The recent dialectic over access to indigenous land for twitching
purposes is an interesting episode in the development of Australian
birding culture.
To my [limited] knowledge, the application of a substantial access fee
for nature-based tourism has few precedents in Australia. The only
one I can think of is an offshore island in Vic/NSW? [mentioned in the
media recently] where the parks service limits access to people who
pay a large sum to do volunteer work [it was a bone of contention for
locals who felt cut-off from a part of their neighbourhood].
While national parks were traditionally accessible free of charge,
state and federal governments have been slowly introducing and
increasing visitor fees. Visitors to Kadadu, for example, are
required to purchase a pass for $25 a head.
While many of Australia's breeding endemics are broadly distributed,
some are generally only found in remote and/or hard-to-access areas
[e.g. Black Grasswrens, White-Throated Grasswrens, Red-cheeked Parrots
etc]. Australian birdwatchers are more likely to pay for guides to
help them find/access for these birds. Classic examples include
organised trips to Cape York Peninsula, the Torres Strait, Mitchell
Plateau, Ashmore Reef, Christmas and Cocos Islands. Birders pay
significant amounts to go on these tours. In these cases, birders are
paying for food, transport, accommodation, birding expertise [and
possibly logistics management].
The situation with the Princess Parrots is particularly unusual in
that the presence of the birds is highly irregular. Comparable
situations where birders venture onto private property [e.g. Artemis
Station, Mt Lyndhurst Station] involve relatively sedentary species,
so it is fairly straightforward to manage sites and access, and to
establish a pattern of visitation. In those cases, land managers can
work to establish favourable conditions for the species of interest
and be quite knowledgeable about their local status.
It would be nice if there were a section of the Haast's Bluff region
where the presence of the Princess Parrots occurred on a semi-regular
basis [so access arrangements could be regularised and alert issued in
time for birdwatchers lacking Dooley's "fast twitch muscles" to get
themselves sorted out]. Thanks to the informative posts by Andrew
Stafford and John Reidy et. al., we have a clients' perspective on the
situation.
It is also good to see Mark Carter providing a value-adding service
for visiting birders. It helps to broaden the experience, so it
becomes more than twitching exercise.
As I see it, an ideal situation would include a service from either
Alice Springs or Yulara [airports], time for a yarn [and maybe more]
with the traditional owners, and the option to catch up with some of
the other birds in the area. In relation to the access fee, I would
suggest a two-part charge. This would include a fixed component and a
variable component [depending the number of birders in the group].
Now that the Central Aus community has a feel for the economic
opportunities associated with hard-to-locate birds, it may be that it
is possible for them to manage the habitat in certain areas to benefit
those species and start to monitor their presence. It would certainly
be nice to see Night and Princess Parrots on the same trip. I'm sure
there would be many birders who would be happy to pay for that
privilege ;)
Regards, Laurie.
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