The peak tourism body for Litchfield National Park says the future of the major Northern Territory attraction is hanging in the balance due to the invasive weed gamba grass running rampant.
Key points:
- Authorities suspect a fire burning through Litchfield National Park was deliberately lit
- The local tourism body fears gamba grass will lead to more intense fires in the park
- The federal environment department says a new program will combat the weed
It comes as rangers consider reopening two campgrounds in the park that were closed off as a precaution last week, after a bushfire burnt near the park’s southern limits.
The fire has burnt about 3,600 hectares of the park.
But rangers said that while gamba grass was present in that specific area, it had not been a major challenge in battling the blaze.
Gamba grass is a highly flammable weed that was introduced to the Northern Territory, and it has taken over about 20 per cent of the native grasses at Litchfield National Park.
Litchfield Regional Tourism Association secretary Deborah Moyle said the fire should be a wake-up call for all levels of government to intensify efforts to eradicate the invasive weed.
“The Northern Territory government should be saying, ‘Hey, this is our icon, we need to look after this place … the world loves this place,'” she said.
Ms Moyle said she was concerned the highly flammable weed could create more hazardous conditions in the park.
“If we don’t get on top of this issue now, what’s it going to take — are people going to have to die for this government or any government to take this seriously?” she said.
“They were told 15 years ago and they didn’t take any notice until more recently.”
Authorities say Litchfield fire has caused ‘environmental damage’
Top End Parks’ district manager Andrew Turner said the blaze was reported to police after concerns arose that it may have been deliberately lit.
“It’s been a difficult situation,” he said.
“One fire got a really strong go on it, especially with the strong winds over the weekend, and travelled some 18 or so kilometres in a straight line … It has caused a fair bit of environmental damage.”
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Mr Turner said there were several fires around that location which had ignited at the same time.
“Certainly someone has taken the time, by the looks of it, to get out of their vehicle and walk and start a fire, so it looks like it was a deliberate action,” he said.
And while he acknowledged that gamba grass was a problem in the fire zone, he said it wasn’t a complicating factor in this instance.
“It’s just quite a bit of native fuels that add to it and then you get topography effects,” he said.
“You’ve got lots of foothills and coming up against the escarpment, the wind conditions also make it difficult to manage.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the federal environment department said the government was set to implement a gamba grass control program later this year, in conjunction with the NT government.
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said both levels of government had responded to tackle the issue through the Gamba Army, a group that sprays the weed in targeted areas including Litchfield National Park.
Bushfires NT Chief Fire Control Officer Tony Fuller said the evacuation of two campgrounds — Central Valley and the Lost City — at the park late last week had done as a precaution, but they had not been damaged.
“At one stage there we were really concerned that the fire was going to race up into the recreational areas of Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls, but that didn’t occur so we were very happy,” he said.
Both campgrounds are expected to reopen to visitors this week.