Minutes of the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Recovery Team

Casterton

8.6.04

Present: Andy Govanstone (DSE), David Baker-Gabb (Chair), Wendy Beumer (retiring Extention Officer), Dave Ryan (PV), Justin Cook (DSE), Martine Maron (Monash Uni), Julie Kirkwood (Threatened Species Network), Evan Roberts (SAFF), Richard Hill (Birds Australia), Dan Harley (DEH, South Australia), Vicki Mack (farm planning consultant).

Apologies: David Paton, Jason Van Weenen, Dean Robertson, Allen Jenkins, Troy Horn, Fred Stadter, Bryan Heywood, Sue Mudford, Peter Copley

Welcome

DBG welcomed Evan Roberts to his first recovery team meeting. Evan is representing the South Australian Farmers Federation.

Business Arising

  1. Minimum Scorch Burns: JC reports that Longeronong College has been contracted to do the pre burn assessments and they are being done currently. None of the burns have been attempted yet due to unsuitable conditions but Geoff Evans DSE Horsham hopes to complete then in the next 3-4 months weather permitting. DBG reported on a meeting that he, RH, JC, Jim McGuire, Geoff Evans and Jill Fleming (DSE Horsham) had in late April to discuss progress on minimum scorch burns. A key outcome was that Geoff Evans (Fire Protection) had been able to assess the fire protection outcome of the Stoney Scrub burn trial, and was satisfied with the results. Thus the first minimum scorch trial has produced some useful results, with a substantial reduction in crown scorch, whilst achieving adequate fire protection outcomes. JC reported that the Portland Fire Protection Plan has been published and contains the commitment to maintain a minimum of 85% of stringybark feeding habitat critical for survival greater than 9 years since crown scorch by fire. All prescribed and wildfire events are mapped and the extent of crown scorch in stringybark is also now being collected to measure against this target. RH reported that in a “Casterton” subset of the Portland Fire Management Area, up until the beginning of the 2003 fire season, 82% of the stringybark was long-unburnt, slightly below the target. Action: RH to supply JC with these data. Evan Roberts reported that at a meeting of the Naracoorte District Council regarding fire policy, there was considerable enthusiasm for increasing the amount of burning of stringybark blocks on private and public land in the shire. Action RH/ DBH write to the Native Vegetation Council reiterating the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo requirement for long-unburnt stringybark feeding habitat, and the results of minimum scorch burn trials in Victoria.
  1. EPBC Guidelines, NVR and Buloke Clearance in West Wimmera Shire. RH, JK and MM reported on the lack of progress in successfully reducing clearance of bulokes in the WW Shire. MM reported that the Adams cases of buloke clearance, was the only case referred to DEH which has been listed as a controlled action, has been finalised with no reduction in the number of bulokes cleared. All subsequent buloke clearance applications referred to DEH have been assessed as uncontrolled actions, or actions which will not have a signficant impact on the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo. This is against the advice that we provided DEH in December. Birds Australia has received a letter from Minister Kemp saying that his department is developing guidelines for assessing applications to clear buloke. Action: RH/DBG to telephone contact DEH to ask about progress of these guidelines. A follow up letter from BA may then be necessary. BA has written to Minister Kemp expressing our disappointment at the decision to permit clearance of buloke in the Adams case, and to clarify conditions placed on the permit issued by DEH. The Native Vegetation Guidelines to implement the new “Native Vegetation Framework” in Victoria are almost finalised. RH reported that DBH, MM, JK, and he met with Steve Gartland, advisor to Minister Thwaites. There we argued that all habitat identified as habitat critical for survival be given a ‘Very High’ conservation rating so that clearance would not be permitted except with permission of the ministers delegate. The existing guidelines will require that Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo habitat mapped as critical for survival be assessed as a better or poorer 50% which affects the conservation rating of the vegetation and thus the likelihood of its clearance being permitted. Action: DBG to telephone Steve Gartland to ask about the merit of a further letter about this issue to Minister Thwaites. JK to draft any letter. In another issue, EV are taking the West Wimmera Shire to VCAT about a private forestry proposal in Red Gum at Powers Creek, within the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo range. A list of plant growers who can supply or grow buloke is provided at the end of these minutes. Action: AG to inform RH when the Productivity Commission report on the impact of conservation controls on private land is released.
  2. Recovery Plan. RH reported that DEH have agreed to pay us for a minor rewrite of the recovery plan to bring up. Action: RH to arrange. Indigenous consultation needs to be addressed as well Action: DH to provide list of indigenous contacts for South Australia.
  3. Farm Planning Project. VM reported on her project. She has extended her timetable and now proposes to finish in August. Planning for a workshop at Francis is almost complete. VM is working closely with PIRSA and DEH staff on this. Workshops are also currently proposed for Edenhope, Nhill and Casterton. The project in South Australia will concentrate in the drainage area Zone D of the upper south east where Biodiversity Trading money is available. It is proposed to produce an implementation plan from a series of workshops in South Australia of which the RTBC workshop will be one. JK suggested that this project should be used to assist getting objectives from the recovery plan into the National Action Plan for Salinity. Evan Roberts said that it was very important to keep the issues of drainage and Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo conservation separate, as the drainage program is highly contentious in the region. General discussion of land stewardship programs ensued. Of interest is the CORIS (Care of Remnants Incentive Scheme) run by the North East Catchment Management Authority (see www.necma.vic.gov.au/programs/coris.html) and Bush Tender (see below).

Extension Officer Report. WB presented her last report!.. SENRCC has announced that funding for 04-05 has been provided and are currently drafting contracts for that period. SENRCC funding includes a budget of 15K for advertising and road signs to inform landowners of the changes to the Native Vegetation Act which provide legal protection for hollow dead trees within the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo range in South Australia . GHCMA has placed the recovery program on an ‘endorsed list’ of proposed projects and we should hear from them by the end of June. Wimmera CMA will similarly provide feedback on the success of our application hopefully by the end of June. On other projects, AG reported that DSE are putting together a list of possible cross boarder projects. Action DH and RH to put together a joint woodland birds proposal to submit to DSE Ballarat. Wendy reported that the field days at Horsham and Lucindale were very successful in attracting new participants in the program, particularly landowners with bush blocks who then participated in this years annual count. She noted that she worked pretty much full time (ie 5 d/week) in March and April on these two tasks. 700 + people visited the RTBC stand at Lucindale alone. Thanks to Evan and Kay Roberts for their assistance in peopling the stand. Sheepvention, Hamilton is next field day in September. Action: RH/new Extension Officer to liaise with DSE (Yvonne Ingeme, Tanya Wood).

She has had no reply from the VFF about joining the recovery team.

Project Officer Report: RH talked to his report (attached). He expressed some concern about the very low breeding effort that he found in the past breeding season. He is currently collecting flock composition data to see if this apparent poor breeding season is confirmed by reduced recruitment into the winter flocks of cockatoos. Action: RH to circulate report on 2003/04 recruitment results from these data.

  1. Commonwealth Games. DBG outlined progress in negotiations that he RH, JK, and MM have been having with DSE through Steve Gartland to fund a bush tender program for the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo area (currently negotiations are for a Victorian funded program only). This is as a result of the selection of the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo as mascot for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. A number of other proposals, circulated to the recovery team by email in April, were also put to DSE. Our emphasis in negotiations will continue to be substantially increased funding targetting habitats on private land. Negotiations with DSE and Commonwealth Games 2006 are continuing. The web site has used Rob Drummond’s photo apparently without permission. Action: RH to investigate.
    WB mentioned that Kimberley-Clark Mt Gambier have recently installed art in their foyer featuring Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos. They may be worth approaching as a potential sponsor. Action: New EO (with some assistance from WB) to organise an approach to Kimberley Clark.
    The Red tail web site is in urgent need of an upgrade. A quote for upgrade has been received (c. $12,000). This was included in a list of potential projects for funding presented to DSE.

Other Business

Martine Maron outlined the results of her now released report “An assessment of the rate of decline and recruitment of the Buloke trees in the southern Wimmera: Implications for conservation of the endangered South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo”. In summary it demonstrated that natural rate of buloke tree loss over 15 years was 4% whereas at two areas where centre pivot agriculture is a major land use, that scattered buloke trees declined at 33-39% over 15 years. Regeneration was largely confined to roadsides. Her recommendations about ecological thinning of dense regeneration to accelerate tree growth were removed from the final report, however, she feels that this may be an important management requirement for such areas, especially as these are the main areas where it may be possible to accelerate the production of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo feeding habitat. Action: MM/RH to develop project brief for investigating ecological thinning of buloke regeneration. Matt Mooney, Vic Roads should be contacted. Her work also showed that cattle grazing had a marked impact on individual buloke trees after one year. This work is ongoing and will produce results from a regeneration by ripping trial next year. MM remarked that it seemed unlikely to her that regeneration by suckering should have smaller seed crops than regeneration from seedlings.

Note: Martine has recently been appointed to a lecturing position in Biological Sciences at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba. She will continue to be a corresponding member of the recovery team. We would like to extend our congratulations to her and wish her well in this new job.

Additionally a paper recently published by Martine should be noted: Maron and Lill 2004. Discrimination among potential buloke trees (Allocasuarina luehmannii) by the endangered South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorynchus banksii graptogyne) Wildlife Research 2004, 31, 311-317.

Nurseries which grow buloke:

Wail Nursery, Horsham (03) 5389 1733

Wimmera Native Nursery, Dimboola. (03) 5389 1193