Rangers in Queensland recently launched a sweeping enforcement crackdown on visitors breaking the rules in national and state parks. Warning parkgoers that more than $63,000 in fines had been handed out in three parks since 2023, park rangers are fed up with some increasingly bad behavior.
The warning stems from incidents in Conondale National Park, Imbil State Forest, and Jimna State Forest, all destinations that are very popular among campers. The Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation issued a public notice about illegal and unsafe behavior in forested areas near Kenilworth — underscoring that anyone violating the rules will be hit with fines.
After the story was shared widely on social platforms, like this clip from Yahoo News Australia (@yahoonewsau), commenters reacted strongly to footage and descriptions of the violations.
Similar to how logging has slowed progress on Australia's Great Koala National Park, "antisocial behavior" is straining parks in the Kenilworth region. Rangers are spending time cleaning up damage and repairing infrastructure — time which could be instead spent on public and conservation work.
They've reported repeated incidents of people removing roadblocks to access restricted zones, driving with unrestrained passengers, lighting illegal campfires, and cutting bush timber — behavior that officials say puts both visitors and fragile ecosystems at risk.
For local, law-abiding parkgoers, this crackdown will hopefully curb the damage caused by visitors who choose not to follow the rules, which are ultimately put in place to protect the park for everyone.
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As one Instagram commenter wrote, it's "always the bogans that ruin it for the rest."
"We close roads in our protected areas to keep people safe, and we're worried someone will get hurt if they continue to ignore our safety signs," senior park ranger Aaron Jensen said, as reported by INDaily. "Our protected areas attract national and international tourists, and people need to respect these areas and other visitors."
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