Period 1 July – 30 September 2019

Each year the Natural Resources Management Board enters into a Service Level Agreement with the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) for the delivery of the Board’s programs plus services provided by business support and the regional management team.

Details of the Board’s programs can be found in the Board’s Business Plan (2019-22).

This report provides a quarterly update of each program, including:

 Program highlights this period  Local government engagement for this period  Upcoming priorities for the next period

Each milestone is assigned a status, based on its current progress.

On track to deliver On track to deliver Unlikely to meet most milestones. all milestones. milestones. May be some delays.

Further details of each of these programs can be found on the Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula website or by contacting Ben Smith (Senior Natural Resources Officer – Southern) for projects in the City Council and District Councils of Tumby Bay and Lower Eyre Peninsula areas on 08 8688 3243.

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Landscapes Milestones Status Conserving and protecting species and ecosystems Improving community skills, knowledge and engagement in landscapes NRM

Program highlights this period  Presentation to Navigator College Year 1 students on how to identify native plants and weeds in bushland, and how to control weeds that threaten these ecosystems.  Tour of the Twitchers Trail from Lipson to Ungarra for Red Cross – Cummins Groups  Bushland Condition Monitoring (BCM) has commenced at sites across the district  Aboriginal Implementation Plan meeting held in Wudinna. Local government engagement for this period  Engaged with DCTB and assisted with their Roadside Vegetation Management Program. Upcoming priorities for the next period  Completion of BCM sites  Malleefowl monitoring at Hincks Conservation Park.

Coast & marine Milestones Status Improve community skills, knowledge and engagement in coast and marine ecosystems

Program highlights this period  Collaborative work with Birdlife to assist in the delivery of their NLP2 project, including: o launch of the mosaic art work at Port Neil o a community workshop o volunteer meeting and flagging work.  Long-term marine debris survey was completed at Bolingbroke.  Micro plastic field kits have arrived from AusMAP and we already have interest from the community to adopt sites and monitor for microplastics.

Local government engagement for this period  Nil Upcoming priorities for the next period  Delivery of the Saltmarsh Threat Abatement and Recovery project, including shorebird monitoring and saltmarsh activities.

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Pest plants & animals Milestones Status Monitor and facilitate management of priority pest plants and animals

Program highlights this period  A range of pest plant control activities including: o Boxthorn control on Tumby Island o Bridal veil control across lower Eyre Peninsula, including Lake Hamilton, , Greenpatch, Tulka and throughout Port Lincoln. o Boneseed control across lower Eyre Peninsula, including Coffin Bay, Brimpton Lake, Koppio, Mount Drummond, Coulta and Tulka. Overall there appeared to be a reduction in the number of plants found compared with previous years, indicating we may be containing the spread of this invasive pest. Port Lincoln staff also assisted with boneseed control in the Eastern Eyre district. o Fountain grass control commenced across lower Eyre Peninsula, with a focus on roadsides between Port Lincoln and Tumby Bay.  The release of the RHDV1-K5 (K5) rabbit virus commenced on the Lower Eyre Peninsula at the beginning of September. The K5 has been released across 17 different sites including Council managed reserves, Crown Land, Private property and National Parks. The 17 sites making up over 7,500 ha’s collectively, as well as Lincoln and Coffin Bay National Parks which make up an additional 55,000+ ha’s. NREP have provided all K5 virus as well as over 450 kg of free feed oats collectively free of charge. Early indication from contact with participants in the release are indicating a reduction in rabbit numbers across all sites. Nine rabbit samples have been collected by EPNRM and are ready to be sent off for lab analysis.  Fly samples are continuing to be collected fortnightly by both landholders and NPWS staff for the continued monitoring of rabbit virus’s present in the district.

Figure 1: Bridal veil control at Navigator College Figure 2: NRM Officers with a mature boneseed plant

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Map – priority pest plant control for the period

Map of K5 release sites Spring 2019 4

Local government engagement for this period  Staff have liaised with DCLEP and regarding the release of the K5 rabbit virus Upcoming priorities for the next period  The coordination of RHDV1-K5 release will continue through October and November with a further 15 sites registered to participate in the release.

Sustainable farming Milestones Status Improve community skills, knowledge and engagement in Sustainable Agriculture

Program highlights this period  Southern district NREP staff continue to support the region’s Sustainable Farming program through the provision of advice, assessment of risk and the facilitation and collation of information relative to the seasonal conditions, biosecurity, soils and salinity issues.  NRM Staff have continued to provide landholders with 1080 fox bait free of charge to assist with the control of foxes in the district.  Southern District NRM Officers provided considerable assistance to landholders providing advice and support to those with soil conservation problems. Local government engagement for this period  Nil Upcoming priorities for the next period  Ongoing support of the Soil Erosion Taskforce.

Communications & engagement Milestones Status Effective community engagement and education programs Implementation of Aboriginal engagement strategy and support the development of projects with Aboriginal communities

Program highlights this period  Hooded plover territory monitoring training workshops were conducted with support of Birdlife Australia. These were attended by a number of volunteers, with ongoing monitoring to continue throughout the hooded plover breeding season.  NREP staff provided support to Adventure Bay Charters in the launch of their Ocean Warrior Program with local schools. Students participated in a range of activities including shorebird monitoring and marine debris clean ups at various beaches around Port Lincoln.  NREP staff supported a range of activities as part of Aboriginal NAIDOC Week.

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Figure 3: Kirton Point Primary School student observing nesting Pied Oyster Catchers on as part of the Adventure Bay Charters Ocean Warrior Program Local government engagement for this period  Nil Upcoming priorities for the next period  Ongoing support to hooded plover monitoring network.

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