WELLINGTON NATIONAL PARK, WESTRALIA CONSERVATION PARK AND WELLINGTON DISCOVERY FOREST Management Plan 2008 Department of Environment and Conservation Conservation Commission of Western Australia VISION Over the life of the plan, a balance will exist between the conservation of the planning areas’ natural values and the public demand for recreation and water supply. The area will make an important contribution to reservation of the Jarrah Forest, where natural values, such as granite outcrops, mature growth forest, ecosystems of the Collie River, and our knowledge of them, will be maintained and enhanced for future generations. Visitors to the area will enjoy a range of sustainable recreation opportunities in a variety of forest settings, and provide a benefit to the regional economy. The community will regard the area as a natural asset and will have a greater understanding of its values, and support for their management, through the Wellington Discovery Forest and other education and interpretive facilities. The ancient landscape of the Collie River valley will be recognised as a forest environment of great visual aesthetic appeal, and for its rich Aboriginal heritage, which will be kept alive through the active and ongoing involvement of local Aboriginal people. ii PREFACE The Department of Environment and Conservation (the Department) manages reserves vested in the Conservation Commission of Western Australia (Conservation Commission) and prepares management plans on their behalf. The Conservation Commission issues draft management plans for public comment and provides proposed (final) management plans for approval by the Minister for the Environment. The Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (the ‘CALM Act’) specifies that management plans must contain: a) a statement of policies and guidelines proposed to be followed; and b) a summary of operations proposed to be undertaken. In accordance with section 55 of the CALM Act, the term of the final management plan will be 10 years, or until the plan is superseded by a new management plan. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This management plan was prepared by the planning team for Wellington National Park, Westralia Conservation Park, proposed Westralia Forest Conservation Area and the Wellington Discovery Forest: Denam Bennetts (Planner and management plan co-ordinator), Drew Griffiths and Peter Henderson. Comment and advice during the preparation of the plan was provided by: Departmental staff—in particular Roger Armstrong, Robert Chandler, Peter Hanly, Paul McCluskey, Dave Hampton, Daryl Moncrieff, Kim Williams and Wellington District Staff; specialist branches within the Department; the Department’s Corporate Executive; the Department of Water (DoW) and Water Corporation (WC), and members of the Conservation Commission. Many people, individuals and agency representatives made valuable contributions to the development of this document. The assistance of the Wellington National Park Community Advisory Committee is especially acknowledged: Rosanne Pimm (Chairperson), Gemma Basely, Mark Chester, John Gardiner, Margaret Graham, Tony Jenour, Peter Murphy, Joeseph Northover, Ian Pigott, Ken Waterhouse, Bruce Roberts, Wayne Tingey, Ian Menzies and Rodney Smith. Allan Cross (South West Development Commission) also provided input. Maps were prepared by Melissa Robinson and Aaron Rivers. Images have been provided by DEC staff including Leon Price (Honeymoon Pool image). iv NOMENCLATURE Inclusion of a name in this publication does not imply its approval by the relevant nomenclature authority. The ‘Minister’ refers to the Minister for the Environment administering the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (CALM Act). The ‘Department’ or ‘DEC’ refers to the Department of Environment and Conservation. The term ‘Director General’ refers to the Director General of the Department of Environment and Conservation. Under the CALM Act, the term Chief Executive Officer can include the term Director General. The ‘Conservation Commission’ refers to the Conservation Commission of Western Australia. The ‘planning area’ refers to the Wellington National Park, Westralia Conservation Park, proposed Westralia Forest Conservation Area and the Wellington Discovery Forest. The Wellington Reservoir is referred to as the ‘Reservoir’. When ‘region’ is used in this plan, it refers to the ‘South West’ planning region used by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC). The ‘region’ follows the boundaries of the Shires of Augusta-Margaret River, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Busselton, Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, Harvey, Manjimup and Nannup. The Department’s regional boundaries for this area are referred to as the ‘South West Region’. The ‘south-west’ refers to the south west corner of Western Australia between Geraldton and Esperance. v CONTENTS VISION ....................................................................................................................................II PREFACE ...............................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................IV NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................................V CONTENTS............................................................................................................................VI PART A. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1. Brief Overview..................................................................................................................................1 2. Regional Context...............................................................................................................................2 3. Management Plan Area.....................................................................................................................3 4. Key Values........................................................................................................................................4 5. Public Participation ...........................................................................................................................5 PART B. MANAGEMENT DIRECTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION....................................... 6 6. Vision................................................................................................................................................6 7. Legislative Framework......................................................................................................................6 8. Management Arrangements with Aboriginal people ......................................................................11 9. Land Tenure and Classification.......................................................................................................11 10. Existing and Proposed Reserves .....................................................................................................13 11. Management Planning Process........................................................................................................17 12. Performance Assessment and Monitoring.......................................................................................17 13. Administration ................................................................................................................................18 14. Term of the Management Plan........................................................................................................18 PART C. MANAGING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT..................................................... 19 15. Biogeography..................................................................................................................................19 16. Climate Change...............................................................................................................................21 17. Geology, Landform and Soils .........................................................................................................24 18. Hydrology and Catchment Protection .............................................................................................28 19. Native Plants and Vegetation Communities....................................................................................32 20. Native Animals and Habitats...........................................................................................................37 21. Threatened Ecological Communities ..............................................................................................42 22. Environmental Weeds .....................................................................................................................43 23. Introduced and Other Problem Animals..........................................................................................46 24. Disease ............................................................................................................................................51 25. Fire ..................................................................................................................................................56 PART D. MANAGING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE........................................................... 72 26. Indigenous Heritage ........................................................................................................................72