Subject: Australian Wildlands


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ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATE RAGES OVER AUSTRALIA'S VALLEY OF THE GIANTS

(Mar 19, 1997 10:19 a.m. EST) -- Walking through this enchanting,
lush forest misted with a gently falling rain conjures up the
sensation that one has been swept away into an "Alice in
Wonderland" fantasy.
     Wide, tall trees loom overhead in the still forest, called the
Valley of the Giants, and their lumpy, gnarled trunks appear like
a bizarre collection of cartoon-like faces, which might instantly
spring to life.
     In this lonely southwest pocket of arid Western Australia -
filled with unusual flora and fauna bearing exotic names - the
imagination runs wild.
     But the serenity of the forest belies the ferocity of an
environmental debate over its future. State managers of the Valley
of the Giants say that a new steel bridge weaving through tops of
the trees will turn the forest into a leading tourist attraction.
     But environmental groups have attacked the tourism venture,
fearing that the forest will become ruined by commercialization and
overdevelopment.
     The forest's ancient eucalyptus trees, called tingles, are
cloaked in brown, rough bark and crowned with dense, dark green
leaves. They measure up to 20 meters (65.5 feet) in circumference,
and are some of Australia's most massive trees.
     Relics of an era more than 50 million years ago - when
Australia was joined to Antarctica, India, Africa, and South
America to form a supercontinent that has been called Gondwana, the
tingles now exist only in this remote part of Western Australia.
They cover only about 35,000 hectares (about 86,500 acres) in the
world.
     Interspersed with the tingles are karri trees, a graceful
limbed, smooth, pale-colored eucalyptus. The mature karris in this
region, which can grow to 80 meters (262 feet), are the
third-tallest in the world, after the redwoods in northern
California and the blue gums in Tasmania. The tallest redwood
officially recorded is over 365 feet.
     Listening to the deep, musical croaking of hidden frogs,
tourists huddle under brightly colored umbrellas and carefully
avoid puddles to follow a winding, newly created boardwalk, which
leads to the tingle bases.
     Some of the tree trunks have been consumed by fire and
hollowed out into deep caverns, big enough to fit a car or several
awe-struck visitors. The tourists might catch sight of small
Australian marsupials, like bandicoots and possums, or captivating
native birds.
     "People have traditionally come to visit these trees since the
early 1920s, but that was mainly by locals," says Valley of the
Giants manager Christine Wrench, who works for the Department of
Conservation and Land Management (CALM).
     However, since August last year, about 140,000 people from
around the world have traveled to the forest for the new treetopwalking
experience
     A steel, curved walkway - which derives its shape from the
spiky tassel flowers decorating the area - glides upward from the
forest floor to 60 meters (197 feet) in height. People are given
a heady, close glimpse into the thick tree canopy.
     Wrench believes the treetop walk is "probably unique." Unlike
swing bridges, predominantly found in rainforests, the walkway is
stable, bolted to the ground, and not attached to trees. Wrench
says it is also longer than most other elevated structures, at 600
meters (about 1,970 feet).
     The forest debate reached a crescendo on Feb. 19, when a
protest by local environmentalists interrupted the filming of a
Valley of the Giants commercial for overseas markets, featuring
Australian model Elle Macpherson. The commercial was part of a $1
million deal struck between the state and Ms. Macpherson to lift
the international profile of Western Australia.
     The area is a key support base for the state's Greens Party.
Local environmentalists not only are critical of CALM's tourism
ventures in the forest, but have also attacked the government
agency's logging of nearby karri and jarrah forests.
     Thirty-five protesters told Macpherson that the state national
parks, which she was promoting, were endangered because CALM was
allowing too many trees to be cut down for the woodchipping
industry.
     "By promoting both tourism and massive woodchipping, CALM is
cutting off the branch that they're sitting on," claims Paul
Llewellyn, the protesters' spokesman.
     A former national parks planner for CALM who ran as a Greens
candidate in last year's state election, Mr. Llewellyn believes the
treetop walk is out of place in the forest.
     "In spite of the impressive engineering, is this the right
kind of facility for the Valley of the Giants?" he asks. "Is it the
role of a national park agency to put up these 'gymnasiums' in the
forest?"
     Llewellyn fears the anticipated boom in tourist numbers will
lead to the commercialization of the Valley of the Giants and
damage the small site.
     Battling to find ways to make money after declining government
funding, CALM has floated the possibility of opening a restaurant
or canteen in the forest. But so far, the "commercialism" has been
confined to T-shirt sales and a $5 entry fee for adults.
     CALM maintains that the treetop walk is preserving the thick
buttress roots of the tingles from human contact while still
allowing people to visit the forest.
     Wrench says before the board and treetop walkways were
created, "the trees were suffering quite badly from the impact of
visitation."
     The bark on some tingle bases had become polished by human
hands because people were wandering away from the designated dirt
track to touch the trees. Also, the leaf litter on the floor,
providing vital nourishment to the trees, was disappearing.
     By helicopter, CALM found another location in the tingle
forest to build the walkways, which neighbored the original site
with the dirt track.
     "Although this is a modern site with modern features, we're
making sure people are informed about the significance of the
forest," Wrench says. Leaf-shaped signs with haiku poetry challenge
visitors to "use their senses and be aware of what's around them."
     "It's lovely," exclaims Barbara Fang, a tourist from the
state's capital city, Perth, who pauses on the treetop walk to take
in the view. "You really get an awareness of the trees. And the
rain is making this something really special."
     After his walk through the ancient treetops Mrs. Fang's
husband, Changsha, says, "Now this is awesome!" he cries,
enthusiastically spreading his arms out to indicate the magnitude
of a tingle trunk.
     On the 50-kilometer drive (31 miles) from the forest to the
small town of Denmark are spectacular views of low eucalyptus trees
winding through sweeping green valleys and farmland, dotted with
sheep and cows. One is struck by the beauty and isolation of the
area, remarkably untouched by modernity.
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