11 June, 2018

Feral horses are incompatible with a world heritage area. It's one or the other

Last year, I drove up to the New South Wales high country with my oldest son. We arrived at Geehi, found a camp site, rigged up our rods and waded into the crystal clear water, hoping to snag a trout. Between casts, my attention was drawn to a pair of black cockatoos, sailing overhead. Looking up, I noticed the main range of Kosciuszko. Ancient and imposing, granite worn smooth by rain and snow, embroidered with lichens and wildflowers. I don’t know how long we stood there, in silent awe of the jagged peaks, but it’s a treasured moment frozen in time.
 You can have brumbies and horseback adventures at Kosciuszko,
but not without damaging the heritage the park was designed to protect.
In the weeks leading up to this trip, this place had been occupying my mind. As a member of the NSW threatened species scientific committee, I’d been involved in monthly day-long meetings for the past few years, participating in detailed discussions with people who knew far more than me about frogs and plants, bats and snails. I’m an ecologist — for the past 25 years, I’ve studied interactions between plants and animals — working out why some areas support more diversity, why particular plants and animals have positive or negative effects on their communities. This group of independent experts, appointed by the NSW minister for the environment was charged with synthesising available information about species, communities and ecological processes, advising government on the top priorities for management.


Read the story from The Guardian by the Professor of Ecology from Charles Sturt University, David M. Watson - “Feral horses are incompatible with a world heritage area. It's one or the other.”

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