natural resources in specified areas and where compatible with both the above.  f)  What is a marine park? A marine park is an area of coastal, intertidal that, because it’s natural environment or the nature of the waters that cover it, is of conservation or scientific significance. g) What is a state forest?  A state forest is an extensive area of land supporting native forests and other native vegetation and containing a mosaic of land types, diverse conservation and recreation values, and a range of resources needed to supply community demands.  h)  Why is public land placed in different categories? To see what category is more important than others. This gives a priority when conserving land importance based, so impacting activities are restricted in important areas. i) Why are the following the guidelines of these categories important?  They are important so the conservation of the land is prioritised.  2. Read pages 108-110 and explain some of the different ways we can minimise the impacts caused by recreational and commercial use  Minimising human impacts caused by recreational use  -  Walk only on formed tracks and avoid creating new pathways  -  Camp only in designated areas and ‘hard’ surfaces  -  Consider your groups size in relation to the venue you are visiting or the activity you are undertaking  -  Use fuel stoves  -  Do not remove rocks, ground litter, plants or animals, including shells and seaweed  -  Don’t light fires on days of total fire ban  -  Remove all rubbish, including food scraps and cigarette butts  -  Abide by catch size and limit regulations when fishing  -  Ride bikes and motorcycles and drive cars, including four-wheel drives, on designated roads and tracks only  -  Adhere to the guidelines set out in codes of conduct  -  Carefully plan for a safe trip and avoid the need for large scale expensive searches to be mounted for your rescue. Minimising human impacts caused by commercial use -  Abide by catch size and limit regulations when fishing  -  Fish in designated commercial fishing areas with an appropriate fishing license  -  Protect and maintain remnants of specific ecosystems on your land  -  Restore plant communities and habitat by revegetation programs  -  Establish a whole-farm plan for your property that takes into account wildlife corridors and water conservation  -  Dispose of waste products appropriately  -  Harvest trees that are at their optimum size and replant for future harvests  -  ‘Value-add’ and reduce wastage by utilising all products resulting from your operation  Personal Action  -  Reduce household water consumption  -  Purchase energy efficient appliances and turn off lights and other electricity consumers when not in use  -  Reduce your consumption  -  Do I really need it? - Can I borrow it? - Can I share it? - Can I rent/lease it? - Can I buy it second hand? 3. Look at the picture to the left and explain what it is including its purpose. How could it be both a positive and a negative impact? The picture to the left is a flight of stairs set into a rock outcrop. The purpose of these stairs is to reduce the erosion (i.e. the human impact on the surrounding areas) because of the restriction of access. The narrow flight of stairs restricts the flows of people tramping up and down the rock face to a small area and; apart from the installation of the stairs, the natural environment surrounding the stairs remains relatively unaffected. The stairs can be both a negative and a positive impact in the following way: Positive  -  Restricts the high impact area to a minimum therefore protecting the surrounding areas  -  Makes it easier for people to access, easier to walk up a set of stairs than climb and clamber up rocky outcrops and rocks till the top. Negative -  Takes away from the natural appearance of the area, aesthetic value  -  There was an impact on the environment creating the structure  -  Creates easier access for people therefore increasing the amount of people travelling through the area, increasing the human impact on the environment  4. The Grampians is home to a large variety of different user groups including everything from bird watching through to mountain bike riding. This, however, means that conflicts arise between the different user groups. For this task, choose two user groups and explain a conflict that may arise between them and how it could be potentially solved. Two different user groups that utilise the Grampians are hikers and bird watchers. A conflict that may arise between these two groups is the fact that hiking groups may be quite large, therefore are going to be creating a decent amount of noise. Birdwatchers need quiet for them to find the birds and hiking groups are going to make this almost impossible, as the birds aren’t going to come out with large amounts of people around. A way to solve this potential conflict is to create different hiking and bird watching trails. Allocate a trail with the most amount of bird life in the area for the birdwatchers while allocating a trail with tremendous scenery and challenging terrain for the hikers. This solves the problem by decreasing the contact between the two groups, hopefully decreasing the noise for the birdwatchers and increasing the enjoyment of the hikers, as they could be as noisy as they like. Learning Activity 2.30 Research Report  Grampians National Park- Plan of Management  1. When were the Grampians declared a National Park? The Grampians were declared a National Park in 1984. 2. How much area does it cover? It covers 168, 000 hectares. 3. What are the distinctive Grampians  Ranges  comprised of and how are they structured? The rock material that composes the high peaks is sandstone which was laid down from rivers during the Devonian era 380 million years ago. This sediment slowly accumulated to a depth of 7km; this was later raised and tilted for its present form. Forty million years ago the Southern Ocean reached the base of the northern and western base of the mountain range, the deposition from the range forming the sea floor which is now Little Desert National Park. 4. When was the area first discovered by European settlers and by whom? The ranges were named in 1836 by Surveyor General of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Mitchell after Grampian Mountains in Scotland. 5. Explain why water is an important resource to the Grampians and the surrounding districts. Water is an important resource within the Grampians and surrounding districts as 74% of this area is part of the Grampians catchment which is within GWM water (Grampians Wimmera Mallee water) which provides water to large amounts of Victoria. Water is an important resource because the diverse varieties of wildlife and plant life of the ranges need a decent amount of water to survive. If adequate amounts of rainfall are received, the likelihood of fires occurring decreases as the surrounding bushland is greener and not as dry. 6. Divide an A4 sheet into 3 columns headed COMMERCIAL, CONSERVATION and RECREATION. List as many current used in each of the three categories as you can. COMMERCIAL - Farming and agriculture  - Timber harvesting  - Urban development  CONSERVATION  - Public camping  - Walking tracks  - Fire prevention methods (water storage)  - Management strategies (creation of walkways, use of chicken wire to prevent further erosion of rocks, viewing platforms, the closure of areas to allow time for them to recover  RECREATION  - Camping  - Trail bike riding  - Mountain bike riding  - 4WD  - Rock climbing  - Abseiling  7.  Divide another A4 sheet into 3 columns headed COMMERCIAL, CONSERVATION and RECREATION. List as many past uses in each of the three categories as you can. COMMERCIAL Farming/agriculture  Timber harvesting  Urban development  CONSERVATION  Less regulating management strategies, (e.g. restricting trail bike riding to a small area instead of banning it completely)  RECREATION  4WD driving  Hiking  Rock climbing  8. For what reasons is the park regarded as an area of high conservation significance? The Grampians National park is regarded as an area of high significance because of the diverse range of flora and fauna that can be found within this National park and only in this area. People have recognised the uniqueness of this area so the status of a National park represents the high importance in conserving this exclusive region of the world. 9. For what reasons is the park an area of significant cultural value? The Grampians National park has significant cultural value because of the Aboriginal influence on the landscape. The National park contains sacred sites in the Aboriginal culture and because of this, it has such as significant cultural value.

Unit 2 – VCE – Outdoor & Environmental Studies Grampians National Park Introduction  All =__answers can be found at  http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/education/resource_kit/section4b.htm __= Introduction to Grampians National Park 1)  Provide a summary of the Park (What does it contain?)  a.  What activities can be complete within the park?  The Grampians contains some of the most picturesque scenery in Victoria. In Victoria’s third most popular tourist destinations and the State’s third largest national park, there are some 970 native plants that grow in the park. The facilities of the Grampians National Park are designed to be in harmony with the natural environment. The activities that can be completed in the National Park consist of:  Picnicking  Bush walking  Camping within the park  Swimming  Cycling  Horse Riding  Rock climbing and abseiling  Landscape Characteristics  2)  Explain the unique characteristics of the Grampians  a.  Where is the park located? The national park on July 1st 1984 and was named by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836. There are three sandstone ridges, running for some 90 kms. The park is located in central western Victoria, approximately 260 kilometers by road, north-west of Melbourne. The main cities near the park are Horsham, Hamilton, Ararat and Stawell. Halls Gap is a small township surrounded by the national park and Dunkeld township is at the southern end of the park. Grampians National Park stretches 85 kilometres north-south and 45 kilometres east-west at its widest point, covering an area of 167,000 hectares. Climate of the Grampians Area 3)  Provide a basic summary of the parks climate  a.  What will be the expected temperature (min and max) and rainfall for the month that we are away?  The area has a high rainfall, received 635mm to 762 mm annually, with up to 1000mm at high altitudes. Most of the rainfall in the area occurs between April and November. The average monthly rainfall for October is 45mm for Horsham and for Hamilton, 65mm.  Vegetation of the Grampians  4)  Provide a Basic Summary of the vegetation of the Grampians  a.  What are the main Plant communities within the park? There are close to 900 different flowering plants occur in Grampians National Park. Approximately one third of Victoria’s plants can be found in the park. The plant communities that can be found in the park are: -  Sub-alpine communities  -  Stringybark forest  -  Rocky Woodland  -  Red Gum forest  -  Heathy woodland  -  Riparian forest  -  Heathland  Animals of the Grampians  5)  Explain the diversity of the animal species at the Grampians  a.  What Mammals, Fish, Birds, Reptiles, and Amphibians can we expect to see?  - 43% of Victoria's bird species,  - 34% of Victoria's mammal species,  - 34% of the State's amphibian species,  - 28% of Victoria's reptile species and  - 20% of Victoria's freshwater fish species. Four mammals, four reptiles, three fish and eight bird species recorded in the park are considered to be rare, threatened or requiring careful monitoring. Visitors to the Grampians National Park 6)  Who uses the Grampians?  a.  What do visitors do?  Recreation is one of the main uses of the park with activities such as pleasure driving, bush walking, sightseeing, camping, picnicking, rock climbing, abseiling, painting and photography, nature study, fishing, boating, swimming, 4WD, horse riding, cycling and wildlife viewing.  b.  How many visitors were there between 2000 and 2001?  Most visitors are from western Victoria, Melbourne and eastern South Australia. The majority of tourists are family groups with children between the ages of 5 -14 years. Ninety percent of the visitors spend less than seven nights in the park and 20% are day visitors. Ninety-two percent of visitors travel by car.  1980/  81  1984/  85  1987/  88  1995  1997/  98  1998/  99  1999/  2000  2000/  01  1 030 000  1 470 000  1 547 000  1 491 900  1 228 268  1 286 943  1 375 585  1 505 428  The Debate over Alpine Cattle Grazing Continues  Questions  Why have the cattle been denied access to grazing? They have denied access for cattle grazing in the highlands to allow the land to recover from bushfires that went through that area. Who is responsible for issuing licenses for cattle grazing? Parks Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment are responsible for issuing out licences to cattle graziers. How many parks are likely to commence grazing in summer? Parks Victoria has reviewed the licenses of the 43 fire-affected national parks and will be only issuing licenses for grazing in about 12 of them. Why is the recovery time slower in area above 800m? The recovery time is slower for the areas above 800m because “The growing season is a lot shorter”, “they have a lot of snow and frost…all of its growing occurs in a couple of months” according to the Alpine National Park’s chief ranger, Chris Rose. What does Ian Harris say the problem with cattle grazing in Alpine areas is? The Victorian National Parks Association president, Ian Harris, said that it was absurd that cattle were allowed in the Victorian Alps with fewer regulations than were commonly applied on farms. “…cattle owners with highly privileged agistment in some of our most intact natural areas allow cattle to erode stream banks and pollute waterways without question.” Activity 2  FERAL CATS  Cats were first brought to Australia and New Zealand by European settlers during the 18th century. They may have arrived earlier via the trading routes from south-east Asia, shipwrecks or visits by European ships. During the 19th century, cats were deliberately released in Australia in a misguided attempt to control rabbits, rats and mice. They are now widespread throughout Australia and New Zealand ranging from the tropics to southern oceanic islands. There is clear evidence that feral cats have caused the decline and in come cases the extinction of native wildlife on islands as well as being a major factor in unsuccessful attempts to re-introduce small mammals on the mainland. There are very few natural predators and native wildlife have poor behavioural and other mechanisms to defend themselves from introduced mammalian predators such as cats and stoats in New Zealand. However, solid evidence on their impact on the Australian mainland is lacking. They have occupied tropical Australia, Tasmania and Kangaroo Island for well over 100 years but there have been virtually no extinctions of native animals on which feral cats prey in these areas. Feral cats have been eradicated from some relatively small offshore islands through intensive effort. Eradication from the mainland of Australia and main islands of New Zealand is not possible due to the lack of suitable techniques and the enormous cost. Techniques such as trapping are very labour-intensive and shooting is also relatively ineffective for large-scale management. They can readily recolonise to a new area when an area is treated. Barrier fences, especially at the neck of peninsulas, combined with intensive control in an adjoining buffer zone have been one of the most effective management strategies. Modifying components of the habitat to make it less suitable for cats and more suitable for native wildlife may help in controlling their population. This can include reducing fragmentation by rehabilitating tracks and clearings and making it more structurally complex to provide wildlife with greater resources and more places to escape feral cats. Viruses such as feline parvovirus and feline enteritis have been suggested as control methods. However, surviving cats readily become immune to the viruses and studies have shown that there is widespread immunity to feline parvovirus in Australian feral cats. Fertility control has also been suggested but this is only likely to be useful in the urban area where cats are more likely to take baits containing the fertility agent. Feral cats have survived so well in Australia because their diet consists of small native and exotic mammals but they also take birds, lizards and insects. Rabbits are a major dietary item in much of Australia. Having an inadequate diet is considered to be a major factor regulating their population. Feral cats also carry diseases such as toxoplasmosis and sarcosporidiosis which can be transmitted to and cause serious illness and death in native wildlife, stock and humans.