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2002 (c) Peninsula Community Access Newspaper Inc
Fire was predictable and preventable
It is heart-breaking to see the destruction of bush caused by the fire last week at Warrah Trig, near Patonga.
The fire was on the western side of the Warrah Trig access track.
It follows a similar fire at this time last year on the eastern side of the track, lit by fire services to control a fire at Pearl Beach.
The area is now a desolation.
It used to be a wildflower showcase, with more than 150 species of flowering plants identified, as many as 60 in flower during the wildflower months of July and August.
Because of the frequency of fires in the area, it is likely some species will not recover.
The importance of the Warrah Trig area was its accessibility. All these flowers could be seen from a car. They were all within a relatively short distance of each other and they were all monitored and identified.
Pictures of the flowers can be seen at www.thePeninsulaR.net/lists/floral.asp.
The Peninsula Vision economic development study recently identified the important potential of tourism for local job creation.
This will not occur if we do not identify and protect our natural assets.
The real tragedy is not that there are people who have no regard for natural beauty and no respect for property and who are willing to put people's lives at risk.
These people will probably always exist.
The real tragedy is that this fire could have been predicted and action taken to prevent it.
I have been to Warrah Trig every week for more than two years now. There is an average of almost one car a week dumped there. Most are set alight.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the emergency services are aware of this.
The management plan for Brisbane Waters National Park is inadequate and out of date.
It does not effectively identify specific assets within the park or specific threats, such as car dumping and torching, and so does not provide strategies for addressing them.
The NPWS has repulsed offers from the local community to voluntarily help maintain the area.
A big difference could be made with simple inexpensive measures such as a gate across the track, opened only during daylight hours by willing local volunteers. Even a web cam to identify the perpetrators could be installed relatively inexpensively.
The NPWS lack of action and lack of cooperation with the local community is more than neglect.
It is negligence which represents a threat to the lives and property of local people, as well as to our long-term economic well-being.
Mark Snell, Woy Woy