1. Impacts IntroductionExplain the different types of impacts that exist in general, providing at least 2 examples of each and the types of

things they impact upon.

Impacts that exist include, Indigenous which uses fire and Non Indigenous which includes the use of sheep and cattle on the land, Commercial activities including agriculture, mining and development and urbanisation, Recreational activities such as bushwalking, rock climbing and mountain biking, Conservational activities such as revegetation and establishments of reserves such as National Parks and Salinity Management.

Left : The view from the pinnacle.

2. Background on the Grampians National Parka. List two organisations that have a role in managing the Grampians National Park

b. In a maximum of 2 sentences describe what each of these organisations responsibilities are

c. When was it declared a National Park?

d. How much area does it cover?

e. What are some of the flora and fauna you are likely to find at the Grampians?

The Grampians National Park was declared a national park in 1984 and covers 1672.19km2 of land. The flora and fauna that can be found at the Grampians includes such things as sub-alpine communities, stringy bark forest, rocky woodland, red gum forest, heathy woodland, riparian forest and heathland. The endangered species include the Mountain Bertya, Purple Diuris, Scented Bush Pea, Slender Swainson Pea, Small Milkwort, Spiral Sun Orchid and the Tiny Spyridium.

The Purple Diuris The Spiral Sun Orchid

3. Introduced SpeciesThe Grampians is home to a variety of Introduced/ Exotic species. Explain one of them and how its introduction has

impacted on the natural landscape/ environment.

At the Grampians some types of animals were needed to be introduced to help out the land. One that was introduced was the Cane Toad. It was introduced in 1935 by the Australian Sugar Cane Industry to help control the pest of sugar cane. It was a very successful species until a new technique was found, it was an insecticidal spray that helped to control the pests, therefore the Cane Toads were no longer needed. The cane toads continued to breed, and are still around today.

4. The Grampians National ParkThe value of the Grampians varies for different groups. Provide insight into your knowledge of the values of the

Grampians.

For the: Value this thing/groups places on the environment - Describe

Examples of practice

Cultural Uses of fire, which would have changed the landscape and burnt out flora and fauna. Also, uses of cattle on the land which creates grazing and flattens and destroys the land.

Firestick farming, flannery, sheep and cattle, agriculture.

Recreation users Recreation users are slowly wrecking the environment without knowing. Using the land for sports and activities is creating things such as erosion and damage to the land. They also try and prevent the damage by installing paths and using zoning for different activities.

Bush walking, rock climbing, cross country and downhill skiing, snowboarding, four wheel driving, fishing, hunting, water sports, photography, wildlife observation.

Conservational users

This is an activity in which helps to preserve the land and stop it getting damaged. Having people assigned to certain parts like park rangers in the camping parts of the park, will help make people do the right thing.

Revegetation and rehabilitation, establishment of reserves, scientific investigation, salinity management, Water watch, Coast care, community education.

Commercial Commercial activities deliberately affect the land, by taking away from it. This is done by cutting down trees and taking away animals from their natural environment.

Agriculture, mining, forestry and timber harvesting, development and urbanisation, tourism, fishing, hydro-electricity, scientific exploration, irrigation.

5. Codes of ConductExplain the key points of Bushwalking and Mountain Bike riding codes of conduct. What are the positives and

negatives of the two.

Mountain Bike RidingRide on roads and management vehicle tracks only.Respect the rights of others.If you meet walkers, announce your presence, slow down and give them right of way as you pass.If you meet horse riders, always give horses right of way. Avoid skidding. Stay away from wet, muddy areas.Check before you leave.

BushwalkingStay on the track.Avoid sensitive vegetation. Walk softly.

The mountain bike riding and bushwalking codes are as above, negatives about the codes may be that it could be hard to stay away from wet, muddy areas and stay on the tracks also, there will need to be bending of the rules. Some positives are that you are letting bushwalkers know when you are coming so they are prepared to give way to you whilst mountain biking, another is giving horses right of way, horses wont be able to understand what you are saying or doing, therefore letting them go first will save a lot of hassle.

6. Minimising Impacts commercial and recreationalList as many ways you can minimise the impacts of recreational and commercial use.

Different ways that may help minimise the impacts of recreational and commercial uses to the park may be..

-Keeping parts of the park marked out for different activities, eg. Bushwalking and Rock-climbing, Timber harvesting and Tourism would all be in different parts.

-Get people to move away from the area to stop the issues with the farming and agriculture, and also the issues with urbanisation.

-Keep urbanisation from happening, so keeping the shops from starting up in the area, etc.

-Restrictions on who can come to the park, and restrictions on the group sizes.

-Establishment of reserves to protect the areas further.

-Creating walkways, viewing platforms and erosion control measures to minimise soil loss and vegetation loss.

7. Conflicts of InterestSuccessful management is vital for the long term security of the park. Choose two different user groups and list the

possible conflicts that may arise between them over the use of the park.

The two different user groups in the park that I chose were a bushwalker and a mountain biker. Conflicts that may arise between these two may be the bushwalker may only want to see bushwalkers on the walking tracks, not loud and fast mountain bikers. A bushwalker would want a more peaceful walk to observe the scenery, and a mountain biker could possibly get in the way of this. A mountain biker may feel that they need their own paths to ride on, as they don’t want people getting in the way as they are riding. This may be because they aren’t looking at the scenery and therefore would prefer to ride faster and not have anyone standing in their way.

This may all be resolved by having a certain path for bushwalkers and another park for mountain bike riders, even if they are close, but still far enough away to keep both of the people happy.

vs.

8. Listen to the following mobile bogs from the top of the pinnacle

Lance

a. What is Lance talking about? How could this impact be conservational?

Lance is talking about the human impacts, such as railing and steps.

b. What are the positives and negatives of the impact Lance mentions?

He mentions that it can affect the flora and fauna, and saying that if they weren’t there the flora and fauna wouldn’t grow. He also says that some of the paths are raised above the ground to prevent erosion which is a positive.

c. What sort of interest groups would contribute to the impacts at the site Lance mentions?

The interest groups that would contribute to Lances impacts would be rock climbers, bushwalkers and park managers. Anyone would use the paths and railing to get around the park. They may also be used by animals during the evening.

Ashlee

d. What impact is Ashlee talking about? What type of impact do you think this is?

Ashlee is talking about the crushing of flora around the area. This is a human impact, and is caused by people walking off their designated tracks. It could also be caused by animals as they wouldn’t stick to any path.

e. What has been done to limit or stop the damage of this impact along the walk to the pinnacle?

They have make tracks and added arrows with paint around the area to show where to walk, instead of walking on any path.

9. You must make a decision regarding the land classification (zoning) of the Grampians-Discuss the decision you make and the reasons for this decision

-Outline the interest groups this decision will impact on and how they will be impacted.

If I were to classify the Grampians, I would make it a park for bushwalking and rock climbing only, this would prevent further damage to the park by stopping vehicles and transportation damaging the land. It could almost be used only for human recreational activities, not for land transport vehicles. My decision would impact people who were using the Grampians as a place to camp and four wheel drive, as they wouldn’t be allowed in the park for these activities. It would also affect the way businesses may run in the Grampians as they would have to use other tracks and roads to deliver food and other items that need to be transported by vans and trucks. If this were to run, I would probably make a few tracks for things such as trail biking, four wheel driving and land transport needs. This means that these things wouldn’t be completely wiped out, just minimised, and taken away from the areas that would now only be used for people on feet.

Photos of the water and waterfalls.