SEA Lake residents met with government representatives last week to express their concerns over the proposed Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Conservation Management Plan for the future of Lake Tyrrell.
In what has been dubbed a “damning report”, community members fear approval of the plan will have serious implications for the future of the town, agriculture, industry and the Mallee Rally.
The 173-page document, intended as a preliminary report aimed to explore the current impacts on Aboriginal cultural heritage at Direl (Lake Tyrrell).
Eight sites around the lake were explored during a field study which took place over 11 days between February 2020 and April 2021.
“The results of this survey, as well as previous investigations, indicate that artefact scatters and hearth remains (clay balls and stone heat retainers) are the most likely types of cultural heritage material to be found,” the draft management plan states, noting 26 places of significance were identified during the field survey.
The Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria are the land managers of Lake Tyrrell which is Crown land.
DELWP said the management plan would help decide the best way to manage activities at the lake into the future.
“The CMP provides conservation policies to protect the lake’s significant values and strategies to put those policies into action,” DELWP said.
“It will be used by land managers and local government to decide on appropriate management and protection measures, and to determine what future activities and uses should be allowed at Direl (Lake Tyrrell).”
The proposed management plan identifies vehicle use, vegetation loss, soil displacement and erosion (wind and water), rabbit burrowing and the dumping of rubbish as some of the major threats to the lake.
However, Sea Lake residents are very concerned by recommendations outlined in the plan.
They include the termination of the Mallee Rally and the restriction of grazing in private land parcels.
It also recommends that the boundaries of Crown and private land be more clearly defined.
DELWP is now calling for feedback in relation to the proposed draft management plan.
Feedback can be submitted via email at laketyrrell@delwp.vic.gov.au with submissions closing at 5pm on Monday, February 28.
