Latest news with #nationalpark
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Huge change to multi-million dollar block of land in busy suburb: 'Thrilled'
An Australian forest has been protected from developers and turned into a park. The 30-hectare parcel of land sits between two large sprawling housing estates south of Sydney, and would have been worth millions, but it was also home to at least four species threatened with extinction. Had the section been developed for housing, wildlife would have struggled to move east and west through the suburb of Woronora Heights in the Sutherland Shire. A map shows the border of the land highlighted in red, and dissected by a road. It's an important location because it lies between the Royal National Park, the first area of land to be declared a national park in Australia, and the Georges River National Park. Additionally, it's close to two critical water sources, the Woronora River and Forbes Creek. The decision was announced on Friday, by the NSW Government. It will see land that was previously owned by Sydney Water taken over by National Parks and Wildlife and declared a regional park. Dog walkers will be able to continue to use the area, but they'll need to be leashed so they don't attack native animals like the powerful owl, red-crowned toadlet, greater broad-nosed bat and the eastern pygmy-possum. Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the decision was made following a campaign by the local community. 'There are so many important species that call this bushland home, and I'm thrilled it will now be protected forever in our National Parks system,' she said. 😳 Australia's sky could change forever after winter ends 🌏 'Shocking' jellyfish find could change the way Aussies visit the beach 🔍 Rare find inside ancient cave after tourists banned for years Local member Maryanne Stuart also thanked her community, saying she was happy to see the land saved as a wildlife corridor. 'During Covid, we know how vital this bushland was for our community, our health and wellbeing,' she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Ugly fight between ‘radical rock climbers' and traditional owners over world-famous site
An ugly battle between traditional owners who want to ban rock climbers from the world famous Mount Arapiles in Victoria and locals has spilled over with a Nationals MP subjected to a humiliating walkout at a conference in Canberra. Nationals MP Anne Webster has revealed she was left 'shocked' after her speech to the Australian Local Government Association exploded into controversy when she raised concerns over the cultural bans. Mount Arapiles' traditional owners have lashed out at the Victorian Government, accusing them of consulting a 'radical rock climbing minority' over the decision to close large areas of the world-famous national park. The stoush echoes the controversy over the decision to ban tourists climbing Uluru in 2019. But as controversy rages over Mount Arapiles, Ms Webster's remarks prompted a group of attendees to walk out of her address in a move that has become the talk of the gathering of local councils across Australia. 'It's a conversation that I think we need to have,' Ms Webster told 'We are thinking around 20 walked out, and some of the council members who didn't walk out, but know the people on their council who walked out said that they are having difficulty with those members anyway. 'That's for them to deal with. I'm not engaging in that. I was giving three examples of where this is occurring, whether it's a personal business, whether it's private farming land or the Mount Arapiles situation, and people are finding it extraordinarily difficult.' At first, Ms Webster said she didn't understand what was going on after attendees started to storm out before her speech concluded. 'It surprised me. Certainly. I was like, 'Oh, they must have somewhere else to go?' she said. 'That's what I was thinking as they were leaving. 'I certainly hadn't finished speaking. It's just one of those things, and it's certainly a good learning experience for me. I've been in the job for three weeks. Yeah, so you know a bit to learn. I think it's just, it's all about ensuring that tone is appropriate, that you give space for alternative views. 'I might have emphasised a little more clearly, for example, but this is a conversation, and different views need to be heard. I'm certainly keen to hear alternate views.' ALGA President Mayor Matt Burnett told that the organisation was committed to Closing the Gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and that many members were passionate about the issue. 'As a proud signatory to the National Closing the Gap Agreement, ALGA supports shared decision-making at a community level,'' he said. 'Working side-by-side with other levels of government, we are committed to helping Close the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.' In a letter to the Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Dylan Clarke, chairman of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, slammed the push to hold public consultations on the Parks Victoria draft management plan. The proposal calls for the closure of up to half of climbing routes at Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park. 'Moving forward with an unnecessary and unprecedented consultation extension and Working group creation has the serious potential to draw into question the purposes, objectives, principles and applications of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, and the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018,' Mr Clarke wrote. 'We urge you to remain steadfast during this critical time and not to deviate from the current plan due to a radical rock-climbing minority who have launched a misinformation campaign aimed at undermining cultural heritage laws.' However, Mike Tonkins, Australian Climbing Association Victoria president warned any move to close Mt Arapiles set a worrying precedent for public land closures across the state. The latest stand-off comes after huge public backlash to the Parks Victoria plan. The Allan government is exploring how it can let people continue to rock climb at the world famous Mt Arapiles amid a community backlash. 'If the appalling work that led to Labor's ban on rock climbing in the Grampians and Mt Arapiles warrants sacking the Parks Victoria CEO, then the Minister has no choice to immediately scrap the ban. If these discredited rock climbing bans aren't immediately reversed, the Minister should be sacked too,' Victoria's Deputy Nationals leader Emma Kealy said.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Consultation on scrapped national park in Galloway cost £160,000
A government body spent more than £160,000 on a consultation process which ultimately ended in plans for a new national park in Galloway being sum spent by NatureScot was revealed through a freedom of information (FOI) request by the BBC - and is only a fraction of the overall spend on the park said the total spent on the consultation had not been finalised, and final invoices would see the total rise "very slightly".The consultation was held between November and February and its findings were used to help deliver a final decision on whether or not a new national park should be created. The Scottish government said it was "absolutely correct" to support the nomination process. Plans for a new national park - to join the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - were part of a power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish that agreement collapsed last year, the process Scottish government revealed in May last year that it had spent more than £300,000 in the earlier stages of the search for a national spent a further £28,000 after Galloway was announced as the preferred potential location for a new national park in July it stressed that civil servants worked "flexibly" across a range of matters making it impossible to specify exact costs in terms of their time. The final stage of the process was the extended consultation - both in person and online - across 14 weeks which was carried out by is a full breakdown of how much this cost:Licence for online engagement platform - £23,220Leaflets (printing and posting) - £20,438Gaelic translation - £215.55Event and other materials - £908.39Consultation events (hall bookings etc) - £5,695.96Facilitation consultants - £62,244.92Analysis consultants - £21,808.80Independent review of consultation - £9,900Board costs and subsistence - £7,982.35Staff costs and subsistence - £11,082.58Total spend (at 20 June 2025) - £163,496.55NatureScot said there were still some outstanding costs which would see the figure rise said it intended to put the final cost on its website by early July. The consultation ultimately led to a recommendation not to take forward the plan for a new national park, which proved a contentious in the concluded - in its role as reporter - that from the views expressed the proposal had "not garnered sufficient support locally to proceed".Instead, it recommended the strengthening of the likes of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, Galloway Forest Park and national scenic described the consultation as the "largest and most challenging" it had ever Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government had weighed up the arguments for and against and agreed not to welcomed the decision, saying the area did not need another "layer of bureaucracy".Campaigners in favour, however, said it was a "huge missed opportunity" and a "big loss" for the region. 'Absolutely correct' The Scottish government said the Galloway nomination had met all the selection criteria to be confirmed as the proposed location for the country's third national said the designation process required a "thorough consultation process" which had been independently reviewed by the Scottish Community Development Centre which found it achieved "very impressive levels of public involvement".A spokesperson said: "The consultation collected more than 5,000 surveys and more than 1,000 people attended events to share their opinion."Based on this engagement and the reporter's recommendations we took the decision not to designate Galloway and Ayrshire as a national park."But it was absolutely correct to support the nomination process, thoroughly consider the application and meet the statutory consultation requirements that such a process demands."
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Best friend's incredible act of bravery to sacrifice himself when rockslide hit Canada beauty spot
A man is mourning the loss of his best friend - whose dying act was to protect him from a horrifying rockslide at a Canadian national park. Khaled El Gamal, 28, said his roommate Hamza Benhilal, 33, is the reason he is still alive. The friends were hiking in Banff National Park when a deadly rain of rubble started pouring down over the Bow Glacier Falls hiking trail on Thursday around 1:30pm. 'It sounded like a thunderstorm,' El Gamal told the National Post from a hospital bed. He did not have time to register the landslide headed their way before Benhilal, who was standing in front of him, heroically shouted for his friend to flee - knowing it was too late for himself. 'He saved me by screaming,' El Gamal said, retelling the gut-wrenching moment. 'I froze like a deer in headlights.' Following Benhilal's command, El Gamal sprinted as far as he could from the oncoming rock that tragically killed his friend. He was then struck by a rock, causing him to topple over. As he collapsed, he saw Benhilal for the last time before he vanished into the dust and debris. El Gamal nearly died, recalling how it felt to be pelted during the natural disaster. He said he 'was blacking out' every time a rock slammed into his head. Finally, when the terror came to an end, El Gamal cautiously found the strength to emerge from the ruins. Bleeding, shaking and in a tremendous amount of pain, he trekked down the mountain - following the sound of blood-curdling screams from the hikers below. He was greeted by those unharmed by the catastrophe, who told him to sit while the got him help. 'I was soaked in blood and barely managing myself,' he told the National Post. 'It was the most pain I've ever experienced.' But through his suffering and delirium, he still managed to tell them his friend Benhilal was missing. On Friday, search teams scoured the trail for the bodies of victims, retrieving Benhilal and the corpse of another victim, 70-year-old retired educator, Jutta Hinrichs. El Gamal was rushed to hospital with severe bruising, as well as a fractured pelvis and shoulder blade. He was covered in cuts with dried blood and bruises covering most of his face with a neck brace on. El Gamal was informed that his companion's body was found on the following day. He has been having nightmares ever since. El Gamal, originally from Egypt and Benhilal, who lived in Morocco, met through a virtual college course at University Canada West in 2022. They both decided to make the big move to British Columbia and became roommates in Canada later that year. El Gamal started working as a financial advisor, while Benhilal was an engineer. In an attempted escape from the everyday hustle, they decided to take a trip to Banff, where a hotel employee suggested they visit the ill-fated Bow Glacier Falls trail. 'We didn't even have it on our bucket list for that day. We were planning to go to Lake Louise,' he admitted to the National Post. Another friend on vacation with them had actually opted out of the hiking excursion, only dropping El Gamal and Benhilal off at the stunning national park before returning to the hotel. Authorities believe Benhilal and Hinrichs are the only victims who died in the disastrous incident. 'We feel that everyone has been identified and accounted for,' RCMP Cpl Gina Slaney told
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Arrowhead: Remembering India's iconic crocodile-hunting tigress
Indian wildlife photographer Sachin Rai still remembers tigress "Arrowhead" pouncing on a crocodile and tearing away its leathery flesh with her Rai had been photographing the iconic tigress in western Rajasthan state's Ranthambore national park since she was a week, Arrowhead, also known as T-84, died at the age of 11 near a stretch of lakes in the scenic park, the very territory she had gloriously ruled over in her death, caused by an illness, was mourned by hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts, photographers and tour guides who had flocked to the park to get a glimpse of legendary status comes partly from her lineage; she is the daughter of Krishna and granddaughter of Machli - majestic tigresses who, once upon a time, dominated vast home ranges in Ranthambore with ferocity. They were also skilled crocodile-killers, known to incapacitate the massive creatures by crushing their skulls in their powerful jaws. Mr Rai says that Arrowhead - named such by another wildlife photographer after the distinct arrow-shaped stripes on her cheek - took to killing crocodiles after her health began failing her."But even though she was weak and frail, the crocodiles were no match for her," Mr Rai kills earned her the nickname "crocodile-hunter" by her fans, he adds. In fact, she killed a crocodile just days before her graceful and fierce, Arrowhead had a difficult life, Mr Rai says. She was chased out of her territory by her own daughter, Riddhi, and had to mate multiple times in order to find a place she could call home. (A male tiger shares his territory with his mate, offering her a space to bring up their cubs.) Arrowhead gave birth to four litters in her lifetime, but not all of her children grew weak after developing a tumour and park official's would have to bring her food when she couldn't hunt for days. However, this was stopped after some of her cubs attacked and killed Rai, who was around when Arrowhead was nearing her end, says that it was heart-breaking to see a powerful, majestic creature become so weak and powerless."I saw her struggling to walk. Every step seemed like an effort and she kept falling down," he Arrowhead ventured into her daughter Riddhi's territory - which was once her own - in her last days. "Riddhi didn't put up a fight. She just gave her mother space to lie down and rest," Mr Rai says, tearing up. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
