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A word about 'safety' in the bush

Have you noticed all the fences that have been built at the 'best views' and places such as waterfalls in our national parks in recent years? Have you seen the degree of tree clearing on the bushland edges along our roads? After the 94 fires in Royal National Park, NPA has even been consulted about which burnt out trees could 'safely' be left for habitat and which should come down in the interests of public safety. Sure, the bushfire fighters sometimes call such fire-hollowed trees 'widow makers', but isn't it time for public authorities to ask 'How high?' when coroners ask them to jump following an unfortunate accident or suicide event involving trees, cliffs and 'other risk factors'? Wildlife escaping a large fire in the future in Royal National Park not only have to contend with a safety fence on the west of the Illawarra railway line, but now on the east as well - and that's before they cross the Princes Highway to safety in Heathcote National Park.
I do wonder what we have gained by this 'cotton wool' approach to public safety. Bushwalkers do take some care not to camp beneath dodgy looking tree limbs; schools now do a risk assessment before venturing into our national parks…and these don't involve asking the NPWS authorities to make sure their fences cannot be breached by a person intent on lunacy. Most sane walkers will not creep out to the very fragile edge of our sandstone cliffs. Must our natural world continue to be diminished by OH&S gone beserk?
In a book about large bears in the USA I read the following quote from R Yorke Edwards, a Canadian environmentalist. This quote rings true for me as the wild places around us are sanitised. What do you think?
'When all the dangerous cliffs are fenced off, all of the trees that might fall on people are cut down, all the insects that bite have been poisoned…and all of the grizzlies are dead because they are occasionally dangerous, the wilderness will not be made safe. Rather the safety will have destroyed the wilderness.' 1

Gary Schoer

Reference
Lynch W. 1993. Bears-Monarchs of the Northern Wilderness.
Greystone Books, Douglas and Macintyre, Vancouver & Toronto.

Tops to Myall Heritage Trail

Marlene Dacy wrote to set the record straight about our article on the Tops to Myall Heritage Trail in the April-May issue of the Journal. Here is a summary of her letter.....
This unique walk was initiated by Marlene's late husband, Hans Dacy. From the time of his retirement in 1986, Hans and Marlene test-walked the sections of the track, using maps from the Forestry Commission and the Central Mapping Authority. When they were happy with the route, Hans made signs for other walkers: sometimes members of the local Lions Club helped, and later the Forestry at Buladelah took over this task.
The first walk was led by Hans in 1991. This became an annual event for the next ten years. Hans and Marlene continued to maintain the track, virtually single-handedly, removing bitou bush and repainting signs.
To publicise the walk, Hans wrote the book, The Tops to Myall Heritage Trail, which is still in print today.'

Marlene Dacy