(TAS) Garrett urged to step in over 4WD stoush

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Originally Posted by bblaze

A little history on my backyard.
Some 30 odd years ago there was in todays terms a big hoon element that used this area. One of the reason for this is there was people living at the ends of these tracks with commercial interest, farmers and fishermen. These people used to forge tracks around the main track to get to their destinations. So over time these tracks multiplied. In the last 10 odd years the four wheel drive clubs ect have cleaned up their act too. Side tracks are now mostly closed, boggy ares of the main track have been repaied and drained. All local interest groups including the local council are working towards sorting this mess out. So over time there was damage done but most are now responsable users.
cheers
blaze

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Yep,
couldn't agree more.
Well said
cheers

Just a little more info
Just after easter the parks department spent more time down there doing track repairs. They used 4 wheel drive tractors with front end loaders and back blades and off road 5 tonne trailers. Drained and filled in more of the worst water holes. Done a great job but when bringing their gear back out they removed one of the bridges over a creek. Normally there is a bit in the paper that the bridges is out and the track closed for x amount of time, not this time. The info went in the paper about 1 month later and only after some of the locals who needed access for commercial interest took it upon them selves to build a bypass. It was then noted in the paper that the bridge had been closed and an access bypass had been temparly put in place. Makes you wonder what they are smoking sometimes.
My father at 78 years old and is pretty green these days after seeing the desruction over his life time.
I was discussing the closing of tracks with him and told him tracks like the Balfour track was on the hit list and he was gobsmacked that they were trying to shut down our heritage. For those that have never been on the Balfour track it is mostly hard base with some soft plain country that never dries out. What happens on that track is where the bogs are the vehicles tend to go beside the track looking for areas that havnt been driven on and normally a group of vehicles can pass over before it boggs up, the down side to this is that a some place the tracks are visable for maybe a 100 meters onto the plain. The solution is easy, it would take about 50 load of rocks over the 20 km of track to fill in the bogs on the main original track to put a hard base in, you would still have all the water holes (and some are deep) but with a base in them there would be no need to go off the main track.
The aborignal middans they are trying to protect are many and they are in places they dont even know of , yes some of them have been driven over but there are sections they could lock up/ fence off that would have no affect on all stake holders.
About 15 years ago the aboriginals locked up MT Cameron and were given funding for 10 odd years to make it feasable like they proposed they could. The property is now covered in gousse and looks worse than I can ever remember in my 50 years
cheers
blaze

I as green as they come BUT!!!! cut the crap if it is truly to protect the flora and fauna of the area I'll volunteer to put the fence up. What it really is about is stopping responsible people from using an area and forcing them into sacrificial areas that are cheap to maintain. Governments all over Australia are talking this route and we are falling for the cultural and heritage values arguement. If the only cultural significance of the area are middens it's like me wanting to list the local tip with the National Trust.

again I am a tree hugger, I value our natural spaces (thats why I own a 4wd), so if an area needs protecting lets protect it. We owe it to our children to save these special places, but let us not lie about why we do it!!:mad:

Here here mate. But we who treasure our environment are in the minority I feel. Every time I see a cigarette but flicked out the window or a maccas bag on the side of the road my blood boils.
Regards Robbo.

Its the old story of minority IDIOTS making a bad name... damn I have seen these tools in action and even I want to impound their vehicles.

Now on the other hand, we travel Parks tracks which border onto Forestry tracks and let me tell you NO AMOUNT OF 4WD will make so much mess and destruction than Forestry themselves! I feel like taking loads of pics and every time someone bags 4wd I show it to them.

So, 4wd'ers will always be the soft target as its not a money earner :mad:

I don't think it help's anyone when so call 4wder's with 2 brain cells and 38" tyre's take a video of them churning up a track and post it on u tube I really think man wtf???

I hate tracks being closed but sometimes its for the best but maybe not this time

Adam