Progress made on management plan to reopen Camooweal campsites

Mount Isa City Council and the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu people - the custodians of the land encompassing the three temporarily closed Camooweal campsites - are working together to develop a draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan, as well as a management plan for the Georgina River campsite.

Mount Isa City Council closed public access to the popular tourist free-camping destination for the 2023 tourist season, to protect cultural heritage and preservation of the site following the flood in March.

The purposes of the Cultural Heritage Management Plan and the Campsite Management Plan is for stakeholders to have agreed principles and understanding and to work together to.

The plans will ensure the protection and avoidance of any area, object or site in the area of particular significance to the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu people in accordance with their traditional laws, values and customs.

It will establish an agreed set of principles acceptable to all stakeholders to manage and minimise visitor impacts in the campsite and the surrounding environment.

It will preserve and enhance the natural values of the area, and protect the unique flora and fauna of the area.

When completed, both the draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan and the Campsite Management Plan will be put out for key stakeholder and public consultation.

Council will consider all feedback from interested parties and the community before making a final decision on the management regime for the campsite when it reopens, which is expected to be well before the next tourism season (2024).

These plans are being developed as council faces criticism from a local business for the campsite's closure and the claim that there has been a significant decrease in tourists stopping into the town, impacting the town's businesses.

However council has disputed this, saying there was no evidence to suggest that Camooweal businesses had been affected or that less traffic was stopping in the town as a result of the temporary closure of the campsite.