BUSH TRACKS Bush Heritage Australia’s quarterly magazine for active conservation Protecting vulnerable natives from ferals Adult and juvenile brolga foraging at waters edge. Photo by Steven David Miller, Auscape International Pty Ltd. On Naree Station in northwest New Soon David and Sue will travel across Naree’s There they will meet neighbours with their South Wales, the day has dawned clear vast alluvial floodplains to a semi‑permanent sheep dogs, motorbikes and sometimes and bright. In the cane grass swamp waterhole where they expect a less welcome even a gyrocopter, to muster the goats into behind the homestead, brolgas are sight – feral goats. Like stray cattle and temporary yards from which they will be picking their way through the shallow sheep, which the Akers have worked hard trucked off and sold. water on their long stilt-like legs. to remove since the purchase of Naree two Continued on page 3 years ago, goats can cause significant damage They’ll spend much of the day there to Naree’s fragile soils and vegetation. peacefully foraging for food – digging into the mud with their powerful bills. Rather than scouring Naree’s 14,400 In this issue hectares for stray ferals, the Akers have 4 The Umpila Rocky Lake survey For Bush Heritage Reserve Managers been systematically shutting down artificial 8 Bush Blitz unearths new discoveries David and Sue Akers, who live year‑round water points across the reserve – effectively 9 The scent of a quoll on Naree Station, the sight of these using the goats’ reliance on water to lure 9 Women in Conservation Breakfast stately native birds on this morning them to a specific point. This makes it 10 Snapshots to savour is a good omen. easier to both locate and remove them 11 Shared stories in sizeable numbers. 12 Caretakers of the desert Summer 2014 www.bushheritage.org.au Right: Ms Chantelle Clarke, Western Rivers Region, during the opening ceremony hand over from South African rangers to Australian rangers. Photo by Wayne Quilliam. Below: Gerard at John Colahan Griffin Nature Reserve, Vic. Photo by Matthew Newton. From the CEO Bush Heritage Australia Who we are Bush Heritage Australia is a leading conservation organisation, protecting millions of hectares of It was with great pride that I recently led Prominent in this field are the Myer ecologically important land for the a delegation of staff from Bush Heritage Foundation, The Vincent Fairfax Family benefit of nature and all Australians. in attending the IUCN World Parks Foundation and the JT Reid Trust Congress in Sydney. who supported the vision behind this Why we’re successful market‑based conservation program. This once‑in‑a‑decade event brought It’s our way of working that makes together our peers from around the globe Occurring almost entirely on private owned Bush Heritage Australia so successful and I was very proud to present our work land, the threatened grasslands and grassy – and makes us optimistic that we in this context – on our home soil but a woodlands of Tasmania’s Midlands contain can expand our great conservation global stage. many threatened species and communities work to meet the challenges ahead: such as the Tasmanian devil, spotted tailed The congress brought together conservation • We pursue non‑confrontational, quoll and wedge‑tailed eagle. leaders with a refreshing range of pragmatic solutions to perspectives and, for those interested The MCF enters into stewardship agreements conservation challenges. but unable to attend, many of the best with private pastoralists supporting them to • We work closely with our neighbours presentations and resources have been manage the land to improve conservation in each community and share the made available online and are well worth outcomes. With over 2,000 hectares of outcomes and knowledge gained exploring (see WorldParksCongress.org). grassland protected and stewarded across for the benefit of all. 12 properties the fund truly is a remarkable Highlights for me were the strong • Everything we do is informed by achievement that has delivered results where good science – aided by our staff representation from diverse indigenous more traditional approaches weren’t possible. groups and their incredible traditional ecologists and science partners. knowledge, as well as a much stronger Special acknowledgement must be given • We have more than 20,000 presence from private conservation groups. to the leadership of Pip Walsh and Jane (and growing) committed supporters Hutchinson, CEO of the Tasmanian Land who enable us to work on a scale While attending the congress we also Conservancy, and to our ecologist Matt that matters and to implement enjoyed the announcement that the Appleby and Andrew Cameron of the solutions that endure. Midlands Conservation Fund (MCF), TLC, who have done an outstanding job • We partner with indigenous developed by Bush Heritage Australia developing relationships with landholders. and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy communities, other land owners, (TLC) had won the Banksia Natural I must also recognise the participating non‑profits, businesses and Capital Award for its conservation work landholders of the Midlands without governments, because we in the Midlands of Tasmania. whose commitment we could stand to know that by working together lose the last remnants of these precious we can achieve so much more. Focusing on the Midlands’ International native grassland communities. • We buy land, and invest in Biodiversity Hotspot in Tasmania the our partnerships and our partnership with pastoralists, farmers, growing number of supporters. environment groups, State and Our mission is for the benefit Commonwealth governments is powered of all Australians, forever. by philanthropic investors in the Fund. Cheers, Gerard O’Neill, Chief Executive 2 Bush Tracks | Summer 2014 Left: Feral goats in a temporary yard. Photo by Nick Rains, Auscape International Pty Ltd. Below: a feral cat devours a native bird. Photo by Jiri Lochman / Lochman Transparencies. Continued from cover “In 2007 we had 280 active Control of both predatory feral cats and foxes is crucial on Boolcoomatta, which The relative ease with which these goats warrens. Now we have about six provides sanctuary for species like the will be removed is testament to Bush – and they’re on the outskirts of endangered plains wanderer – a small Heritage’s approach to feral animal control: the reserve where we get the quail‑like bird found on its open grasslands, our aim is to use the funds our generous and the nationally vulnerable dusky supporters provide as effectively as possible occasional ‘immigrant’.” hopping mouse. by working smarter. We then checked them regularly for any “We have traps on the reserve that are Feral animals like pigs, cats, foxes, rabbits renewed activity. Initially we did this a connected to a transmitter. I’m notified, and goats are a permanent feature of couple of times a week, then every few using the UHF radio network when a the Australian landscape, causing untold weeks, then every couple of months. cat gets into a trap,” says Glen. “It’s such damage to native species. “In 2007 we had 280 active warrens. a timesaver because previously I had to In the relatively short period since Now we have about six – and they’re check all the traps manually.” European settlement we’ve lost 29 of on the outskirts of the reserve where Depending on which feral animals are Australia’s unique mammal species – we get the occasional ‘immigrant’, present, our control methods vary on each with 89 more species and subspecies which is easy to control.” reserve but each is informed by science now at risk. In many cases feral animals Rabbits operate on a hierarchical and continually improving. are contributing to the decline. burrow system, so as soon as a better While our methods are sound, feral animal In Victoria, on our Nardoo Hills Reserves, burrow becomes vacant, they’ll move control is an ongoing challenge with no Global Positioning System (GPS) into it. The best burrows are targeted end in sight. It’s a continuous process that technology has been used in effectively and decommissioned again and again, requires substantial resources, dedication controlling rabbits. When Bush Heritage until no more rabbits remain. and smart thinking. Thankfully nature supporters helped us purchase the first Similar GPS‑based systems are used provides regular reminders – such as the of the four properties that comprise on other Bush Heritage Reserves with sight of a majestic brolga in flight or a Nardoo Hills, rabbits were threatening substantial rabbit populations, including plains wanderer on Boolcoomatta – of the future of its temperate woodlands. Scottsdale in New South Wales and Bon the importance of this work in protecting These are the most threatened woodland Bon Station in South Australia. our most vulnerable treasures. ecosystem type in Australia, containing At Scottsdale the work is completed by rare native orchids such as the northern dedicated volunteers who return four golden moth orchid and the critically Help us manage times a year to ensure the rabbits don’t endangered robust greenhood. get a chance to re‑establish. feral animals Nardoo Hills Reserve Manager Jeroen Please help us protect unique Technology is also being used to help van Veen has seen rabbit numbers landscapes, like Naree, from the us work smarter controlling feral cats plummet across three of the reserves impact of feral animals. Donate today on Boolcoomatta – our other South to virtually nothing in 2014. to ensure our feral animal control Australian reserve. program is fully funded for 2015. “Our first property was purchased in Here, thanks to the ingenuity of volunteers 2004 and rabbit control began about a Donate today at: Keith Gooley and Peter Calder, Reserve year later,” says Jeroen. “We walked the www.bushheritage.org.au/donate Manager Glen Norris now has an electronic properties with a GPS which allowed alarm system, which alerts him when us to accurately pinpoint the location any of his cat traps are activated.