Field & Game Australia Position Document

Response to GMW Draft Recreational Area Management Plans

April 2025

Purpose

This position statement establishes Field & Game Australia’s (FGA) official stance on the Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) Recreational Area Management Plans. It ensures consistent feedback from our members and branches and highlights the vital role hunters play in the responsible use and management of these areas.

Context

Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) manages 23 storages across northern Victoria, of which 18 are designated recreational areas. These sites are essential public assets that support a range of activities including boating, fishing, camping, and hunting.

The draft Recreational Area Management Plans seek to formalise the ongoing use of these areas. While this is a welcome step, Field & Game Australia is committed to ensuring that hunting access is maintained and strengthened, and that hunters are acknowledged for the positive, evidence-backed contributions they make to conservation, land management, and regional communities.

FGA’s Position

1. Hunting Access Must Be Maintained and Protected

• Access for hunting must not be diminished or restricted without clear and transparent scientific justification.
• GMW must explicitly recognise hunting as a long-established, lawful, and legitimate use of public land and water.
• Infrastructure that enables hunter access—such as boat ramps, trails, signage, and camping areas—must be retained and supported as critical enablers of sustainable recreation.

2. Hunters are Essential Conservation and Land Management Partners

• Hunters actively participate in invasive pest control, predator suppression, and habitat restoration efforts—often voluntarily and at their own expense.
• These activities align with and complement government biodiversity and land management goals.
• FGA members offer a skilled, willing, and distributed workforce that GMW should actively engage in delivering on-ground outcomes, including during coordinated operations.

3. Financial and Economic Contributions Matter

• Hunters support rural tourism, small business, and regional economies—particularly in shoulder and off-peak seasons.
• Their direct spending on gear, travel, accommodation, and permits provides ongoing financial benefit to local communities and the broader state economy.
• GMW must acknowledge this economic value and ensure hunters are not excluded from contributing to, and benefiting from, recreational area use.

4. Management Must Be Based on Science, Not Ideology

• No decision that affects hunter access or participation should be based on ideological views, public sentiment, or pressure from interest groups opposed to hunting on principle.
• Any restrictions must be grounded in objective ecological science, supported by transparent data and meaningful consultation with those impacted.
• GMW should resist external influence from activist groups that use conservation language to mask ideological opposition to lawful recreational activities.

5. Retrieving Dogs and Responsible Game Recovery

• FGA strongly opposes any blanket ban on dogs entering water that would prevent hunters from using trained gundogs to retrieve legally taken game.
• The use of trained dogs is:
• Responsible – Helping ensure clean, efficient recovery of downed game.
• Conservation-focused – Reducing lost game, wounding, and waste.
• Ethical – Supporting humane and lawful hunting outcomes.
• FGA supports clear differentiation between trained working dogs and uncontrolled pets, and encourages regulation that targets the actual problem—not legitimate hunting practice.

6. Whole Carcass Retrieval – A Standard of Responsibility

• FGA supports the inclusion of a clause requiring hunters to retrieve and remove the full carcass of any animal taken, unless otherwise directed (e.g. during pest control operations with site-based disposal).
• This expectation:
• Reinforces our commitment to clean and respectful use of public land and water.
• Prevents the issue of discarded offal or remains being left behind in recreational spaces—a valid concern raised by land managers and the public.
• Encourages a culture of accountability among hunters, especially those using shared reserves.
• FGA recognises that while most hunters already do the right thing, we acknowledge that standards must improve across the board.
• We will actively educate members and advocate for full retrieval and respectful disposal of remains—because it protects access, reputation, and the landscape we care about.

FGA's Key Requests to GMW

1. Formally include and positively acknowledge game hunting as a recognised recreational use in all final management plans.
2. Guarantee ongoing access for hunters, including maintenance and improvement of infrastructure.
3. Actively engage hunters and FGA in pest and predator control programs and environmental works.
4. Commit to science-led decision-making that avoids political or ideological interference.
5. Involve FGA as a stakeholder partner in ongoing management and planning for relevant water storage areas.
6. Include an expectation of full retrieval and removal of carcasses by hunters.
7. Make an access provision for trained retrieving dogs used for legal hunting activities.

For FGA Branches and Members: Key Alignment Points for Submissions

• Emphasise the history and legitimacy of hunting on these lands.
• Highlight your branch’s conservation projects, volunteer hours, and pest/predator work.
• Demand that no access changes occur without clear, published ecological justification.
• Reference the economic importance of hunters to your local area.
• Reiterate that all stakeholders must be respected equally—no user group should be excluded due to ideology.

Closing Statement

Field & Game Australia stands firm: access for hunters must be protected, their contributions must be recognised, and decisions must be based on science—not ideology. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to these important plans and will continue to champion ethical, sustainable hunting as part of Victoria’s recreational and conservation landscape.