Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey Contents
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Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey Contents 1.0 Summary 9 1.1 Background 9 1.2 Methodology 9 1.3 Results 10 1.4 Schedule and Priority Fauna and Other Species of Conservation Interest 12 1.5 Habitat Conservation Significance 12 1.6 Potential Impacts, Conclusions and Recommendations 14 2.0 Introduction 16 2.1 Project Background and Study Area Location 16 2.2 Study Objectives and Scope 16 2.3 Purpose of this Report 16 2.4 Geological and Physiographic Context of the Study Area 16 2.5 Biological Context of the Study Area 19 2.6 Previous Fauna Studies in the Area 21 3.0 Survey Methodology 22 3.1 Database Searches 22 3.2 Survey Timing and Weather 22 3.3 Fauna Survey Team 22 3.4 Fauna Sampling 23 3.5 Limitations of this Study 32 4.0 Results 33 4.1 Level 1 Survey of the Plains Access Road 33 4.2 Level 2 Survey of the Valley Access Road 36 4.3 Short Range Endemic Survey of the Mine Area 43 5.0 Fauna Conservation Significance 50 5.1 Threatened Fauna Statutory Framework 50 5.2 Threatened Fauna from the Sulphur Springs Study Area 51 5.3 Short Range Endemic Taxa 65 6.0 Habitat Conservation Significance 66 6.1 Assessment Based on Land Systems 66 6.2 Assessment Based on Vegetation Types 66 6.3 Assessment Based on Fauna 67 6.4 Assessment Based on Landscape 68 6.5 Summary and Rankings 68 6.6 Management Recommendations 69 7.0 References 71 8.0 Glossary 77 Cube:Current:370 (Sulphur Springs Fauna):Doc:Sulph Spgs Final Bckp.doc 5 Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey Appendix 1 Licence to Take Fauna Appendix 2 Genetic Distance table for individuals of Rhagada Appendix 3 DEH Search Tool Results Tables Table 1.1: Schedule and Priority species recorded from the Plains Access Road. 10 Table 1.2: Locations from which land snails and pseudoscorpions were collected from along the Plains Access Road. 10 Table 1.3: Vertebrate fauna species recorded from the Valley Access Road in the Sulphur Springs study area. 11 Table 1.4: Number of live Rhagada sp. ‘Sulphur Springs’ collected during the survey. 12 Table 1.5: Details of sites from which pseudoscorpions were collected during the Sulphur Springs Survey. 12 Table 1.6: Fauna species of conservation significance recorded from, or expected to occur in, the Sulphur Springs study area. 12 Table 2.1: Distribution of Land Systems in the study area and wider Pilbara bioregion (data from Payne et al. 1988 and van Vreeswyk et al. 2004). 19 Table 3.1: Daily meteorological observations for Marble Bar for the duration of the Sulphur Springs survey period (data provided by the Western Australian Bureau of Meteorology). 22 Table 3.2: Climatological summary for Marble bar incorporating data from 1895 to 2004, compared to values for 2006 (data supplied by the Western Australian Bureau of meteorology). 22 Table 3.3: Details of the cage trapping grid used to target the Spectacled Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus along the Plains Access Road at Sulphur Springs. 23 Table 3.4: Trapping details for the Valley Access Road survey. 25 Table 3.5: Avifauna censuses conducted during the Valley Access Road survey. 27 Table 3.6: Locations of non-systematic searches for targeted invertebrate fauna at the Sulphur Springs study site. 31 Table 3.7: Primers used in this study. 31 Table 4.1: Schedule and Priority species recorded from the Plains Access Road. 34 Table 4.2: Locations from which land snails and pseudoscorpions were collected from along the Plains Access Road. 36 Table 4.3: Vertebrate fauna species recorded from the Valley Access Road in the Sulphur Springs study area. 36 Table 4.4: Avifauna recorded from the Valley Access Road area of the Sulphur Springs study site. 38 Table 4.5: Non-volant mammal species recorded from the Valley Access Road at Sulphur Springs. 41 Table 4.6: Bat species caught during the Level 2 survey of the Valley Access Road at Sulphur Springs. 41 6 Cube:Current:370 (Sulphur Springs Fauna):Doc:Sulph Spgs Final Bckp.doc Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey Table 4.7: Herpetofauna recorded from along the Valley Access Road at Sulphur Springs. 43 Table 4.8: Number of live Rhagada sp. ‘Sulphur Springs’ collected during the survey. 44 Table 4.9: Details of sites from which pseudoscorpions were collected during the Sulphur Springs survey. 49 Table 5.1: Fauna species of conservation significance recorded from, or expected to occur in, the Sulphur Springs study area. 52 Table 5.2: Location in the study area from which the Northern Quoll Dasyurus hallucatus was trapped. 53 Table 5.3: Location in the study area from which Mulgara Dasycercus cristicauda was recorded. 55 Table 5.4: Locations within the study area from which the Spectacled Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus was recorded. 61 Table 5.5: Locations in the study area from which the Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis was recorded. 62 Table 5.6: Location within the study area from which Pseudomys chapmani was recorded. 64 Figures Figure 2.1: Location of the Panorama project Project Area. 17 Figure 3.1: Sulpher Springs – Plains Access Road Level 1 Assessment Survey Area. 24 Figure 3.2: Sulpher Springs – Creek Access Road Level 2 Assessment Survey Area. 26 Figure 3.3: Sulpher Springs – Search Locations for Short Range Endemic Invertebrate Fauna (Total Area). 29 Figure 3.4: Sulpher Springs – Search Locations for Short Range Endemic Invertebrate Fauna (Mine Area). 30 Figure 4.1: Locations of Schedule and Priority fauna recorded from the Plains and Creek Access Roads. 35 Figure 4.2: Neighbour-joining tree for individuals of Rhagada. 48 Figure 5.1: Distribution of WA Museum specimens of the Northern Quoll Dasyurus hallucatus from Western Australia. 54 Plates Plate 3.1: Site SuS 04 28 Plate 3.1: Site SuS 03 28 Plate 3.1: Site Su Harp 02 28 Plate 3.1: Site SuE 01 28 Plate 4.1: Rhagada sp. ‘Sulphur Springs’ (photo: Roy Teale). 44 Cube:Current:370 (Sulphur Springs Fauna):Doc:Sulph Spgs Final Bckp.doc 7 Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey This page intentionally blank 8 Cube:Current:370 (Sulphur Springs Fauna):Doc:Sulph Spgs Final Bckp.doc Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey 1.0 Summary 1.1 Background CBH Resources plan to develop a copper-zinc mine at the Panorama Project in the north-eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia. The project comprises the mine site and associated infrastructure areas, as well as a haul road. The original proposal has been altered to accommodate changes to the haul road corridor, initiating a requirement for: • a Level 1 targeted fauna survey of the Plains Access Road between the Port Hedland-Marble Bar Road and the Gorge Ranges following agreement with the DEC Karratha; • a Level 2 terrestrial fauna survey of the Valley Access Road through a valley in the Gorge Range; and • a survey targeting possible Short-range endemic (SRE) fauna within the mine site study area. Biota Environmental Sciences was commissioned to carry out the surveys of the above areas on behalf of CBH Resources in 2006. 1.2 Methodology The study was conducted over an eight-day period between the 29th of August and 5th of September 2006. The central component of this study comprised three parts, each of which are treated separately for the purposes of this report: 1.2.1 Level 1 Fauna Survey along the Plains Access Road Targeted searches for rare fauna species (in particular the Bilby, Mulgara and Spectacled Hare Wallaby) or their traces, and to identify fauna habitat, were conducted along the Plains Access Road. Searches incorporated locating areas of preferred habitat for each species and traversing the area or access road on foot, recording signs of the species (burrows, scats, diggings or tracks) by day, or spotlighting by night. Additionally, one cage-trapping grid targeting the Spectacled Hare-wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus was installed along the Plains Access Road. Additional records of targeted species were also obtained by night spotting from a vehicle, or opportunistically while traversing the study area. 1.2.2 Level 2 Fauna Sampling of the Valley Access Road The central component of this Level 2 survey comprised six pit-trapping grids, three Elliott-trapping grids and six harp traps, all installed within defined habitats. Trapping effort at each location was adapted to the habitat in which the grid was installed. Pit-trap grids comprised up to ten traps, a mixture of 20 litre buckets and PVC tubes (150mm diameter x 700mm depth), connected by a suitable length of 30cm high flywire drift fence. Elliott trapping grids totalling 100 traps were placed on rock walls located on either side of the Valley Access Road to target the Northern Quoll Dasyurus hallucatus. Avifauna censuses were conducted during a foot traverse of the entire Valley Access Road on four successive mornings. Opportunistic records were also obtained during vehicular and foot traverses of the study area. Bats were directly sampled using harp traps erected adjacent to the Valley Access Road. Opportunistic records were also obtained during night-spotting traverses of the study area in a vehicle. Cube:Current:370 (Sulphur Springs Fauna):Doc:Sulph Spgs Final Bckp.doc 9 Panorama Project Mine Site and Haul Road Corridor Targeted Fauna Survey 1.2.3 Short Range Endemic Survey of the Mine Site The survey of the mine area utilised hand foraging techniques to search for potential Short Range Endemic (SRE) invertebrate taxa including: • Pulmonata (land snails); • Diplopoda (millipedes); • Pseudoscorpionida (pseudoscorpions); and • Mygalomorph (Trapdoor) spiders.