This is an archived website, last updated in 2006. It contains a lot of good information on the impacts of cattle grazing in Victoria's Alpine National Park, but more current information is available on the Victorian National Parks Association website.

GRAZING DOESN'T REDUCE BLAZING
Opinion article in Stock and Land on the 12/10/06, in response to a request from Neil Barraclough for information any studies into the relationship between cattle grazing and fire in the Victorian Alps.

VNPA applauds the Government's decision to remove grazing from the Alpine National Park
VNPA press release 24th May, 2005 (140KB PDF format)
You can find the Victorian Government's Alpine Grazing Taskforce Report, which makes very interesting reading, here.

Scientists support an end to grazing
The Carruthers Group (fourteen leading Australian scientists concerned with alpine conservation) have voiced their support for the removal of cattle from the Alpine National Park.
Their letter to Senator Campbell here. (160KB PDF format)
Press Release (120KB PDF format)

Alpine Alliance formed to support World Heritage listing for the Australian Alps.
This alliance of conservation organisations and leading Australians congratulates the Victorian Government on the removal of licensed grazing from Victoria's Alpine National Park. Press release June 9, 2005 (112KB PDF format)

Senator Campbell's Emergency Heritage listing is meaningless. Press release (60KB PDF format)

A summary of the issues

Other pages currently active are:

• New Research
• Threatened species
• Should cattle return to fire-affected areas?
• A fire report to Parks Victoria
• A summary of the science
• List of selected references
• Independent assessment of the science (MSWord)

MORE:

Open letter to Senator Ian Campbell
Nine environment groups call for an end to grazing

Press Release Friday December 10
Cows and fire (grazing doesn't reduce blazing)
More about fire: CSIRO article on the alps and fire
The arguments revisited (the cattlemen and the Taskforce enquiry)
Maisie's remarkable plot (or the truth about grazing and fire on high plains grasslands)
Some damage is obvious
VNPA Submission to Alpine Grazing Taskforce (180Kb PDF)

• What you can do

OOPS!
The photograph appearing as Mount Loch in full bloom in Victoria's Alpine National Park on the front page of our 'Alpine National Park or Cowpaddock' colour brochure (and on the title page of this website), is in fact of Mount Townsend in Kosciuszko National Park.
Essentially, as grazing was removed from both areas well over 40 years ago, and as wildflowers have recovered similarly in both areas since that time, both places tell the same story. That is, removal of cattle grazing from the High Country allows recovery of the magnificent high plains flora and fauna.
The error was made when the photograph was mistaken filed with a number of very similar-looking Mount Loch Photographs.