Department for Environment and Heritage Management Plan Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula 2006 www.environment.sa.gov.au This plan of management was adopted on 3 June 2006 and was prepared pursuant to section 38 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. Published by the Department for Environment and Heritage, Adelaide, Australia © Department for Environment and Heritage, 2006 ISBN: 1 921238 18 6 Front cover photograph of a White-bellied Sea-eagle landing courtesy of Nicholas Birks This document may be cited as “Department for Environment and Heritage (2006) Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan , Adelaide, South Australia” FOREWORD The 17 parks included in this management plan include most islands off western Eyre Peninsula between Head of Bight and the southern tip of the peninsula. Most were constituted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, although many had been managed for conservation purposes since at least the 1960s. Together the parks cover over 8 300 hectares. The Island Parks have a rich cultural heritage. Prior to colonial settlement, many of the islands were used as whaling and sealing stations, some of which are still visible today. Post-colonial settlers used some of the larger islands for agriculture and guano mining. More than 130 species of native animal are found within the parks, many of which are of conservation significance. The management plan emphasises the importance of these parks as habitat and breeding areas for many threatened species, including Australian Sea Lions, Greater Stick-nest Rats and White-bellied Sea Eagles. The plan seeks to see further protection afforded to sensitive breeding sites through the exclusion of visitors to vulnerable areas. Many people have contributed to the development of this plan of management. Their interest and helpful suggestions are gratefully acknowledged. I now formally adopt the plan of management for the Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula under the provisions of section 38 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. HON GAIL GAGO MLC MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan 2006 i TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD......................................................................................................................................................... i 1 PARK LOCATIONS AND FEATURES .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 History of Management ................................................................................................................. 14 2 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 ........................................................................................... 15 2.2 Native Title Act 1993 ....................................................................................................................... 16 3 VISION ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 4 ZONING .................................................................................................................................................... 17 5 MANAGING NATURAL HERITAGE.......................................................................................................... 18 5.1 Geology, Soils and Landform........................................................................................................ 18 5.2 Native Vegetation .......................................................................................................................... 18 5.3 Native Fauna ................................................................................................................................... 20 5.4 Introduced Plants............................................................................................................................ 28 5.5 Introduced Animals ........................................................................................................................ 28 6 MANAGING FIRE ..................................................................................................................................... 29 7 MANAGING CULTURAL HERITAGE ........................................................................................................ 30 7.1 Indigenous Heritage ....................................................................................................................... 30 7.2 Non-Indigenous Heritage .............................................................................................................. 31 8 MANAGING TOURISM AND RECREATION............................................................................................ 32 8.1 Visitor Access ................................................................................................................................... 32 8.2 Visitor Activities and Facilities ........................................................................................................ 33 8.3 Commercial Tourism ....................................................................................................................... 33 9 MANAGING RESOURCE USE.................................................................................................................. 37 9.1 Aquaculture and Commercial Fishing......................................................................................... 37 9.2 Exploration and Mining .................................................................................................................. 37 9.3 Leases and Licences ...................................................................................................................... 38 9.4 Public Utilities.................................................................................................................................... 38 9.5 Management Infrastructure .......................................................................................................... 38 10 INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY ............................................................................................................... 39 11 MANAGING RESERVE TENURE ............................................................................................................... 40 12 SUMMARY OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES .......................................................................................... 43 REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................. 47 APPENDIX A: PLANT SPECIES LIST................................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX B: MAMMAL SPECIES LIST ............................................................................................................. 64 APPENDIX C: BIRD SPECIES LIST ..................................................................................................................... 65 APPENDIX D: REPTILE SPECIES LIST ................................................................................................................. 72 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Western Eyre Peninsula Island Parks ...................................................................................... 8 Figure 2: Nuyts Archipelago and Isles of St Francis Conservation Parks .......................................... 9 Figure 3: Streaky Bay and Sceale Bay Island Parks ........................................................................... 11 Figure 4: Investigator Group Conservation Park................................................................................ 12 Figure 5: Avoid Bay and Whidbey Isles ............................................................................................... 13 Figure 6: St Francis Island Features....................................................................................................... 35 Figure 7: St Peter Island Features ......................................................................................................... 36 ii Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan 2006 1 PARK LOCATIONS AND FEATURES This management plan has been prepared for the island parks of western Eyre Peninsula, being Avoid Bay Islands, Baird Bay Islands, Cap Island, Eba Island, Greenly Island, Investigator Group, Isles of St Francis, Nicolas Baudin, Nuyts Archipelago, Nuyts Reef, Olive Island, Pigface Island, Rocky Island (North), Rocky Island (South), Sinclair Island, Waldegrave Islands and Whidbey Isles Conservation Parks. These parks include all islands in the reserve system between Head of Bight and the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula. Exceptions are the Venus Bay and Coffin Bay Islands (covered by separate plans), Evans Island in the Nuyts Archipelago (unallotted Crown Land), Flinders Island in the Investigator Group (freehold land) and a number of smaller, unsurveyed islands (see Section 11 Managing Reserve Tenure). Most of the parks were constituted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, although many of these have been managed for conservation purposes since at least the 1960s. These island parks lie off the coast of western Eyre Peninsula, from as close as a few hundred metres to 60 kilometres distant (Figure