Pilbara Bioregion Conservation Action Planning Process Update: Refined Conservation Strategies and Actions January 2018 pilbaracorridors.com.au Pilbara Conservation Action Planning Process: Updated Strategies and Actions Acknowledgements The Pilbara Conservation Action Planning (CAP) Process involves many contributors who are thanked for their input and feedback. That includes people and organisations who took part in the initial Pilbara CAP workshop series in 2015, those who commented on the Summary Report (Heydenrych et al., 2016) and those who commented and had input into the process that led to this report in late 2016 and early 2017. The support of the Pilbara Corridors Executive Committee and funding from Rangelands NRM are gratefully acknowledged. Dan Huxtable (Equinox Environmental Consulting) is also thanked for his contribution to the process. Pilbara Corridors acknowledges the contributions of various stakeholders and participants to this publication; however, the views contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the participating organisations or individuals. Greening Australia advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. The development of the Pilbara CAP is an ongoing process. To this end, Greening Australia looks forward to receiving further input and feedback from those with an interest in land management in the Pilbara. Cover Photo: Storm over Coppin’s Gap, Amy Doran The preferred citation for this document is: Heydenrych, B, and Parsons, B. (2018). Pilbara Bioregion Conservation Action Planning Process. Update: Refined Strategies and Actions – September 2017, Prepared for Pilbara Corridors by Greening Australia, Perth. 1 Pilbara Conservation Action Planning Process: Updated Strategies and Actions Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 1 1 Pilbara CAP Overview ................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Background .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Progress ....................................................................................................................................... 6 3 Refined Strategies ....................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Updated strategy list ................................................................................................................ 8 3.2 Suggested key strategies for immediate action ..................................................................... 13 4 Case Studies – Current Pilbara Activities .............................................................................. 43 4.1 PMMC West Pilbara Aerial Weed Survey – June 2017 ......................................................... 43 4.2 Fortescue Marsh Feral Cat Baiting Program ......................................................................... 46 4.3 Fox Control at Flatback Turtle Nesting Rookery at Pretty Pool Beach .................................. 48 4.4 Yarrie Fire Project .................................................................................................................. 51 4.5 Feral Donkey Control in the Pilbara – Judas Program .......................................................... 53 4.6 Rangelands Rehydration Works on De Grey LCDC Stations ................................................ 56 4.7 Yandeyarra Pastoral ranger team, undertaking on-ground training to care for culture, country and environment .................................................................................................................... 58 4.8 City of Karratha Local Biodiversity Strategy........................................................................... 60 5 Monitoring framework............................................................................................................... 63 5.1 Monitoring overview ............................................................................................................... 63 5.2 Pilbara wide biodiversity data sets ......................................................................................... 64 5.3 Pilbara wide vegetation condition monitoring......................................................................... 66 5.4 Other monitoring programs .................................................................................................... 68 6 Additional information to inform strategies ........................................................................... 70 6.1 Refinement of the CAP Stage 1 conservation assets ............................................................ 70 6.2 Fauna assets .......................................................................................................................... 75 7 Conclusions and next steps .................................................................................................... 81 7.1 Find funds for key strategies, develop proposals .................................................................. 81 7.2 Seek opportunities for collaboration with existing projects, NRM partners and industry ....... 81 7.3 Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund ...................................................................................... 81 7.4 Locally-based Pilbara group to steer and guide on-ground actions ...................................... 82 7.5 Inclusion of Traditional Owners in future developments ........................................................ 82 7.6 Collective Impact for the Pilbara ............................................................................................ 84 8 References ................................................................................................................................. 85 9 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 90 9.1 Lists of Programs and Projects from Pilbara CAP Workshop 3 held on 28 and 29 July 2015 ............................................................................................................................................... 90 9.2 Threatened ecological communities (TECs) .......................................................................... 96 9.3 Priority ecological communities (PECs) ................................................................................. 97 2 Pilbara Conservation Action Planning Process: Updated Strategies and Actions List of Tables Table 1: Refined strategies – as at September 2017 .............................................................................. 8 Table 2: Detailed descriptions for refined strategies ............................................................................... 9 Table 3: Suggested key strategies for immediate action ...................................................................... 14 Table 4: Baiting impact determined from radio- collars and occupancy modelling, 2012-2016 ............ 47 Table 5: Reclassified landscape conservation assets and a subset of key nested assets ................... 71 Table 6: From Isolated Impact to Collective Impact (Weaver, 2012) .................................................... 84 List of Figures Figure 1: Conservation Assets for the Pilbara bioregion ......................................................................... 7 Figure 2: Invasion curve indicating return on investment at different stages weed infestation, (DAFWA, 2016) ...................................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 3: Extent of wild dog aerial baiting by the Pilbara RBG in 2015 ................................................ 20 Figure 4: Fire frequency (2006-2017) for Pilbara conservation assets (data sourced from NAFI, Aug 2017) ...................................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 5: Fire frequency (2006-2017) for the Pilbara IBRA region (NAFI, Aug 2017) .......................... 25 Figure 6: Donkey tracking locations 1998 – 2017 (data courtesy Pilbara RBG, 2017) ......................... 29 Figure 7: Current and potential bilby monitoring sites in the Pilbara (Dziminski and Carpenter, 2016) 36 Figure 8: Photo of a sedated feral donkey fitted with a radio tracking collar ......................................... 54 Figure 9: Contour mapping from aerial drone survey along the De Grey River on De Grey Station .... 57 Figure 10: Darryl Hill demonstrating earth bank design and construction to Grant Brooks (Limestone Station). Photo: Cam Brooks ................................................................................................................. 57 Figure 11: Locations of Northern Quoll within the