The ACT Equestrian Association has been actively negotiating for continued and improved access to the fire trails now to be included in the new Molonglo River Reserve since 2011. This Reserve stretches from the Scrivener Dam to the Molonglo’s confluence with the Murrumbidgee. The Molonglo River Reserve Draft Reserve Management Plan, now open for public comment, is a statutory plan, required under the ACT Planning and Development Act 2007 and defined as a ‘reserve management plan’ in the Nature Conservation Act 2014. Its purpose is to give clear direction on how the biodiversity, land and waters of the Molonglo River Reserve will be used and managed to satisfy both nature conservation and recreation objectives.
As a long term stakeholder, ACTEA has been invited to make a submission but anyone who uses or wishes to use the Molonglo Reserve can do so. Just go to https://yoursay.act.gov.au/act-parks/molonglo-river-reserve to access the document and advice on how to access the interactive map. The more horse riders who fill in the survey the better! You can also write a more detailed submission or, if you prefer, send your comments to ACTEA for inclusion in their submission at cflawrence@homemail.com.au.
Consultation closes on Friday 23 March.
To make things easier, you can find references to horse riding activities and infrastructure in the Draft Management Plan as follows:
- Table 1.1 Significant attributes of the Reserve (page 22)
- Table 4.1 Infrastructure in the Reserve – present and anticipated (page 51)
- Horse riding recognised as part of European history of valley (pages 92, 96)
- Expectations about what equestrian users will want (page 99)
- Table 9.2 Permitted recreation activities and their conditions (page 101)
- Trail options for Equestrians and potential conflicts (page 103)
- Figure 9.1 Map of Indicative tracks and trails for different recreation users in the Reserve (page 105)
- Potential for horses to carry weeds (page 114)
- Official new name for the causeway (page 134)
- Summary of Molonglo Development Principles And Policies for the Reserve (pages 139-140)
There are links to two older documents on the same site that are not open for comment but have useful background and have references to horses:
1. Molonglo River Reserve Operational Plan Developed To Help Guide On Ground Works And Activities August 2014
- Horses included in recreation activities (pages 3, 9)
- Table of Proposed or existing civil infrastructure works within the Park page 3
- Table of Management Challenges and Principles for Molonglo River Reserve – Infrastructure: vehicles and track maintenance (page 18)
2. Molonglo River Reserve & Offset Areas Ecological Management Guidelines February 2015
- Impacts on pink tailed worm habitat (pages 22, 92, 125)
- Other impacts (pages 82, 100)
