February 17 2021
Sarah Falson
A group of Hawkesbury horse-riders are enraged by a proposal to limit their use of trails in south east Wollemi National Park, as National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) invites the community to have their say on the draft plan by March 14.
The 'Draft Horse Riding Management Plan: South East Wollemi National Park' identifies proposed authorised horse riding routes in the park, adjacent to the localities of Mountain Lagoon, Upper Colo, Wheeny Creek, Blaxlands Ridge Road and Kurrajong, and details conditions for horse-riding there.
Wilberforce resident Brian Swan - who said he represented recreational horse riders in the area - said NPWS had been trying to introduce a plan of management in the area since 2007.
Mr Swan said he and other horse riders considered the trails of significance to pioneering heritage and to cultural identity, and thought they should continue to be allowed access to them.
"They [NPWS] claim to have input [into the plan] from neighbours and horse-riding fraternity, but that's not very transparent because four or five neighbours I contacted said they weren't contacted [by NPWS]," Mr Swan told the Gazette...
Read more here:
https://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/7118993/outcry-over-proposed-wollemi-horse-riding-plan/
Submissions Due by 14/3/2021 ! Not much time left! I was appalled by this narrow-minded draft plan, and its adherance to an outdated 20 year old Plan of Management which bars any linked, looped or new trails- for anyone who doesn't walk, that is... I would have thought, in 2021, that allowing those engaged in outdoor recreational activity to belong to multiple, fluid and over- lapping groups would have been recognised by NPWS, thereby enabling us to go beyond the common simplification of recreational users into exclusive categories ie: virtually all horse riders, are also bushwalkers who perhaps ride mountain bicycles or quad bikes occasionally… Constructive action and securing taxpayer funding for more, not less purpose-built trails, coupled with community engagement, will facilitate diversity in recreational activity and achieve far more positive outcomes for NPWS.
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