The new Blue Mountains and Kanangra Boyd National Parks Plan of Management 2024
20th September 2024
The finalised plan of management (PoM) for these National Parks has been recently released after submissions closed in September 2023. It is good to see that climbing submissions made an impact on the final plan and we appreciate that the NPWS was receptive to these submissions. One major win for climbers was the prevention of a ban on climbing in Glenbrook Gorge. The draft plan had sought to ban climbing there. Climbers should take particular note of the group size limits in the National Parks to 5 people per group. We have tried to summarise the new PoM and its associated Planning Considerations document (PC) below. If you wish to read the whole plan and consider the complexity of issues faced by land managers you can download them here:
Blue Mountains National Park and Kanangra-Boyd National Park planning considerations (nsw.gov.au)
The PoM highlights the importance of Country to the Gundungurra, Wiradjuri, Dharug, Darkinjung and Dharawal peoples and its importance as a significant component of the greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The significance of the national parks for tourism and nature based recreation was also acknowledged.
The pages pertaining specifically to climbing in the PoM include p43-44 Table 6: Permissible activities and p52 Appendix C: Restrictions on Adventure Activities. They are reproduced here:
Table 6: Permissible activities
Rock climbing is allowed except at the locations identified in Appendix C and any other site or location identified as closed for this activity by park signage and/or routine park visitor notification channels. Participants in these activities are solely responsible for their own safety.
The group size limit for abseiling is 8 people*.
The group size limit for rock climbing is 5 people (including a guide to client ratio of 1:4)*.
NPWS will not assess or maintain bolts or other fixed protection points, except where this infrastructure has been installed by NPWS. Depending on circumstances
the installation and maintenance of bolts and other fixed protection points may be allowed by consent.
Appendix C: Restrictions on adventure activities
The following areas are closed to rock climbing and abseiling:
• Jamison Valley cliff line from Rocket Point to the Valley of the Waters
• Grose Valley cliff line from Horseshoe Falls to Barrow Lookout (50 m south-east of
Bridal Veil Falls)
• declared Aboriginal places
• any cliff line where on-cliff activities may pose an unacceptable risk to other park visitors and no other mitigation strategy is feasible
• limestone cliffs in karst areas (except when a caving permit authorises surface abseiling to access a cave)
The following areas are closed to abseiling:
• Glenbrook Gorge from Glenbrook Creek downstream from the causeway
• Jamison Valley cliff line from Giant Stairway to Furber Steps
• Mount Banks main cliff line
• all formal lookouts, except if specifically permitted by signage (e.g. Mount Portal).
Note: Abseiling only closures do not apply to abseiling undertaken as access to or as part of accessing climbing routes.
Pages 71-72 of the Planning Consideration (PC) document has many issues that are pertinent to climbers and they are summarised below.
Positives for Climbers
Glenbrook Gorge: The intention to ban climbing in Glenbrook Gorge has been rescinded. The reasons for this proposed ban was never clear, but fortunately this proposal has been overturned.
Other Park Users: The language in the draft plan was also modified in relation to risk to other park users.
From: Rock climbing and abseiling is not allowed at:
“any cliff line where on-cliff activities may pose an unacceptable risk to walkers”
To: “any cliff line where on-cliff activities may pose an unacceptable risk to other park visitors and no other mitigation strategy is feasible”
Aboriginal site clarification: The language in the draft was also changed around Aboriginal sites
From: Rock climbing and abseiling is not allowed at: “any identified or known Aboriginal sites or declared Aboriginal places”
To: “declared Aboriginal places”
The Parks contain Aboriginal Places, declared under the NPW Act, which are culturally sensitive sites of special significance to Aboriginal people. These places include Kings Tableland, Three Sisters, Red Hands Cave and Euroka ‘Nye Gnoring’. However, we argued that the entirety of Australia could be considered an Aboriginal site and that the language was imprecise. Whilst not seeking to climb in the above recognised Aboriginal Places, we proposed that declaration of an Aboriginal Place should be a cause of celebration, but statutorily this does not preclude existing uses. If further large areas are considered to become declared Aboriginal Places then avenues should be open for discussion and recreational access should not be precluded as a default but considered under the seperate plans of management required for these areas.
Abseiling to climb: We also sought clarification regarding abseiling into areas for the purpose of climbing as bans on abseiling on Mt Banks, Glenbrook Gorge and sections of Katoomba cliffs were proposed. This is clarified now by the statement:
“Abseiling only closures do not apply to abseiling undertaken as access to or as part of accessing climbing routes.”
Climbing History and heritage recognition: It was also requested that climbing history and heritage and international importance be documented, and this has occurred in reasonable detail in the PC document on p73.
Limestone climbing: unfortunately our advocacy to not ban climbing on limestone by default was unsuccessful.
Other things climbers need to be aware of
- Be Mindful of endangered plant communities
p28 (PC) “South-facing cliffs adjacent to seepages and watercourses have been identified as important habitat for several endemic cliff species of the Blue Mountains, including Blue Mountains cliff eyebright and Fletcher’s drumsticks. At these locations rock climbing activities may pose a threat to these species”
- Self regulation and responsible behaviour is essential
P71 (PC) “The dispersed nature of the activities, combined with high numbers of participants, makes it neither practical nor feasible for NPWS to conduct regulatory patrols of non-commercial, adventure recreation activities. Rather, NPWS needs to rely upon education, self regulation and adherence to voluntary codes of conduct to ensure the planning and provision of outdoor adventure activities meets best practice with respect to such considerations as minimum impact, risk assessment and safety”
- It is likely codes of conduct will become more formalised
P72. (PC) “There are opportunities for NPWS to partner with industry and stakeholder groups to promote adherence to industry standards and complementary codes of conduct for individuals, organisations and leaders undertaking adventure recreation activities. Codes of conduct should ensure users are aware of relevant legal expectations and responsibilities, issues surrounding duty of care (both to the environment and others), and minimum requirements with respect to safety, risk management and emergency procedures. Codes of conduct should also articulate the situations under which particular actions associated with adventure activities may be inappropriate (e.g. placing fixtures in declared wilderness areas).” Our current code of conduct is available here (link)
- General considerations about adventure activities
p72 (PC) “NPWS should continue to collaborate with the outdoor adventure activity network to ensure consistency in messaging about park values and usage across a range of channels, including printed and online publications. There is opportunity to develop a forum, or similar mechanism, to facilitate regular, continuing consultation with commercial and recreational user groups and peak bodies to discuss issues surrounding the management of adventure activities. Key issues include group sizes; environmental, cultural or visitor safety issues; the management of fixed protection; and developments in industry standards and codes of conduct. While adventure recreation activities themselves are not necessarily detrimental to the environment, the growth in popularity of these activities and the high concentration of use at some sites has resulted in some impacts to park values, including impacts on threatened species, vegetation damage, erosion, track development, damage to rock features and cave contents, and disturbance of native animals. Monitoring at key high-use sites for adventure activities is required. In particular, establishing and maintaining long-term monitoring of annual and seasonal levels of use and cumulative impacts will be useful to inform management. The management of high-use adventure recreation activity sites is not consistent across sites. Systematic site planning is required to ensure consistent and transparent decisionmaking with respect to appropriate use, including justifying any temporary or permanent closures of routes or sites, and/or the removal of fixed protection or access infrastructure. Many sites in the parks that are popular for adventure recreation activities are within declared wilderness. Localised high visitation and other outcomes of activities, such as the creation of informal foot pads and a proliferation of access infrastructure, are inconsistent with wilderness values and management. Access infrastructure and fixed protection to manage fall risk have been installed over many years by park visitors. This includes, but is not restricted to metal bolts, rings, pins, chains, ladders, cables and other miscellaneous infrastructure. In excess of 10,000 such items are estimated to have been installed over the last 80 years in Blue Mountains National Park alone. Generally, fixed protection and other access infrastructure has not been engineered nor maintained since installation, raising concerns about the condition and reliability of such gear. It is neither reasonable nor possible for NPWS to carry out certification or maintenance of infrastructure placed by park users. Regulation or removal of all unauthorised infrastructure is also not feasible. There are opportunities for NPWS to collaborate with the adventure activity community to remove fixed protection where feasible or required to protect safety, aesthetics or other park values. NPWS has installed fixed protection at 3 locations in the parks (Empress Falls, Grand Canyon and Mount Portal) and maintains responsibility for the condition of this infrastructure. It may be appropriate to consider additional locations for fixed protection in the future.”
- Areas that seem to be of concern
P73 Some sites in the parks are very popular for climbing and abseiling, leading to occasional congestion with associated impacts on visitor safety and enjoyment. Particular pressure points in Blue Mountains National Park include Narrow Neck Peninsula (including the learner abseil site adjacent to the pumping station road), Sublime Point and some locations in the Grose Valley. At some locations there is a proliferation of new rock climbing infrastructure
What is disappointing for climbers
The singling out of climbing as a recreation that is potentially damaging to Aboriginal cultural heritage on page 13 reinforces a trope we believe to be manifestly false. Yes, climbing is potentially damaging but equally or more so are other recreational activities, visitor activities and threats such as feral animals and bushfires. Engaging and educating all user groups is needed in this regard. It is frustrating that climbing is targeted in the statement below. The vast majority of rock climbers are respectful and interested in preservation of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and care of the natural world is integral to the enjoyment of our recreation.
p13 “Recreation activities in the parks, particularly adventure recreation undertaken on cliff lines and rock faces, have potential to damage Aboriginal cultural heritage values. At popular climbing sites NPWS will assess potential for impacts on Aboriginal cultural heritage values, monitor high risk sites and prevent or mitigate impacts where they are occurring”.
What we plan to do from here
We will be contacting the NPWS to find out what areas are at issue in the above statements as we believe it is better that recreational users are proactive about mitigation and prevention than causing inadvertent harm.
We have also contacted the NPWS to find out more about the consent process for bolting. No such policy or working group currently exists so if you formally seek permission to bolt, it will likely be denied, which is a problem particularly when it comes to facilitation of route maintenance.
We hope to further support climbers to engage in Aboriginal led activities that educate about Aboriginal Cultural Heritage. Several climber specific cultural tours have taken place over the past 5 years, and the ACANSW Culture and Conservation Forum in the Blue Mountains in 2020 was well attended by over 120 climbers.
Get involved
If you have any questions or want to get involved with access or stewardship in the Blue Mountains region then contact the regional coalition at ACA.bluemountains@climb.org.au
Or contact the president to be put in touch with other regional coalitions
If you are not a member of ACANSW then please consider joining to support the work we do throughout NSW.
