NATURE CONSERVATIONRESERVES IN THE WESTERNAUSTRALIA v Deparknmt of Conservation and Land Management NATUnE Coxsr,RVATroN REsr,nvr,s IN THE KnTTnERLEY \ T,sTpRNAUSTRALIA by Andrew A. Burbidge N.L. McKenzie and Kevin F.Kenneally t99r Departmentof Conservationand Land Management,Western Australia fu*'"L Mi.'^f^- 0' PnEp,qcp I his publication is the submissionby the Department of Conservation and Land Managernent to the Kimberley Region Planning Study. The submissionwas compiled from information available early in 198?. Considerable biogeographicalresearch has been conducted in the Kimberlev since the earlv 1970s.This report is basedon tlrat research.However, future studieswill doubtles highl€hr additional nature conservation requirernents.Our recommendations,although basedon a comparatively good data base, should not be consideredthe final word on a reservesystem that representsall of the region'sbiota and landscapes. Some additional information has alreadybemme available.Two areasdeserve special mention: 1. Munja l,agoon (16022'S, 124056'E) is one ofthe few largepermanent fresh water swamps in the North Kimberley. It providessuitable habitat for north-west Kimberley populationsof the Comb-crestedJacana ard numerousother wetland birds through the dry season, Z. A proposednature reservenear Derby, at 17020'S, IZ30 Z4'E, comprisinga small, sub-coastalarea of black+oil plain and relict Pleistocenesand dunes, was overlooked in the submission. Decisionsabout previousconservation recommendations have been taken by the Govemment since CALM'S submissionwas written, e.g.conceming rWalcott Inlet. However, this report has not been amended. In this document we have not addressedthe conservationof MANGROVE and RANFOREST communrrres. These two vegetation tl?es are of significant importance to nature conservation. Both are dominated by speciesthat do not occur in any other habitat type in the State and their dense vegetations create microclimates on which a great number ofother speciesare totafly dependent, Both communities occur in relatively small patchesscattered over great areas;this featuremakes it particularly difficult to protect them via reservation. Considering the great importance of these communities and their susceptibility to disturbances,nothing should be done to destroyany patch ofeither community without proper environmental impact assessment. The EPA commented on mangrovesas follows: "Mangrove communities are a feature of the nonhern Westem Australian coast, both as extensive low closed-foreston tidal flats and as narrow fringes on rocky shores. Becauseof their great biological and physical imponance which has only recently been widely recognised,the Authority considersthat margrove communities should be retained and protectedwherever practicable. Mangroveshelp stabilisethe coastline by colonising newly createdprograding shorelines. Becauseof their extensive and specialisedroor sysrem, mangroves slow water movement sufficiently to cause some sediment to fall out of suspension. This attribute has allowed the mangtove communities to become a very rich food source to marine fauna. Commercial exploitation of fish and crustaceadependent on this source takes place throughout much of northem Australia." "The Authority therefore RECOMMENDS that any proposed developments which would affect a significant area of mangroveson the Westem Austratian coast be referred to the Authority for assessmentas to its biological or physical imponance in that location before action is taken which could lead to their destruction." Recornmendations: We recommendthat the Environmental Protection Authority ensurethat all proposals that affect either mangroveor rainforestcommunities are referredfor environmental impact assessment.rffe recommendthat Munja Lagoon and the proposednature reservenear Derby be declaredClass A reservesfor the conservationof flora and fauna and vestedin the National Parksand Nature Conservation Authoritv. A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS "Conservation I his report is basedon Reservesin Westem Australia, Repon ofthe Conservation Through ReservesCommittee on System 7 to the Environmental Protection Authority 1977" and we acknowledge our debt to the authorsof that docurnent. At the time the System7 report was producedthe Conservation Through ReservesCommittee comprised: 'Western Mr J.F, Morgan (Chairman), SruueycrGeneraL for Australia Dr B.E, Balme, Reado in Geologl , Uniuersitl of Westem Australia Professor R.T. Appleyard, Professorof EconomicHisnry , Uniuersitl of Watem Ausnalia The report waswritten mainly by the Technical Sub-committeewhich comprised: R.T. Appleyard, M.A., Ph.D. F.A.S.S.A., Profesorof EconomicHistory, Uniuersiryo/ Westem Australia (Convenor) A.A, Burbidge, B.Sc.(Hons), Ph.D., SeniorRes earchOfficu, Wildlife ResearchBranch, Departtnentof FishtnesanA \x/ildJtfe A.S. George, B,A., WesternAus tralnn HerWum, Depmtmentof Agncultu;re ,'J.H. Lord, B.Sc., F.G.S., M,Aus.l.M.M,, Directtn,Geolngical Suruel Branch, Mines Deportment B.J. White, B.Sc. (For), ForessDepurment Mr L. Goodridge, Secretary * Mr Lord was representedat most meetings of the Subcommittee by Mr E. Biggs, a Ceologist of the Geological Survey Branch, Mines Department. The sectionsof the CTRC Report on dre South-westKimberley were contributed by N.L. McKenzLe. \7e also thank our colleagueswho have contributed information to this publication: P-F.Beny, A. Chapman, C.C. Done, P.J.Fuller, S.A. Halse,P. Kimber,J.A.K. Lane,and R.E.Johnstone. The assistanceof Ms Jill Pryde with word processingis gratefully acknowledged. The maps were prepared by CALMT Mapping Branch and we are particularly grateful to John Forster, Steve Rowlands, Mark Laming, Annette Turpin and Annette Jones. We also thank Wendy Searleand Allan Burbidgefor their accurateproofreading. The assistanceof Carolyn Thomson, Louise Burch, Stacey Strickland, Sandra Mitchell and Margaret Wilke of CALM's Public Affairs Branch is gratefully acknowledged. CoxrENrs rcxt page map no, map page INTRODUCTION lx INDEXMAPS r-4 x-xtlt 1 OCEANIC ISLANDS 1.1 Adele Island 1 2.3 Xl-XU l.Z BrowseIsland z z x1 1.3 RowleyShoals z z xl 2 SOUTH.WESTKIMBERLEY ) 11 BroomeTownsite Vine Thickets 7 5 6 1') DampierPeniruula 7 o 8 EdgarRange I) 7 lb 1,1 L.'f LacepedeIslands Nature Reserve 19 L-) xi-xii L-) Oscarand Napier Ranges,/- t9 8 z0 7.6 RoebuckBav L) 9 )4 3 EASTKMBERLEY Z'I 3.1 BungleBungle National Park 29 10 z8 3.7 Mirima National Park 33 11 32 3.3 LakeArgyle & Carr BoydRange 35 tz 36 3.4 Ord River NatureReserve & FalseMoutls of the Ord 37 IJ 38 3.5 PacksaddleSwamps 4l L1 40 3.6 ParrysLagoons Nature Reserve y' 4l lf 42 3.7 PelicanIsland Nature Reserve 43 z xi 3.8 Point SpringNature Reserve 45 16 41 4 NORTI{ KTMBERLEY 47 4.1 Admiralty Gulf Islands 48 4 xlll 4.2 BonaparteArchipelago 51 3-4 Xll-Xlll 4.3 BuccaneerArchipelago 55 3 xii 4.4 CapeLondonderry 59 t7 4.5 DrvsdaleRiver National Park 61 18 A1 vrl text page map no map page 4.6 HunterRiver 65 z0 76 4.7 KingfisherIslands 67 3 xii 4.8 King Leopold.Ranges 68 8 z0 4.9 Mitchell Plateau 69 19,20 ?0,76 4.10 MontgomeryIslands and Reef 75 3 xii 4.11 PrinceRegent.Nature Reserve 75 z0 10 4.12 RustRange 81 zl 80 4.13 Sir GrahamMoore Islands 82 4 xiii 4.14 \Ualcott Inlet 83 zz 84 GREAT SANDY DESERT 89 5.1 Mandora 9I 74 90 5.2 Mclarty Hills 94 14 90 5.3 SoutheskTablelands 96 23 88 TANAMIDESERT 6.1 GardinerRange 99 23 88 6.2 GregoryLake 100 L) 88 6.3 Wolfe Creek 101 23 88 ADDITIONALAREAS THAT 103 REQUIRE INVESTIGATION 7.l Burt Range- Mt Zimmerman 103 z5 103 7.Z CapeBougainville Peninsula 103 L) 103 7.3 CheddaCliffs, Napier Range 103 L) 103 7.4 CockbumRange 1U) L) 103 7.5 Islandsin Talbot Bay 105 3 xi 7.6 JosephBonaparte Gulf CoastalLand 105 L) 103 7.7 King Leopoldand Durack Ranges lu) L) 103 7.8 LawfordRange 107 L) 103 7.9 NingbingRange 107 L) 103 7.10 North KimberleyCoast, east of CapeLondonderry 107 25 103 7.11 Pentecostand Durack River Gorges 107 L) 103 7.12 PhillipsRange 109 L) 103 7.13 St GeorgeRanges 109 7.14 \?estCambridge Gulf 109 7.15 YampiPeninsula 109 APPENDIX Comoarisonbetween EPA and CALM recommendatioru 111 REFERENCES I l.) vIl INrnoDUCTroN Y Ln 7972, shorrly after it was establishedby Act of Parliament, the Environmental Prorecrion Authority (EPA) establishedthe Conservation Through ReservesC,ommittee (CTRC) to recommend a system of nature consewation reservesfor Western Australia. "systems" CTRC divided the State into 12 (Map 1) and its first report in 19?4 made recommendationsfor reservesin 10 of tiese. System7, the Kimberley, wasthe subjectof a separatereport, releasedin 1977. The EPA, after considering public submissionson the recommendationsfor reservesin System 7, made recommendationsto State Cabinet, which were published in 1980. Although Cabinet endorsedall tle EPA recommendationsin principle, it decidedthat implementation of each recommendationwas to be on the basisof separateCabinet decisions. Very few of the recommendationshave been further consideredby Cabinet, mainly becauseof delayswhile various enquirieswere completed, and the failure of all relevant Govemment departmentsto agree. In 1986 the Govemment set up a Kimberley Land Use Study, later called the Kimberley Region Plarning Snrdy (IG.PS) to be carried out by the State Planning Commission and the Department of Regional Development and the North-West, "to The aim of the study is prepare a long range planning strategy for the Kimberley Region having particular regard to economic, social and environmental issuesand to devise such mecharisms as are necessaryto effect the implementation of that strategy." "to The primary