An Assessment of the Conservation and Natural Heritage Significance of Australlan Heritage
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FLY'ENINSZP LAND USE STRATEGY LAND USE PROGRAM I AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE OF w CAPE YORK PENINSULA - H. Abrahams, M. Mulvaney, D. Glasco & A. Bugg Australian Heritage Commission and the Environmental Resources Information Network 1995 AUSTRALLAN HERITAGE COMMISSION CYPLUS 3 a joint initiative of the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments CAPE YORK PENINSULA LAND USE STRATEGY (CYPLUS) Land Use Program AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE OF . CAPE YORK PENINSULA H. Abrahams, M. Mulvaney, D. Glasco and A. Bugg Australian Heritage Commission and the Environmental Resources Information Network 1995 LWP*~%-~LLq ' GG~~~:pk(4 rrr;,Y,C r r..,,. ;... 8av:,,.dycfcmtf i,/,,/KCYPLUS is a joint initiative of the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments Gv.b:$,%::,j~ ,a/g. 6 6 B?& +:<- ..>S*.X$.&*-::' /z.+/% @:;"';*: : P-& '+@ i""i.3:$$53. m CZE:Z!%>~~~<;~> .S;UE?$ Recommended citation: Abraharns H., Mulvaney M., Glasco D. and Bugg A. (1995). 'An assessment of the Conservation and Natural Heritage Significance of Cape York Peninsula. (Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy, Office of the Co-ordinator General of Queensland, Brisbane, Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra, and Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane.) Note: Due to the timing of publication, reports on other CYPLUS projects may not be fully cited in the BIBLIOGRAPHY section. However, they should be able to be located by author, agency or subject. ISBN 0 7242 6229 6 @ The State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia 1995. Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of the Office of the Co-ordinator General of Queensland and the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Office of the Co-ordinator General, Government of Queensland PO Box 185 BRISBANE ALBERT STREET Q 4002 The Manager, Commonwealth Information Services GPO Box 84 CANBERRA ACT 2601 CAPE YORK PENINSULA LAND USE SIFRATE STAGE I , i"?L: a+.>,,. ''P ?: PREFACE TO PROJECT REPORTS \ J??: :.=. ...&-, ",,<<!::::>.;.J k*+. .,*>,:; ..' ,....;;~:,~~>'~:,:<4d" ~.. Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy (CYPLUS) is an initiative to provide a basis for public participation in planning for the ecologically sustainable development of Cape York Peninsula. It is jointly funded by the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments and is being carried out in three stages: * Stage I - information gathering; * Stage 11 - development of principles, policies and processes; and * Stage III - implementation and review. The project dealt with in this report is a part of Stage I of CYPLUS. The main components of Stage I of CYPLUS consist of two data collection programs, the development of a Geographic Information System (GIs) and the establishment of processes for public participation. The data collection and collation work was conducted within two broad programs, the Natural Resources Analysis Program (NRAP) and the Land Use Program &UP). The project reported on here forms part of one of these programs. The objectives of NRAP were to collect and interpret base data on the natural resources of Cape York Peninsula to provide input to: * evaluation of the potential of those resources for a range of activities related to the use and management of land in line with economic, environmental and social values; and * formulation of the land use policies, principles and processes of CYPLUS. Projects examining both physical and biological resources were included in NRAP together with Geographic Information System (GIs) projects. NRAP projects are listed in the following Table. Physical ResourceIGIS Projects Biological Resource Projects Bedrock geological data - digitising and Vegetation mapping (NRO1) integration (NR05) Airborne geophysical survey (NR15) Marine plant (seagrass/mangrove) distribution WO6) Coastal environment geoscience survey Insect fauna survey (NR17) (NR14) Mineral resource inventory (NR04) Fish fauna survey (NR10) Water resource investigation (groundwater) Terrestrial vertebrate fauna survey (NR03) (NR 16) Regolith terrain mapping (NR12) Wetland fauna survey (NR09) I Physical ResourcelGIS Projects Biological Resource Projects I Land resource inventory 02) Flora data and modelling (NR18) Environmental region analysis (NR11) Fauna distribution modelling (NR19) CYPLUS data into NRIC database FINDAR Golden-shouldered parrot conservation (NR20) management (NR21) Queensland GIs dev$lopment and maintenance (NR08) * These projects are accumulating and storing all Stage I data that is submitted in GIs compatible formats. Research priorities for the LUP were set through the public participation process with the objectives of: * collecting information on a wide range of social, cultural, economic and environmental issues relevant to Cape York Peninsula; and * highlighting interactions between people, land (resource use) and nature sectors. Projects were undertaken within these sector areas and are listed in the following Table. I People Projects Land Projects Nature Projects Population Current land use Surface water resources / Transport services and Land tenure Fire infrastructure Values, needs and aspirations Indigenous management of land Feral and pest animals and sea Services and infrastructure Pastoral industry Weeds Economic assessment Primary industries (non-pastoral, Land degradation and soil non-forestry) erosion Secondary and tertiary industries Forest resources Conservation and natural heritage assessment Traditional activities Commercial and non commercial Conservation and National Park fisheries management Current administrative structures Mineral resource potential and mining industry Tourism industry I As a part of the public participation process, community and other groups associated with CYPLUS were invited to review all draft reports. These reviews were designed to correct any errors of fact (which were then modified in the final report) and to provide an opportunity for people to express their views of the information presented. The comments submitted to the CYPLUS process by various community groups and other interested persons in regards to the Environmental and Community Issues for Reducing Impacts of Future Mining on Cape York Peninsula project are situated within a final attachment to this report. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Aims of the Project 1.2 Consideration of Cultural Heritage Conservation 1.3 Relationship of Project to Commonwealth Conservation Requirements 1-4 Previous Relevant Information. 1.5 General Methodology. 1.6 Data Sets 2.0 IDENTIFICATION OF VALUES - INTRODUCTION PART A: CONSERVATION VALUES USING BROAD SCALE PENINSULA-WIDE MODELLING TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE 3.0 ASSESSMENT OF WILDERNESS QUALITY 3.1 Areas of High Wilderness Quality 3.2 Discussion 4.0 RARE, UNCOMMON OR RESTRICTED VEGETATION COh4MWITES 4.1 National Perspective 4.2 Regional Perspective 4.2.1 Discussion 5.0 AREAS OF VEGETATION COMMUNITY RICHNESS 5.1 Discussion 6.0 THE VEGETATION COMMUNITIES EXHIBITING THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR CLASS. 6.1 The Method Adopted 6.2 Discussion 7.0 AREAS OF TERRESTRTAL FAUNA RICHNESS PART B: CONSERVATION VALUES USING A THEMATIC APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE. 8.0 WETLAND AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE 9.0 AREAS SIGNIFICANT FOR MARWE VEGETATION. 9.1 Mangroves 9.2 Seagrasses 9.3 Mangrove and Sea Grass Areas of Conservation Significance. 10.0 RAINFOREST AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE 1 1.0 AREAS SIGNIFICANT FOR MAINTAINING SEABIRD AND SHORE BIRD POPULATIONS 11.1 Seabirds 11.2 Minor Sea Bird Breeding Areas 11.3 ShoreBirds 11.3.1 Beach Stone-curlew (Burhinus giganteus). 11.3.2 Mongolian Plover (Charadrius mongolus) . 11.3.3 Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva). 11.3.4 Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres). 11.3.5 Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevips). 11.3.6 Pied Oystercatcher(Haematopus longiropstris) and Sooty Oystercatcher (H. fuliginosus). 11.3.7 Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) . 11.3.8 Torresian Imperial Pigeon (Ducula spilorrhoa). 12.0 AREAS SIGNIFICANT FOR SAND DUNE ISAND MASS ON EASTERN CAPE YORK 13.0 AREAS SIGNIFICANT FOR RICHNESS 13.1 Areas of Orchid Diversity 13.2 Areas of Fish Richness 13.3 Areas of Invertebrate Richness 14.0 AREAS SIGNIFICANT FOR BUTTERFLIES 14.1 Important Places 14.1.1 Lockerbie Scrub. 14.1.2 Heathlands Area. 14.1.3 Iron Range Area. 14.1.4 Mt White, Coen. 14.1.5 Vine Thicket Communities. 14.1.6 Rocky River area, Silver Plains, McIlwraith Rang 14.1.7 Lakefield National Park. 14.1.8 Sandstone outcrops in the Laura area. 14.1.9 Isabella Falls area, NW of C+ktown. 14.1.10 Mangrove communities along Endeavour River. 14.1.1 1 Mangrove and fringing Melaleuca communities on the south side of the Annan River. 14.1.12. Jardine River Rainforests. 14.2 Concluding Comments 14.3 Notes on Locations 15.0 SIGNIFICANT VEGETATION CORRIDORS 15.1 Riparian Corridors PART C: CONSERVATION VALUES THAT ARE SPECIES SPECIFIC OR POINT LOCATION BASED 16.0 AREAS OF BIOGEOGRAPHIC AND EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE 16.1 The Gondwanic Element 16.2 The Intrusive Element 16.3 Extra-Continental Endemic Species 16.4 Extra-Continental Plant Species 16.5 Endemic Species 16.5.1 Endemic plant species 16.5.2 Endemic vertebrate species 16.5.3 Endemic invertebrate species 16.6 Disjunct Species 17.0 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR RARE AND THREATENED PLANT AND ANIMAL