Fraser Island is perhaps best known as the largest sand island in the world and has experienced exponential growth in visitation and recreational use (particularly in the past twenty years). This growth is partly a result of attention received through debate over the future use and conservation of the area and its recognised international World Heritage significance.
Recently, however, the impacts of tourism and recreational use upon Fraser Island have raised concerns within the community and management agencies. One area of concern is the impact of recreational use on this coastal environment. The use of off-road vehicles (ORV’s, or 4WD’s) and the impacts associated with beach camping have caused noticeable degradation of many natural resources including dune areas, creeks, and culturally significant sites. Additionally, levels of degradation may be increasing with the growth in visitation, despite management responses to curb this trend.
The objectives of this report are to firstly address and review the issues associated with beach camping on Fraser Island, these include:
o the location and intensity of beach camping;
o impacts of camping upon natural resources;
o impacts of camping upon historical or culturally significant sites;
o the development or expansion of off-beach camping areas;
o the current camping permit system;
o compliance of visitors/campers, and their expectations; and,
o provision of on-beach facilities for camping.
Management strategies to address these issues are then proposed and divided into the following categories;
o proposed beach closures;
o management of on-beach camping;
o development of formalised off-beach camping areas;
o management of beach camping in the ‘semi-remote zone’;
o revision of the current permit system; and,
o public contact.
Contained within each strategy is the aim, proposal, rationale and operation of the strategy, the issues addressed, provisions relating to the current guidelines of the Great Sandy Region Management Plan (GSRMP) (Queensland Government, 1994), and the resource implications of each strategy.