Bold six point plan to restore Margaret River region National Park

Stuart Hicks, Chair of the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association (MRBTA), said the plan was essential to the future survival of a region already fragile before fire tore through the forest last week.

"We escaped a nuclear bomb," Mr Hicks told the Mail on Tuesday.

"That forest is the emblem of our shire, and the entire Boranup fire has been burnt through," he said.

Visiting the area with Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, AMR Shire President Paula Cristoffanini and emergency services key officers, Mr Hicks said he was reassured by the relatively cool burning and the potential for "brilliant regrowth" in a matter of years.

"It could have been far worse, and we are extremely grateful to the firefighters who have done an outstanding job in protecting the area," he said.

Mr Hicks said the MRBTA and many of its member businesses were reeling from losses sustained through the fire, on an environmental and financial level.

"We are reliant on income from the attractions we operate to function as a regional tourism organisation," he explained.

"We are already 30 percent down on caves revenue and 60 percent down on lighthouse revenue due to COVID-19, and now we are unable to open two of those caves for the summer season.

"A dozen or more of our members operating within that area have also suffered significantly. MRBTA is working closely with them to help them."

The six point plan has been undersigned by Mr Hicks, along with Shire President Paula Cristoffanini, Wadandi elder Dr Wayne Webb, and Dr Ann Ward, Chair of Nature Conservation Margaret River Region.

The Recovery Plan includes:

Joint Aboriginal management in perpetuity, to ensure the park benefits from ongoing Wadandi skills and knowledge.

Resources to restore and sustain the park to good health, free of weeds and feral animals.

Reinstatement of the Nindup Plain, including privately held Blue Gum plantations, and to protect flora and fauna including the Western Swamp Tortoise and Geocrinia frogs.

A re-imagining of tourism to allow for curated, primarily non-motorised future enjoyment of the park, as well as Aboriginal and European heritage values.

Future fire management to augment, where appropriate, regional firefighting, and to trial traditional Wadandi burning in the forest.

Financial sustenance to provide support to tourism-related businesses and individuals who are reliant on the forest for income.

Cr Cristoffanini said the plan provided high level points to recovery of the area and demonstrated a cohesive understanding of the way forward between multiple agencies.

"These are the principles we are all using to guide our work," she said.

"As an environment-first organisation the Shire is focused on working with other groups and stakeholders to ensure that this place of such iconic, emotional significance is restored.

"This is where we live, work and play and we are all suffering after this fire. This plan will help guide us on the future management of the park."

Stuart Hicks said the time to establish a vision for the future of the region was now.

"Boranup Forest has been under intensifying pressure over recent decades, it is the most visited National Park in the State and is critically under-funded.

"The recent damage places its future at a crossroads. Now is the time, while the government is looking at how to proceed, for a clear plan in the right direction."