Coastal shires back campsite hosts
Shire representatives from across WA's south coast have identified camp hosts as the most practical solution to address challenges surrounding the management of the region's nature-based campgrounds.
Representatives from the shires of Jerramungup, Cranbrook, Denmark, Ravensthorpe, Esperance, Plantagenet, Albany, Augusta and Margaret River discussed campground management issues at a stakeholder forum in Albany last Friday.
City of Albany strategy and improvement facilitator Stephen Grimmer said common challenges faced by local shires included fire management, environmental degradation and overcrowding at campground sites.
"The capacity we have compared to the number of people who want to come along to the sites is outweighed," he said.
The City is currently trialling a volunteer camp host program at Cosy Corner East after numerous complaints about overcrowding in the area.
Camp hosts who have been based at Cosy Corner are registered with the Department of Parks and Wildlife and meet and greet campers, while helping to enforce a seven-day maximum-stay rule.
Mr Grimmer said he expected camp host programs would be expanded across the whole region in the near future.
"There were two or three other areas that had trialled camp hosts for the first time this year, and all of us agreed it was very successful and all of us agreed that we would try to work with the DPaW and each other to try and make that happen across the board next year wherever it was practical," he said.
"A number of us have said it really pays for us to have somebody on site and so the camp host is a preferred option for a number of the councils."
Mr Grimmer said local shires were also interested in implementing a consistent approach to signage, fees and rules across all campgrounds in the region.
"We agreed we would try and have a reasonably consistent approach to charging fees, but that would have to be determined by individual councils, and we also had a chat about how compliance works and how rangers work."
Mr Grimmer said the group aimed to have further discussions.
