Above the Treeline: How the High Country Was Rescued

A serious threat to the high country, to both its alpine and subalpine components, was posed early this century by grazing. Sheep and cattle ate out the edible grasses and wildflowers and stockmen burnt the remaining vegetation to encourage new growth. This led to severe soil erosion. High winds, frost and running water acting on the bare exposed soil accelerated the damage. After more than a hundred years of grazing, the problem was so critical that in 1938 the region was declared an area of erosion hazard.