Alpine National Park
| Alpine National Park | |
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| IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
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| Nearest town/city: | Omeo |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 6,474.15 km² |
| Established: | 1989 |
| Managing authorities: | Parks Victoria |
| Official site: | Alpine National Park |
The Alpine National Park is a national park in Victoria (Australia), northeast of Melbourne. It covers much of the higher areas of the Great Dividing Range in Victoria, most of Victoria's skiing, the subalpine woodland and grassland of the Bogong High Plains, and Victoria's highest point, Mount Bogong.[1]
The park is increasingly affected by bushfires. Large fires in December 2006 to January 2007 and early 2003 burnt over 10,000 square kilometres each, the largest since Black Friday fires of 1939. Most facilities for tourists were relatively unaffected in 2003. Fires are a periodic feature of most Australian ecosystems.[2]
Unusually for an Australian national park, for much of its history agricultural activity was conducted in the park, with quotas of cattle controversially allowed to graze on the High Plains during the summer months. In May 2005, the Victorian state government (controlled by the Australian Labor Party) announced plans to end this grazing. The federal government (at the time, controlled by a coalition of conservative parties who are the ALP's traditional opponents), in turn, publicly floated the idea of using national cultural heritage powers (on the basis of the cultural place given to the mountain cattleman, notably through The Man from Snowy River) to override the state decision. As of April 2008, cattle remain banned from the park, a decision which continues to anger representative bodies of the graziers [3]
The park's eastern and north-eastern boundary is along the border with New South Wales in some parts; on the other side of the border is the Kosciuszko National Park.
Alpine National Park is divided into four sections:
- Wonnangatta-Moroka
- Bogong
- Tingaringy-Cobberas
- Dartmouth
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This area is popular in summer for bushwalking, mountain biking, four wheel driving and fishing. The major drawcards are the cooler alpine weather and the stunning scenery created by the highest peaks in Victoria. The largest walking trail through the park is the Australian Alps Walking Track but many shorter walks are popular for peak bagging and the scenery and wildflowers.
In winter much of the area is snow covered and only accessible on skis. Mount Hotham and Falls Creek are ski resorts adjacent to the national park from where back-country skiers can journey into the park to areas such as the Bogong High Plains and Mount Bogong.
Hunting is also a popular winter activity, with the park open to stalking (hunting without dogs) of Sambar from mid-February to mid-December.
This area is very popular for camping with several free camping areas within and around the park [4]
- 2002/2003 Season - January-February 2003
- 2006/2007 Season - December-January
- ^ Australian Alps National Park government website
- ^ [1] Country Fire Authority (CFA) website.
- ^ "Position Statement:Mountain Cattlemen Assess Their Treatment by the Government And Say "It's Terrible And Getting Worse."" (PDF). Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria. April 2008. http://www.cowpad.info/Position%20statement%20April%202008%20no%202.pdf. Retrieved on 27 November 2008.
- ^ Alpine National Park - Victoria
- "Parks Victoria:Alpine National Park". Parks Victoria. http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=41. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- "Australia's Greater Alpine Park Proposal Stalls on Grazing Conflict". Environment News Service. 2005-11-02. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2005/2005-11-02-03.asp. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
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