Submission
The TNPA is supportive of most of the proposals but is concerned they implement only selected components of the package of related recommendations contained in the Recreation Zone Plan (RZP) – all infrastructure based – while PWS shows no sign of acknowledging or addressing the crucial other component of recreation management – managing visitor numbers.
Visitor numbers have apparently increased dramatically since the RZP was drafted in 2013. The Reserve Activity Assessment (RAA) provides no data on current or anticipated visitor numbers; it is not even apparent how the proposed toilet capacity or number of tent platforms to be provided at each location was determined. Without some form of active control of visitor numbers at peak periods the aims of preserving the area’s wild character for visitors and protecting the area from increasing visitor environmental impacts cannot be achieved in the long-term.
Photo: Grant Dixon
The Tasmanian National Parks Association offers an independent voice for Tasmania’s national parks and reserves, to ensure they are managed for the conservation of the values for which they were proclaimed.