FACT CHECK – Yorke Peninsula beaches remain open for 4x4s

“The number of people accessing Yorke Peninsula’s coastline via off-road vehicles is increasing every year, and the impacts include pollution, trampled vegetation and damage to Narungga sites of significance,” he said.

“No one wants to see the fragile coastal dune system harmed beyond repair, so it’s important that we work together to take a balanced approach that’s sustainable for both the environment and for continued recreational use by locals and visitors.”

Tony Fox, General Manager of Northern and Yorke Landscape Board, said there was “no truth in reports that we want to remove 4×4’s from the beaches”.

“The board has worked with key players including councils and even 4×4 clubs to put together a sensible and good approach to making sure these places are managed sustainably,” he said.

“We’re proposing to close tracks we don’t need, leaving the ones we can manage sustainably in place.”

He said the impacts of “a few uncontrolled, irresponsible people smashing up the dunes” causes major environmental damage, including destabilising dunes, threatening plant species and shore birds.

“Hooded plovers nest on the beach, and they can’t always been seen in a four wheel drive.”

While Yorke Peninsula beaches have remained relatively untouched for generations, visitor numbers have swelled following the Covid 19 pandemic, when people began exploring their own backyard. Since then, beaches along the 700 kilometre coastline have been named amongst the best in Australia.

You can find out more about the Developing the Coastal Access Strategy here.