The Victorian government may take legal action after federal Environment Minister Tony Burke banned cattle grazing in the state's Alpine National Park.
Mr Burke rejected on Tuesday the state government's proposal to reintroduce 400 cattle into the park to graze for up to five months a year for five years.
He said his decision was based on departmental advice that cattle grazing would damage the pristine environment, rather than his own personal opposition to the proposal.
'The assessment has shown there is irrefutable evidence that cattle grazing would damage the sensitive natural environment, disturb the remote and wild character of the area, detract from aesthetic values, and erode its heritage values,' Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.
Victorian Environment Minister Ryan Smith said the state coalition government remained committed to the trial and he would seek advice from the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office.
'It was an election commitment, we were elected to fulfil our election commitments, this is one and we will certainly be pushing through to the best degree that we can,' he told reporters in Melbourne.
In January 2010, the coalition promised to reinstate cattle grazing in Victoria's high country, citing it as a potential bushfire reduction strategy after Labor ended the practice in 2005.
The Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria urged its members to support the coalition in the November 2010 state election, which the coalition won, including the crucial seat of Gippsland East that went to the Nationals.
Association president Mark Coleman said Mr Burke had made his decision to appease the Greens.
He said cattle had been grazing in the Alpine National Park since 1833.
'There is nothing more historical about the alps than the mountain cattlemen,' he told AAP.
'There is no mention of how he (Mr Burke) is going to reduce fuel loads in these alpine areas.
'He can't expect to think that he's looking after the environment without reducing fuel loads.'
Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel said scientific evidence did not support cattle grazing as an effective bushfire reduction strategy.
'The cattle grazing trial has been extensively criticised over the last 12 months by scientists and the community as deeply flawed and should now be formally abandoned by the Baillieu government,' he said in a statement.
State Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews called on Premier Ted Baillieu to respect the federal government's decision.
'It will be interesting to see whether he (Premier Ted Baillieu) sends an army of Victorian lawyers, funded by the Victorian taxpayer, off to the High Court,' he told reporters.
'The law is the law - national parks are pristine environments, they are not farms and they shouldn't be treated that way.'
