Release of management plan for Canning River Regional Park

4/12/97

The first formal management plan for a regional park was released today.

The plan covers the Canning River Regional Park which covers almost 270ha along both sides of the Canning River between the Shelley and Nicholson Street bridges.

The park contains the best estuarine vegetation in the Swan-Canning River system, as well as a wide diversity of habitat including estuaries and islands, marshes, freshwater, billabongs, forests and woodlands.

The park is highly valued as a refuge for birds and other wildlife in an area surrounded by urban development.

Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes, who launched the plan today, said it finalised the management strategies for the park for the next 10 years. It followed a draft plan and public submission period during which individuals and interest groups made recommendations.

Mrs Edwardes said the plan was significant as it recognised the close links among the community, the City of Canning and management agencies such as CALM in sharing the stewardship of the park.

Chairman of the Canning River Regional Park Community Advisory Commitee, Graham Kierath, welcomed the release of the plan.

Mr Kierath said the plan provided the vision for the park.

Regional parks were areas of open space identified as having outstanding recreation and conservation values and provided an opportunity for co-ordinated management by the arious land and water management agencies and private landowners.

The Government last June released its Regional Parks and Greenways policy, under which the parks would be given formal status and vested in the National Parks and Nature Conservation Authority.

Canning River is one of four regional parks in the Perth area, along with Yellagonga, Herdsman and Beeliar. Four more are proposed to be established over the next two years: Darling Range, Jandakot Botanic, Rockingham Lakes and Woodman Point.

The plan creates a number of management zones which will protect conservation values as a priority. Other zones will cater more for recreation usage.

The majority of the conservation priority areas will be managed by CALM, while the City of Canning will lead in recreation management.

The plan outlines strategies for the development and management of active recreation pursuits. It also includes initiatives to deal with issues such as weed infestation, fire management and access.

Mrs Edwardes said the planning team received 38 written submissions from a range of user and interest groups during the public comment phase. Many of the suggestions from the submissions were incorporated into the final plan.

One draft plan proposal to remove the Kent Street Weir as a way of controlling weeds received the greatest attention. It was evident that many people did not support the move. Consequently, the final report had been clarified to differentiate between the actual structure of the weir as a river crossing and its role in controlling water flows.

Access across the river at the weir would be retained.

Some of the other significant changes between the draft and the final plan concerned management zones. Additional areas now would be managed by CALM for conservation.

Power boat access had also been reviewed. The plan had been amended to restrict such vessels from parts of the river.

Also, paths proposed in the area next to the Billabong in Ferndale had been revised so that there now would be a balance between conservation and access for recreation.

Copies of the plan are available from CALM's Swan Region offices in Kelmscott, Wanneroo and State Operations Headquarters in Como.

Media contacts: Ministerial Diana Russell Coote 018 906 948

CALM Alan Sands 9405 1222