In short:
Ngarrindjeri elder Cedric Varcoe would like vehicle access to Goolwa Beach to be restricted to protect birds and the environment.
asserted
access → like → birds
Drivers can currently access the beach at Goolwa and drive along a 12-kilometre stretch to the mouth of the Murray River.
What's next?
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What → access → River
Ngarrindjeri rangers will continue to work with Birdlife Australia to help monitor and protect nesting birds on the stretch of South Australian coast.
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rangers → continue → coast
A Ngarrindjeri elder says keeping vehicles off Goolwa Beach could help to protect endangered birds as rangers and volunteers work to try and save as many chicks as possible.
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rangers → say → chicks
Cedric Varcoe welcomed the birds in a ceremony at the Coorong last week, marking the breeding season for some and the return to South Australia of others from as far away as the Arctic.
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Varcoe → welcome → Arctic
The birds of the Coorong are some of the Ngarrindjeri community's Ngartji (totems), and Mr Varcoe said it was the community's role to fight to preserve them and protect their habitat.
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it → say → habitat
"In our culture they're our friend, our spiritual guide, our protectors, and when they're not here, or when they're no longer here, our spirit is no longer alive and strong as well," he said.
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he → say → culture
The Coorong welcome ceremony coincided with the fledging of three hooded plover chicks from the Coorong Beach, a more remote site on the other side of the mouth of the Murray River from Goolwa Beach.
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ceremony → coincide → Beach
Birdlife Australia has been working with Ngarrindjeri rangers to improve bird survival under the federally funded Shorebird and Wetland Habitat program.
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Australia → work → program
The charity's director of coastal, wetland and marine programs, Grainne Maguire, said the area was important for both resident and migratory shorebirds.
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area → say → shorebirds
"They'll travel down and they'll stop over in China and Korea and then they'll come here and this is where they spend most of their life,"she said.
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they → travel → life,"she
"They fatten up and they rest and they get all that energy which determines the journey back, but also if they breed successfully when they go back."
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they → fatten → journey
One of the resident birds being watched is the fairy tern, considered to be at high risk of extinction in the wild, with 1,000 remaining in South Australia across 10 breeding sites.
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1,000 → watch → sites
Two of those sites are in the Coorong, where the terns lay their eggs in a shallow and often difficult to see nest above the high tide mark.
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terns → lay → mark
Ban questioned
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Ban → question → ?
The beach at Goolwa attracts a high number of tourists, where the local council has responsibility for the access ramp.
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council → attract → ramp
While a permit system has been discussed in the past there is not currently one in place.
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system → discuss → place
Hindmarsh Island resident Wayde Eldridge regularly drives on the beach, setting up his jetski and shade for himself and his dogs Little and Notso.
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Eldridge → drive → himself
He thought people driving on the beach were responsible and a ban would be unpopular.
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ban → think → beach
You get the odd young ones that do silly stuff in their cars and that, but apart from that … I think people look after it pretty well."
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people → get → it
Adelaide University associate professor Craig Styan has been looking at how the beach is used and has surveyed a number of beachgoers.
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beach → look → beachgoers
He said while there was no level of driving on the beach that had zero environmental impact, it posed a difficult management question.
"
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it → say → question
It's almost a paradox … the reason for going is because it's a natural environment, but you being there potentially impacts on some of those natural values," he said.
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he → go → values
Dr Styan said many beach drivers were unaware of the impact their cars were having.
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cars → say → impact
SA Environment Minister Emily Bourke said the government would "continue to work with relevant agencies and local councils on matters affecting the safety and protection of our beaches and coastal environments".
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government → say → beaches
The Aporia