SSAA Victoria has prepared a submission for the River Red Gum Parks Draft Management Plan. Submitted to Parks Victoria, the paper calls for recreational hunting to be made available wherever possible throughout the 215,000 ha of land covered under the management plan.
The River Red Gum Parks Management Plan is a strategic guide for managing five national parks and more than 100 other parks and reserves. The River Red Gum Parks plan runs from the South Australian border to Wodonga, and has wide ranging implications for all users.
The plan involves changing state forests and various tenures of public land into parks. It could potentially lead to restrictions on what people can do – like camping, 4WDing, fishing and hunting – in certain areas.
Among the nine recommendations SSAA Victoria made in its submission, was a call to ensure hunting continues in all state game reserves, bushland reserves, streamside reserves, and historic areas and reserves.
The Association pushed for recreational hunting of deer and pest species, with appropriate protocols, to be introduced into state game reserves. Along with the increased access, it called for clear and accurate signage to be displayed on-site to assist hunters.
Read the rest of the recommendations in the full submission, here.
The deadline for submissions was Saturday, October 14. Parks Victoria is now reviewing all submissions before releasing the final River Red Gum Parks Management Plan next year.