Every time you interact with wePlan Alpine by loading your images, commenting on blogs, rating photos or comments and inviting other interested people to wePlan Alpine, you earn points.  You can see how many points you currently have above the search box on the right.

The community member with the most points by 1 June 2009 will receive a 2009 All Resorts Season Pass.  This generous offer is courtesy of Leona Turra, CEO Mount Baw Baw.

There are now over 180 registered members on wePlan Alpine. Some of these members have created connections with other members and have loaded their favourite images of the Alpine country. To create connections with others on wePlan Alpine, click on the Community button to find members, click on the members name or image, then scroll down to the Connections heading. You can then choose to become their acquaintance, colleague or friend.

Levels of Protection (LoP) is a tool to aid natural area planning and resource allocation by placing individual parks in a state-wide context. LoP groups parks according to biodiversity criteria and allocates broad conservation objectives to each group. Using a state-wide system enables Parks Victoria to focus its limited resources where they are most required. The Fact Sheet: Levels of Protect for Natural Values provides more detail on the LoP Framework.

The Public Participatory Geographic Information System (PPGIS) is an interactive web-based program where you can map the places you value and any impacts you may have seen. Your experiences and observations will be used by Parks Victoria in the development of management plan content. The University of South Australia, Central Washington University and Parks Victoria have collaborated in the development of this research project. Visit www.parksvictoria.net to participate.

Significant bushfires are affecting private and public land across the state. Twitter is being used by emergency services organisations, broadcasting authorities and the community to report information. You can search for bushfire tweets and follow the CFA updates. The public are urged to avoid travelling to affected areas.

The Alpine Planning Team has been working with our consultants to add new functionality, including:

• Video content, a wiki for the draft plan, a wiki for scientific and social scientific knowledge, in-wiki messaging so you can message members on wePlan Alpine and discussion pages behind each wiki page so you can ask us a question about text. These additions to wePlan Alpine will be released in March 2009.
• The PPGIS has undergone testing and will be ready soon for you to map your experiences.

What other functionality can you suggest we look at for planning purposes?

More than 120 people have registered so far, here are some highlights:

• Anne Landry (Parks Canada)
• Bill Tilley (Member for Benambra District)
• Gavin Jennings (Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Innovation)
• Tim O’Loughlin (PWS Tasmania)

We've had over 1,000 reads of the nine blogs.  Thirty-five images have also been loaded onto the site, “On the 8th Day” is quite humorous. Why don’t you go through the image gallery, click on a title you like and rate it!  You will earn points by doing so!

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome all contributors to the Greater Alpine Parks Management Plan Review through the exciting new wePlan Alpine website.

I encourage all Victorians to share their vision for Victoria's Alpine National Parks using this innovative, social networking, online platform.

With many of the existing management plans in the area due for review, this website will enable anyone who is interested in the parks to contribute.

There have been a number of significant changes in the parks, including climate change, wildfires, grazing removal, recreation/tourism diversification and demand, community expectations and increased recognition of Traditional Owners.

Parks Victoria has assessed the progress made towards implementing the existing management plans to determine what has changed since they were published. The assessment identified a number of areas that the revised plan will need to address. The Fact Sheet: Existing Management Plans Assessment summarises the review. 

We would be interested in knowing the value of these older plans to you? Did you use them? What was useful about them?

An Environment and Scientific Reference Group will soon be appointed to provide advice during the preparation of the plan. The group will include five scientists with expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• alpine ecology and the techniques for managing or researching that environment
• responses to ecological change, including climate change
• fire ecology

What do you think are the significant issues that science needs to address in the future?