WALKERS, cyclists and horse riders will soon have better access to the Bunyip State Park, with most areas affected by February’s fires set to re-open.
Parks Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) have now declared most passive recreation areas open.
However, all four-wheel-drive and trailbike tracks in fire-affected areas of Bunyip State Park, Bunyip State Forest and Tarago State Forest will remain closed until late spring.
The Helmet Track and Forest Road trail bike unloading areas will also remain closed.
DSE District Manager Peter McEwan emphasised the road and track closures were temporary and were necessary for public safety, to protect water quality and to allow the forest to recover in the wake of the 26,600 hectare Bunyip Ridge Fire.
“We are most concerned about storms washing away the roads or tunnelling underneath them. Any tunnelling might not be immediately visible, and this has the potential to cause a serious accident,” Mr McEwan said.
“Due to the relatively slow recovery of vegetation from the fire there is a high risk of accelerated slope erosion and great potential for flooding due to increased rainfall run-off.”
“The Tarago River supplies drinking water to Melbourne and local townships, and this temporary closure will help to protect water quality.”
Temporary closure gates have been installed to prevent vehicle entry into the park and forest areas to remain closed, and rangers will patrol the areas to enforce the closures.
“The gates are not permanent, and we plan to move them when we are satisfied the danger to the public has subsided, and the threat to water quality has eased,” Mr McEwan said.
“Some gates will replace fire-damaged gates in areas of the park and forests that are routin-ely closed each year in the wetter months to help prevent env-ironmental damage and erosion.”
An online interactive map showing temporary road and recreation site closures could be found in the DSE website www.dse.vic.gov.au/Interactive maps/2009 Bushfire Recovery
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