Around the world, many National parks are only accessible by a free daily ballot?
This unique area deserves to be protected
Sign The Letter – Make A Difference
Human visitation put pressure on wilderness areas.
Around the world, protected natural areas facing excessive visitor pressure are increasingly managing access through free or low-cost ballot systems. Rather than constructing large-scale infrastructure to dramatically increase visitor numbers, many conservation managers now recognise that limiting numbers is often the most effective way to protect the very landscapes people come to experience.
A Different Vision
We are not opposed to people experiencing nature.
We are opposed to reckless over development masquerading as environmental appreciation.
True eco-tourism protects wilderness.
It does not industrialise it.
It does not sacrifice endangered wildlife for visitor quotas.
It does not transform sacred landscapes into Olympic commodities.
Springbrook deserves careful stewardship, scientific protection, and sustainable management — not exploitation disguised as opportunity.
Previous Environmental Impact Studies that show the proposed level of tourism is simply not sustainable within such a delicate natural environment are being ignored
The existing walking tracks and lookout areas were never designed to accommodate the massive increase in visitor numbers being proposed. The area also lacks the infrastructure needed to safely manage large volumes of waste, rubbish, and human impact without causing serious environmental damage.
Increased overcrowding, pollution, noise, and habitat disruption would inevitably drive much of the native wildlife away from the very environment people come to experience.
Environmental experts have already suggested a far more responsible alternative — a visitor management system similar to those successfully used in protected national parks around the world.
Under this model, visitors would enter a free daily ballot or lottery system for access to sensitive areas. A limited number of families and visitors would then be randomly selected each day. This approach allows the public to continue enjoying the beauty of Springbrook while ensuring the cloud-forest remains wild, peaceful, and protected for future generations.
Protecting nature does not mean locking people out.
It means managing access responsibly so these extraordinary places survive long into the future.
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Some Australian examples that already use ballots or lottery-style allocations for limited resources:
Tasmania – Freycinet National Park
During peak holiday periods, some camping areas have historically been allocated through a ballot system because demand exceeds available sites.
Highly Restricted Wilderness Areas
Some remote wilderness areas in Australia use permit quotas or capped visitor numbers, although these are generally administered through bookings rather than random daily lotteries.
“Australia has not yet needed to introduce a daily lottery system for a World Heritage rainforest like Springbrook because visitor numbers have historically remained manageable. If planners are proposing visitor numbers so large that a cableway becomes necessary, then internationally recognised visitor-management systems, including capped numbers and lotteries, should be considered before major infrastructure is built.”
Successful International examples:
- Zion National Park (Angels Landing Lottery)
- Yosemite National Park (Half Dome Lottery)
- The Wave (Daily Permit Lottery)
- Mount Whitney (Lottery Permit System)
These are often cited as global best-practice examples of protecting fragile natural areas while still allowing public access.
Help us to protect some of the most unique habitat in the world
- Sign the letter below and send this message to 70 Australian senators
