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Club Wolgon 25-Apr-2007 At 12:03:44 PM climberman

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Hi spicelab.... know any of the folks involved with the environmental process for that one ? I have met a few. Given they end up being the same 'any old turkeys' that might do the work for the big turkeys, what's the difference ? That they work for a small company and not PB/SKM/Multinationalinc ? Or are the NCC the only group that should undertake environmental assessment ?

The Minister's standards are in practise similar to the 'old' EIS setup where you think of a development, write to the DG and get a set of criterea you must address. Reading through the docs these seem to be 'about' the same as an EIS. The standards and protocols they are required to comply with are the same NSW government ones in place for EIS' before 3A. The fencing thing is proposed. I'm in two minds. If they carry out the feral control this will be great. Public access to Donkey/Wolgan Mts appears to be retained, which covers off my major concern where private development alienates public lands. On the landswap scenario I have a feeling it was prolly a nice idea by Emirates but Native Title issues may make it impractical on the kind of timeframe Emirates may be envisaging. Dunno. I am vaguely wary of their flights scenario as well although they seem to think it's not part of there general package and few people would go there, and there only, as part of a holiday. I can only assume they have some idea of the nature of their business and clients.

Ther are a heap of environmental impact studies. But not an Environmental Impact Statement. That is the legislative regime we now live with.

Let's think about our own climbing impacts in the Blueys. I've climbed, by a few routes, a site (the Three Sisters) with local indigenous importance similar to that of Uluru (which I won't climb). I shite in long drops in the Wolgan. I drive my car across drainage lines which flow into the Wolgan. I drive on the dirt road there, contributing to sediment and erosion runoff into the River, and therefor into the Colo, and Hawkesbury, and the northern beaches where I occasionally surf and fish and even the Marine protected areas of the lower central coast. I camp in the Wolgan on a site which should be heritage listed and protected - the old township ! But it's just grassed over and left. I can't even remember any 'interprative signage'. I walk up tracks which are obviously eroding, clip bolts, climb cracks which have been 'cleaned'.

Recreation is an impact..... but it's not a f'n coal mine and neither is this (kind of weird) hotel.

Life is a series of contradictions which we all must negotiate but lets not stop seeing the forest for the trees. This site is likely to have SFA long term enviro changes and SFA impact to the direct existing Wolgan public or the visiting recreationalists. A best case scenario would be purchase and rehabilitation of the area by Parks, but given the funding issues related to conservation in this State and country my feeling is most east coast forested areas are overall well protected and we should spend our dollars wisely and look west - central and far west and rangelands and desert. A few more Bush Heritage fund Ethabuka's and the new one Scottsdale would be grand IMO. You could pay and volunteer to go to Ethabuka if you have a real concern?

Personally if I was to look at potential environmental impacts I'd be looking at things on the DoP's website (same page as the Wolgan Dev) ....

Baal Bone Colliery vent shaft and electricity easement - crosses the Great Divide, above the Coxs river catchment - the Coxs is dammed (and damned) a few times but is Sinnys water supply along with the Wollondilly. A 5.5Million cubic metres dry ash dam in Lithgow . Cadia Copper and Gold. Parkes Gas-fired power station. Penrith Lakes (check it out - a doozy !). Catherine Hill Bay and Gwandalan (OK, it's mine tailings but the area is purdy and is many many homes on the coast and in an area smaller than the Wolgan development). Methane gas development, Camden. Calga sand quarry expansion (lets' not forget the current sand quarry operations above the Wolgan / Newnes plateau).