Thread: To any/all uses of the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area,

Just thinking, how many AULRO members received this email with the attachment?

"To any/all uses of the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area,

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service have produced a document/draft management plan that proposes to CLOSE A NUMBER OF TRACKS in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area. The document is called the ‘Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area - Sustainable Recreational Vehicle Access - Draft Report 2010’.

This document can be viewed at www.parks.tas.gov.au but it is suggested that you ring one of the Parks offices below and request a copy to be printed and sent out to you. Parks Office Contact Numbers are Ulverstone 03 6429 8719, Smithton 03 6452 4997 or Strahan 03 6472 6020.

Attached is a draft letter/petition opposing some of the closures as recommended by Parks and supporting the comments / recommendations made by the Off-Road Vehicle Consultative Group.

STOP the potential for this to end up like the Southport Lagoon closure. Please show your support and keep the tracks open!

PLEASE PRINT and SIGN the attached letter and then FAX or POST it TODAY!!!!

Also, please send this to everyone in your email address book whether they are an Off-Road vehicle user or not. You never know who might be interested in access to this amazing part of the Tasmanian coastline and we really need to make an impact with the amount of feedback Parks gets on this issue.

Public comment / feedback period closes 7th May 2010.

Cheers,

Richard "

Having visited this area many times, it is unfortunate that once again Parks and Wildlife is taking the easy way out of their finacial and related managment problems by closing tracks rather than looking at other options, or leaving them open.

It is also clear from the proposed managment plan that recreational activites such as 4wdriving have no recognsised fiscal value or broader benefit to the State. Note that these same tracks have been kept open without question for 'commercial and exploitative (and destructive) activities such as kelp harvesting, mining and even honey harvesting, but once these legitimate conmmercial activities cease, there is no longer considered an economic value in keeping them open.

This is very shortsighted given the number of 4wd visitors to the State and to that area - over 60% of visitors. Visitiors are attracted by the notion of freedom of access to the rugged beauty even though many will never drive the more remote or difficult tracks. But in any event they all spend money eleswhere in the State.

Unfortunately, Tas is developing a "KEEP OUT" reputation that will ultimately harm the economy and all for the sake of a few square kilometers of coastal area that has been traditionally exploited for a number of activities and which in fact is far less disturbed now than it once was due to previous extensive resource exploitation.

Not that PWS is interested. I've tried to seek recognition of the value of 4wdriving to Tas previously and they simply have no interest because it would provide 4wdrivers with commercial equity and mean they had to be listened to

Best of luck in keeping these tracks open. Southport here we go again