Cattlemen baned from the alpine national park

[Piggy]

The Vic state goverment has announced a ban on cattle grazing in the Alpine national park WHAT next no deer hunting in there either ?

[Axe]

Not as destructive as most of our state governments :x They might be better off concentrating on health etc etc etc, steada interferring in something that maybe better managed if there's a problem, rather than apply the gov standard answer to everything some idiot whinges about, Ban it :!: :x

[jindydiver]

Not sure what you mean Axe ,, maybe I'm wrong ,, I thought cattle were bad for the enviroment.

They are without a doubt destructive in that habitat, but the overnight removal of them, from an area they have substantially changed through their presence these last 150 odd years, is a recipe for disaster. The areas where they were banned about 5 years ago are now so scarred from the fires that they may never recover, while the paddocks next to those areas are recovering quite well (both areas within ANP).

The government doesn't seem to understand that when it comes to all things environmental we cannot turn back the hands of time.
Just recently (this month) the NSWNPWS received a report on the huts in the Koz' nat' park and the report states that there is significant "cultural" value in the presence of the huts. This has prompted NSWNPWS to reverse their "no rebuilding" policy and to look at the reconstruction of many of the huts destroyed by the fires. The Vic' Gov' needs to understand that there is also significant cultural value to having areas of the park leased to cattlemen. The Gov is just showing symptoms of the "urbanisation" disease that has led to the demise of so much of what made us aussies.

[jindydiver]

So the cattle are good ?In the fact that they ate the under growth etc?

Not quite :lol:
But now that the cattle have changed the mix of plants that exist in the areas they graze they are almost nessesary to keep the bush under control. Just as the firestick farming methods used for all those centuries has changed the overall makeup of the aussie bush and resulted in an environment that is made up of plants that not only are adapted to survival in fire prone areas, but that also in some cases need those fires to survive.

It is a very complicated issue and worthy of many a doctoral thesis. But while Toorak farmers and their blinkered green friends have the ear of government, decisions will never be made using the science (or common sense) but instead with an eye to the next election. Greens with an ideological bent will always get more of a hearing than the average cattleman (or his supporter).

[jindydiver]

Looks like we will not be short of topics to disscuss on the long W/E :wink:

[woody]

Coach,
They took the cattle out of the Wonangatta valley and now the blackberry thickets are getting out of control.
The big fire just missed the valley last time, when the "Gatta" does burn, it will be a hot one.

[Axe]

Not sure what you mean Axe ,, maybe I'm wrong ,, I thought cattle were bad for the enviroment.

Thanks Jindy, saved me doing a lot of typing, Woody also made a valid point.

Let me just add, cane toads, and a miriad of other supposed quick fixes, eg don't need apprentices so, lets import workers, worry about job availability later, not enough training facilities for doctors.surgeons so, lets import doctors but only check 'em out after they kill 20 people through their negligence etc etc. Gov system = knee jerk, jump in, stuff it up, then jump in to fix stuff up, and stuff that up, so answer BAN IT or Legislate, then when all fails seek advice from the public, ignore it & listen to the minority & stuff it up again etc etc:evil: :evil: Went off the track somewhat, now I know why it's called the soap box. :oops:

[valhalla]

Now they have attacked and won over removing hard hoofed Cattle what still remains in the Forest ,owe yes it would have to be the Sambar Deer or any other Deer for that matter-THATS what im really affraid of. :o Imagine if these Animals were to go from game Animal to Feral... :cry: :cry:

[jindydiver]

Now they have attacked and won over removing hard hoofed Cattle what still remains in the Forest ,owe yes it would have to be the Sambar Deer or any other Deer for that matter-THATS what im really affraid of. :o Imagine if these Animals were to go from game Animal to Feral... :cry: :cry:

It is a very real chance that there is already someone thinking along these lines, and that they have the ear of a polly. :?

[Warlocke]

I hunt a couple of properties that stock cattle.

From my personal observations, the cattle do damage the environment to an extent that warrants exclusion.

On one property the owner rotates the cattle regularly and, in some areas, there is little evidence of damage.

Others, major changes.

These areas are usually the higher ground and the heavy, hard hoofed animals cause compaction of the soil and disruption of the plant rooting systems to the extent that, after heavy rain, some of their trails turn to crevices.

On one of the properties that have not seen cattle for some years there is little evidence of this and, even though the undergrowth is denser, the grass is not much thicker than the grazed areas, with a greater amount of native flora.

The heavily grazed areas that I hunt have a far greater incidence of weed growth, especially Paspallum (introduced grasses to you Northeners) and less of the natives.

Deer and Roos have a very similar trail system, and where I hunt there is not much difference in the soil erosion from either, so there is not much evidence to exclude Deer from areas from an environmental sense.

Actually, the farmers that I talk to would rather get rid of the 'roos than the Deer as their unusually high numbers cause greater damage to natural pastures.