Biodiversity

The NSW Government has acquired Comeroo, Muttawary and Maranoa stations (known collectively as Comeroo). The purchase will see more than 37,000 hectares containing endangered ecological communities and an array of threatened species added to the NSW national park estate, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The vision to create an “ecological wonder” and restore a pasture site to rainforest and wetland ecosystems is now a step closer to reality thanks to Sunshine Coast Council endorsing the Sunshine Coast Ecological Park Master Plan. The plan sets out Council’s vision to restore the 65ha site adjoining Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve on Jinibara country.

The Starcke boat ramp area has been the target of an intensive clean-up after years of visitor over-use, weed infestation and damage from feral cattle. Cape York NRM provided training for the Juunjuwara Rangers in littoral rainforest research, and teams then conducted surveys to establish the health of the coastal vegetation.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and LHIB have partnered up to capture new high-resolution aerial imagery and terrain mapping of Lord Howe Island and Ball’s Pyramid. Aerial imagery forms the basis of the LHIB’s environmental field operations, helping us protect biodiversity, manage weeds, and implement effective biosecurity.

A fundraising target of $505,000 has been exceeded to buy a former potato farm on Wilson Inlet’s eastern banks as a wildlife protection sanctuary. Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee and other groups comprising the Eungedup Wetlands Management Group have raised $516,000 to buy 103ha with the sale to be settled at the end of the month.

Vic Jurskis. Since NSW koalas were declared endangered 12 months ago, they’re turning up everywhere. Here's the latest: "... uncovered a new population of 42 koalas at Coolah Tops, north west of Sydney, when the previous government only had five documented koala sightings in the area over the past 70 years." ... The new Minister says, “all estimates have koalas on track to be extinct by 2050” ... A few questions for the new Minister ...

The Mt Elgin reserve is regionally important not only for its biodiversity, but for its cultural history. This Swamp was an important place for the Traditional Owners, the Wotjabuluck people, as well as providing a seasonal food source, such as waterfowl and their eggs, and freshwater mussels; it had a permanent spring, which, in dry years, was essential for their survival.

The Friends of Mt. Hallowell-Kooryunderup and the Denmark Bird Group last month hosted a bird walk and launch of an official birds of Mt Hallowell-Kooryunderup list. This aims to help identify and count birds in the A-class environmental reserve.

On 14th of February 2023, 20 students aged 8 to 11 years old from Lord Howe Island became marine scientists for the day. In doing so, they joined UNESCO’s global environmental DNA research initiative that is being rolled out across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the impacts of climate change.

A hidden waterfall nestled in the heart of the Upper Murray that emerged from the ashes following the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires is just one of several recovery projects now coming to fruition. The region was devastated by the bushfires and the pandemic lockdowns caused significant delays to the recovery process but replacement housing as well as a host of new projects are well underway or have been completed. One of the gems brought to light after the fires is Thowgla Falls, which is located on Marginal Road in the Thowgla Valley.

Robert Onfray. As we celebrate World Endangered Species Day on 19 May, I thought it timely this month to look closely at how species are faring in Australia, particularly in reserves authorities have established to protect them ... We don’t hear about this aspect of monitoring in our reserves because the government, bureaucrats and environmental activists don’t want the public to know just how poorly managed our reserves are.

Vast tracts of exclusion fencing for wild dogs across northern Australia are providing opportunities for the recovery of threatened fauna on rangeland grazing properties. University of Southern Queensland Senior Research Fellow (Wildlife Management) Dr Benjamin Allen said cluster fencing had expanded rapidly within Queensland with the area of properties behind predator proof fencing increasing from zero a decade ago to around 200,000 square kilometres in 2023.

A fire and air forum will be held at the University of WA in Perth on May 5 to explore community concern regarding the impacts of broad-scale prescribed burning in South West forests ... Speakers will include those with expertise in landscape flammability, biodiversity, ecology, air pollution, health impacts and the latest in peer-reviewed research.

Gavin Butcher. Analysis of publicly available data by respected scientist Dr Lachie McCaw has shown that claims by Premier McGowan and his coterie of Forestry Ministers, Jarvis and Kelly, to be without substance. The WA government had stated that one of the reasons the timber industry had been axed was because the trees are no longer growing. Dr McCaw has used published data on the long-term forest monitoring plots called ForestCheck to demonstrate that the harvested forest is growing and the uncut forest is in decline.

Vic Jurskis's clear account of the history of the cycle of plagues and crashes of koalas in Australia's eastern states and the circumstances of those plagues and crashes makes one question whether the time frame for assessing the status of koalas should be 200 years, not 20, and whether the public perception about this much-loved animal is fully informed.

The Lions Club of Clarence – Environmental are launching a cat campaign designed to protect the extraordinary biodiversity of the valley and allow cat owners to enjoy their pets and keep them safe ... “The campaign is designed to make people aware of what their cats are doing when they are out of their home, and it’s feral cats as well as domestic cats”: President Barbara Linley.

Lindsay "Linz" Johanssen. Buffel grass (Cenchrus Ciliaris) is not just invasive. Environment-wise, it is  utterly transformative ... Buffel thrives on being burned. Vigorous new growth follows subsequent showers of rain, so recreating (and episodically contributing-to), a new fuel load ... Buffel’s burn / rapid-growth rebuild / ready to burn again fire cycle will, over time, simply kill or destroy everything that is not protected or cannot evacuate ...

Three years after being established, a thriving native garden at SA Water’s Kadina Depot is demonstrating the success of growing water efficient, locally-sourced plants, with the idea easily able to be replicated in Yorke Peninsula backyards ... SA Water’s Vegetation Services Specialist Shaun Kennedy said he’s thrilled to see the garden continuing to flourish and attract an interesting array of birds and insects, including native bees, which are taking advantage of newly-installed ‘bee hotels’.

Vic Jurskis. The principles of monitoring animal numbers are no different for koalas or beetles. Monitoring should not be an end. But the first step should always be to look at historical information. They are irruptive animals which sometimes occur in plagues. Koalas and Christmas beetles have both gone through booms and busts in the same places at the same times for the same reasons ... ARR.News asked some further questions of Vic.

It’s been an egg-cellent start to the Sunshine Coast turtle nesting season, with six nests laid in seven days. At sunrise on Friday, November 25, expert citizen scientist and Turtle Care volunteer Lesley Dimmock spotted the first turtle tracks on Buddina beach.

The Sunshine Coast citizen science program is growing, and council is calling on our community for their ideas. Citizen science is when people volunteer their time to partner with researchers to increase scientific knowledge and collect data about their natural environment.

Timber processors at Heyfield and Yarram may lose more wood supply after the state government announced a halving of the native timber supplied by VicForests by 2024 under the Victorian Forestry Plan ... The chief executive of the Victorian Forest Products Association, Deb Kerr, said the government's actions were totally undermining any industry confidence that it would be able to guarantee supply timber until 2030, as promised.