NSW National Parks - Fossicking Policy is out

Prospecting Australia

Help Support Prospecting Australia:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
:Y: That's a huge step for NSW National Parks!
It definitely gives us scope for allowable fossicking & is a major improvement over the NPWS previous stance/policy which was basically a blanket NO to ALL areas other than those 2 they have mentioned. No ifs or buts just NO! It gives scope to us as individuals or groups to apply to fossick in specific areas & also gives scope to have fossicking added to current management plans + included in future plans.
There is still work to do & some thinking to go into meeting their requirements but it's a great start.
Great news & good work to NAPFA + others who lobbied for these changes.
 
While I still think the policy is a joke it is an advance on where we were before. My cynicism is based on the in your face statements that there will only be limited opportunities and the reasons being "... because it can pose unacceptable risks to natural and cultural heritage." Those concerns could have been addressed better in my opinion. Anyway, a few draft park management plans are being considered and I hope to be pleasantly surprised. I need to ascertain the opportunities afforded in land that has yet to have a plan of management near to where I live.

I congratulate NAPFA on getting a mention - that is a sign of good faith by NPWS - to some extent, as it is really just early notice of a new or to-be-revised plan. I think one benefit in the quagmire of restrictions is para 12 and particularly the statements "... Most proposed fossicking will require a conservation risk assessment, which is a low level of environmental assessment. For proposed fossicking that is likely to have a significant impact, a review of environmental factors may be required. To make this easier, a generic conservation risk assessment or a review of environmental factors can be provided by the local NPWS office to reduce complexity, time and resources."

On another forum there are understandable, and I agree with, negative comments about "sterilisation". I can understand the NPWS concern but ... I would have thought car tyres, boots and horses hooves would also be captured. I'd carry some antibacterial wipes for the coils and other equipment. That should satisfy that requirement I would expect.
 
What's to debate? It's an improvement on what their previous policy was & was open for discussion/comment as a draft last year.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16988
The time for comment has passed & the opportunity for wider input missed. I'm more surprised by the lack of debate & hands up to have input when these opportunities to have a say come up. There's also been numerous opportunities to comment on draft management plans posted on this forum & they attract minimal interest.
No use wanting changes or input after the horse has bolted.
This site here is worth keeping an eye on to ensure you get a chance to voice your opinion & have some input into these things:
https://engage.environment.nsw.gov.au/consult

P.s. that other forum seems to have some misunderstanding of what was trying to be achieved & also there appears to be some misunderstanding of the current fossicking rules in NSW?
I'm sure things like sterilisation requirements etc. will be addressed in time. Wonder how there own Rangers sterilise shovels etc.?
 
mbasko said:
I'm sure things like sterilisation requirements etc. will be addressed in time. Wonder how there own Rangers sterilise shovels etc.?

Just to give you an idea of NSWNP thinking.
Mineralogical Society Of NSW after a lot of negotiations got a Science Licence for a trip inside a SCA and NP that happened this year. It involved 4 days back packing with no tracks or over grown ones. Decontamination of gear and boots and any minerals collected from the designated sites must be given to the Australian Museum or severe fines apply.
 
No doubt it will be difficult in the start to satisfy their requirements but I think it's doable from reading the new policy. It will need some thinking & sharing of setbacks &/or wins but there is a local area here with no current plan of management. I'm going to have a crack at it after xmas/new year & see what comes of it. Stay tuned.....
 
mbasko said:
What's to debate? It's an improvement on what their previous policy was & was open for discussion/comment as a draft last year.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16988
The time for comment has passed & the opportunity for wider input missed. I'm more surprised by the lack of debate & hands up to have input when these opportunities to have a say come up. There's also been numerous opportunities to comment on draft management plans posted on this forum & they attract minimal interest.
No use wanting changes or input after the horse has bolted.
This site here is worth keeping an eye on to ensure you get a chance to voice your opinion & have some input into these things:
https://engage.environment.nsw.gov.au/consult

P.s. that other forum seems to have some misunderstanding of what was trying to be achieved & also there appears to be some misunderstanding of the current fossicking rules in NSW?
I'm sure things like sterilisation requirements etc. will be addressed in time. Wonder how there own Rangers sterilise shovels etc.?

Yep, I've submitted comments to NPWS on a few occassions, including this one. I'm also surprised there seems less participation into these draft plans.

Perhaps I'm just frustrated by the pace of change. My last comments on a draft plan included the lament that the draft plan made no reference to a proposed fossicking policy despite it predating the call for comments on the particular area.
 
mbasko said:
No doubt it will be difficult in the start to satisfy their requirements but I think it's doable from reading the new policy. It will need some thinking & sharing of setbacks &/or wins but there is a local area here with no current plan of management. I'm going to have a crack at it after xmas/new year & see what comes of it. Stay tuned.....
Well I've made my first application for fossicking consent in a National Park. Will now have to wait & see what NPWS have to say.
Used some parts out of NAPFA submissions to add some body to the application. Heres a draft if anyone wants to have a go at it too:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/4485/1519609344_draft_consent_application.pdf
On sitting down & re-reading the policy carefully it's not as daunting as I first thought. Things like the risk assessment part can be provided in generic form from a local NPWS branch & sterilisation is only listed as something that may be a required condition - maybe not a requirement for all areas? Will see what they have to say.
 
Well considered and written :Y: , i will be following closely to see how this progresses.

It should give us an indication of how future requests will be handled.

Great work mbasko
 
Update - As expected it hasn't been a quick process.
Here's what's happened to date;
- local NPWS have been in contact & were very open to the prospect of allowing a permit in the park I have chosen. The local NPWS were very helpful. On their level they don't have any issue with my application.
- my application now sits with the NPWS Area Manager for final approval. The local NPWS bloke doesn't seem to think that it will be a problem.
- currently waiting to hear now, hopefully in the next couple of weeks will know the final response

Not a win just yet but very promising - I was pretty apprehensive about it all to be honest but if anyone has a site they're interested in then I'd say don't be afraid to have a crack at the process. Talk to your local NPWS people & you may be surprised by how open they may be to it if they can see that you are genuine about leaving sites as found & following the NSW guidelines/conditions.
 
Hi Mbasko,
Many thanks for the up-date on your progress with NPWS; just the other day I was wondering how your application was progressing.
Cheers, SinHof.
 
Will be following up with them early next week so should know something then hopefully? Been a bit busy/slack lately & haven't chased it up.
Regardless of my outcome I think it's definitely worth the bother to put an application in. From what I can gather each application will be dealt with by the specific local area so my outcome may hold no bearing over your area. If you don't try then you'll never know!
 
Thanks for the updates mbasko, fingers crossed for a positive result. It seems your submission crosses the ts and dots the is, would be interesting to see their response if application is unsuccessful. Best of luck! :Y:
 

Latest posts

Top