Rangers help communities and work to reopen parks after TC Marcia

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) has deployed rangers to assist the isolated Byfield and Stockyard Point communities in Central Queensland recover from Tropical Cyclone Marcia.

National Parks Minister Dr Steven Miles said about 16 rangers were in the area with chainsaws in hand, helping locals restore access.

“They are using every piece of equipment to help, and have even deployed a team, using QPWS’s new patrol barge, to Stockyard Point which is currently inaccessible by road,” Dr Miles said. 

”Two rangers armed with an all-terrain vehicle and chainsaws arrived by water on Monday at the cyclone-ravaged settlement to help remove trees from access tracks.

“The 12-metre aluminium barge Reef Guardian can carry up to four tonnes of cargo, and allows rapid response to incidents and better access to central Queensland’s coast and island national parks,” Dr Miles said.

“It’s certainly proving its worth today – Stockyard Point is surrounded by Byfield National Park, and vehicle access was cut by the cyclone.

“Meanwhile on the other side of the park, a crew of rangers is working with the Byfield community to clear roads.

“Public safety and community support are the first priorities for our staff after TC Marcia, and they will then do park assessments and repairs when access is available,” he said.

Dr Miles said Cyclone Marcia had affected scores of national parks, State forests and reserves.

He said a large number of protected areas had been fully re-opened, with many partially re-opened including the popular Fraser Island, Inskip and Cooloola recreation areas.

“Camping bookings have reopened for some parks.

“Many are still inaccessible and early reports indicate that parks and forests in Marcia’s path have sustained a huge number of tree-falls, flooding, erosion, track and road washouts and landslides.

“Coastlines and islands will be affected by debris and we’ll work with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and other partners in the reef locations.

“A lot of mainland areas are still cut off by flooding, tree falls or road damage.

“Capricorn area parks were hardest hit with Byfield National Park being directly in the path of Marcia as the cyclone made landfall.

“We know our parks and forests are important to tourism and people’s livelihood. It’s a priority to get them reopened and QPWS will be making every effort. The focus will be on popular sites, even if we can just open a park’s day-use area,” Dr Miles said.

For details of closures visit www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/park-alerts/

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