Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) Kosciuszko National Park 2017 © 2018 State of NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage With the exception of photographs, the State of NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage are pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part for educational and non-commercial use, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Specific permission is required for the reproduction of photographs. The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has compiled this report in good faith, exercising all due care and attention. No representation is made about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information in this publication for any particular purpose. OEH shall not be liable for any damage which may occur to any person or organisation taking action or not on the basis of this publication. Readers should seek appropriate advice when applying the information to their specific needs. All content in this publication is owned by OEH and is protected by Crown Copyright, unless credited otherwise. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the exemptions contained in the licence. The legal code for the licence is available at Creative Commons. OEH asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: © State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018. Report prepared by: Genevieve Wright1, Dave Albrecht2, Mel Schroder3 1. Office of Environment & Heritage, Regional Operations, South-east; 2. Australian National Herbarium, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research 3. NSW NPWS. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Geoff Robertson (Regional Operations, South-west), Andrew Miller and Libby Lindsay (Southern Ranges, NSW NPWS), Maya Potapowicz (Biodiversity and Wildlife team, NSW NPWS) and Jackie Miles (Contract Botanist) for their assistance with the field surveys. Published by: Office of Environment and Heritage 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232 Phone: +61 2 9995 5000 (switchboard) Phone: 1300 361 967 (OEH and national parks enquiries) TTY users: phone 133 677, then ask for 1300 361 967 Speak and listen users: phone 1300 555 727, then ask for 1300 361 967 Email: [email protected] Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Report pollution and environmental incidents Environment Line: 131 555 (NSW only) or [email protected] See also www.environment.nsw.gov.au ISBN 978 1 76039 814 9 OEH 2018/0248 May 2018 Find out more about your environment at: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Contents 1. Background 1 2. Purpose 2 3. Survey Details 3 3.1 Happy Jack Plains 6 3.2 Jagungal Wilderness Area 8 3.3 Perisher 10 4. Discussion 13 5. Recommendations 14 6. References 15 Appendix 1 16 Appendix 2 17 Appendix 3 19 Happy Jacks Plain – Site 1, Arsenic Creek (new site) 19 Happy Jacks Plain – Site 2, Happy Jack Creek (new site) 20 Happy Jacks Plain – Site 3, Happy Jack Creek (new site) 21 Happy Jacks Plain – Site 4, Happy Jack Creek (new site) 22 Jagungal – Site 9, Doubtful Creek 1 (new site) 23 Jagungal – Site 10, Doubtful Creek 2 (new site) 24 Jagungal – Site 12, Geehi River 1 (new site) 25 Jagungal – Site 13, Geehi River 2 (new site) 26 Jagungal – Site 14, Geehi River 3 (new site) 27 Jagungal – Site 17, O’Keefes Hut (existing site) 28 Jagungal – Site 18, Valentine Creek 1 (existing site) 29 Jagungal – Site 19, Valentine Creek 2 (new site) 30 Jagungal – Site 20, Valentine Creek 3, Big Bend (new site) 31 Jagungal – Site 21, Valentine Creek 4 (new site) 32 Jagungal – Site 22, Valentine Creek 5 (new site) 33 Perisher – Site 23a, Perisher Valley, unnamed creek 34 Perisher– Site 23b - Upper Perisher Creek – Alpine Bog 35 Perisher – Site 24a Upper Betts Creek 36 Perisher – Site 24b Betts Creek /Fen 37 Perisher – Site 24c, Betts Creek, 50 metres from Kosciuszko Rd 38 iii List of photos Photo 1 Rytidosperma vickeryae habitat on Betts Creek 1 Photo 2 Rytidosperma vickeryae habit at the end of flowering season 3 Photo 3 Helicopter survey, Jagungal Wilderness Area 4 Photo 4 Happy Jacks Plain, March 2017 6 Photo 5 Jagungal Wilderness Area, potential Rytidosperma vickeryae habitat, March 2017 8 Photo 6 Perisher Valley, unnamed creek, March 2017 10 Photo 7 A monitoring plot established along Betts Creek, March 2017 11 List of maps Map 1 Rytidosperma vickeryae extent in Kosciuszko National Park, March 2017 5 Map 2 Survey sites at Happy Jacks Plain, Kosciuszko National Park 7 Map 3 Survey sites in the Jagungal Wilderness area, Kosciuszko National Park 9 Map 4 Perisher area, Kosciuszko National Park 12 iv Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey 1. Background Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) is a small rhizomatous perennial grass up to 0.25 metres high with tufted small leaves (Linder 1999). It occurs in the treeless plains in the high country of New South Wales where it commonly grows along stream edges or in montane peatland communities that occur in close association with rivers and streams. This species occurs within Kosciuszko National Park between 1400 metres and 1800 metres elevation. Prior to the current survey the largest surviving populations of the species were thought to be in the Perisher area. There were historic records of collections in the northern end of the park within Happy Jacks Plain from the mid-1900s and two small populations had been found recently (2015, 2016) in the Jagungal Wilderness Area in the central part of the Park (Map 1). The Perisher population includes several localities – Perisher Creek (falling within the Perisher Ski Resort area), Betts Creek and Spencers Creek. Prior to this survey, plants had not been collected at Spencers Creek for over 45 years. Happy Jacks Plain had three historic records (Table 1), but despite several recent searches, no plants had been found since the 1965 collection over 50 years ago. The Jagungal Wilderness area populations were first found in 2015 near Valentine Creek, and a year later, another was recorded near O’Keefe’s Hut (Table 1). A list of location details prior to this survey are listed in Appendix 1, Table 1. Photo 1 Rytidosperma vickeryae habitat on Betts Creek, March 2017 Photo: NSW OEH/G Wright 1 Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey 2. Purpose Rytidosperma vickeryae was listed as Endangered under the NSW Threatened Species Act 1995 in June 2009 (OEH 2011) and is currently a site-managed species in the Saving our Species (SOS) program. A priority action listed for this species was to identify additional populations. The current survey was conducted in February and March 2017 to provide additional information for this action and to undertake seed collection where possible to further secure the species in the longer-term. The objectives of the current survey were to: • re-locate and survey the extent of known sites • identify and survey potential habitat for new locations of the species • ascertain population size and habitat • identify current or potential threats • collect seed if available. This document reports on the surveys conducted across the species range in Happy Jacks Plain, the Jagungal Wilderness Area and Perisher/Betts creeks and provides comment on the current known species distribution. 2 Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey 3. Survey Details Field surveys were undertaken in Perisher (Perisher Creek, Betts Creek and Spencers Creek) from mid to late February 2017. These surveys were conducted in both areas with known records and in suitable habitat surrounding these known sites. Herbarium specimens were collected at any new sites located and seed collections were made at five sites (two at Perisher and three at Betts Creek) for storage in the Australian Plant Bank at Mount Annan. In March 2017 monitoring plots (20) were established in the Perisher Creek and Betts Creek areas. These will provide data on possible variation in the number of inflorescences (flowering stems) that are produced each year within the Rytidosperma vickeryae populations. In the Happy Jacks Plain and Jagungal areas, due to the remote nature of the sites, helicopter assisted surveys were conducted. These were carried out on the 1st, 2nd and 15th of March 2017. Locations for survey included 1. old herbarium records; 2. other known records with little survey data; and 3. areas identified through visual assessment of vegetation patterns from the latest aerial imagery (NSW Land and Property Information [NSW LPI]). In total, 22 sites were identified for survey. In Happy Jacks Plain, eight sites were identified and in the Jagungal Wilderness area, 14 sites were identified for survey. At all sites visited seed was collected if sufficient was available (Table 2). The seed collected at these sites was given to the National Seedbank located within the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Photo 2 Rytidosperma vickeryae habitat at the end of flowering season, March 2017 Photo: NSW OEH/G Wright 3 Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey Photo 3 Helicopter survey, Jagungal Wilderness Area, March 2017 Photo: NSW OEH/G Wright 4 Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey Map 1 Rytidosperma vickeryae extent in Kosciuszko National Park, March 2017 5 Perisher Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma vickeryae) 2017 survey 3.1 Happy Jack Plains Three herbarium records from the Happy Jacks Plain area existed prior to the current survey, both from over 50 years ago – two were collected in 1955 and one in 1965. Two of these general localities were targeted in this survey (Map 2, sites 6 and 7). Site 7 was not surveyed as the habitat looked unsuitable from the air and at site 6 no plants were found.