Thread: Catalyst - 4WD's on beaches

Far out didn't have the slitest idea that there was so much life in the sand!
Looks like they will probably start pushing to get 4wd of our beaches

well, that's nice.
we can send that one back, to see what his people have done to his original country.
now off to tugun to rip up the new highway, as i'm sure it stuffed some sort of invisible critters.

Well they could start by banning foreign tourist ( German, like the scientist ) from driving on our beaches and that would not only give the microbes a bit better chance but would also protect us locals.

microbes aren't the issue, insects, crustacea and molluscs are what they were counting.

Knowing this sort of stuff is useful in making informed decisions about our behaviour.

Dismissing off hand new information that conflicts with your current opinion or preferences is pretty arrogant.

Yes I saw the program and it made interesting viewing. How many days before the whole beach is repopulated with the crustacea etc? after 4wd leave the area?? In other words is impact long term? How deep did the effect go and does it really matter?

I am not a Bhuddist and I do not feel guilty about squishing sand bugs. On the other hand there are beaches where the locals voluntarily put restrictions on access to ensure that shell fish are not destroyed. Also, there are places where vehicles should just not go, like into unstable sand dunes or bird nesting areas.

But, it does look like the creatures are not under any real threat. There are gazillions of them, just look at the extent of the Barrier Reef.

I do get sick of the human haters who see that anything that humans do is detrimental to nature and that humans need to be eradicated, because "nature is good" and "nature is the best" and "humans hurt nature", so "humans must go".

Alan

I wouldn't like to see the beaches closed to 4WD, but I have no problem with well managed restrictions.
That beach in particular is disgustingly over abused in peak times and is not satisfactorily managed.
Look at the way Moreton is now regulated, sure you can't just hop a barge any more at a whim, but when you get there it's a much more enjoyable place with realistic numbers, and the campsites have a real chance to recover.

Send him to the Mary Valley with a copy of Bligh's idiotic plans for a dam.
That will keep him busy..