This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii (Ravine Orchid) This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this species. Description Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii, Family Orchidaceae, also known as Ravine Orchid, is an epilithic (living on rocks) or rarely epiphytic (on other plants) orchid, with the semi-pendulous stems, 8–100 cm long, often forming mats. Linear to narrow oblong to triangular leaves are 6–20 cm long, 10–15 mm wide, slightly channelled, acute or blunt apex, sometimes slightly scythe- shaped. The inflorescences have 4–15 flowers and are 10–20 cm long, erect to spreading to arching, with the rachis much shorter than the peduncle. The pedicel plus the ovary are about 15 mm but can be up to 20 mm long. The flowers are about the same size across as vertically. Flowers are elliptic to spathulate, with white to pink sepals. The lateral petals have pink to crimson spots at the base or all over. The lip of the flower is hairless, 5–6 mm long, about half the length of the dorsal sepal. Flowering occurs in October and November (Stanley & Ross, 1989; Weston, 1993). Conservation Status Ravine Orchid is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). Ravine Orchid is also listed as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW) and endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Queensland). Distribution and Habitat Ravine Orchid grows in shady areas, usually near streams, from 500 to 700 m altitude, mainly on rocks and sometimes on trees, in cool, moist ravines (DECC, 2005a). It is found in the coastal subtropical rainforests and open forests of northern NSW north of the Macleay River to Maleny in south-east Queensland, including Lamington and Springbrook National Parks (Stanley & Ross, 1989; Weston, 1993). It is also conserved in Main Range National Park (NP), Dorrigo NP, Limpinwood NP, Mount Warning NP, and Werrikimbe NP (Briggs & Leigh, 1995). This species occurs within the Northern Rivers (NSW) and South East Queensland Natural Resource Management Regions. This species is not known to occur in any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological community. Threats The main identified threats to Ravine Orchid are illegal removal of plants by collectors; risk of extinction due to low plant numbers and limited habitat; inappropriate fire regimes; and invasion by weeds (DECC, 2005a, b). Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants. Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 • Develop Environmental Impact Assessment guidelines (DECC, 2005b). • Investigate feasibility of establishing a DNA tagging system to enable identification and prosecution of illegal collections from the wild (see Palsboll et al., 2006). Regional and Local Priority Actions The following regional and local priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Ravine Orchid. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Ensure chemicals or other mechanisms used to eradicate weeds do not have a significant adverse impact on Ravine Orchid. • Ensure road widening and maintenance activities (or other infrastructure or development activities as appropriate) in areas where Ravine Orchid occurs do not adversely impact on known populations. • Control access routes to suitably constrain public access to known sites on public land, by re-routing walking tracks away from known populations of Ravine Orchid (DECC, 2005b). • Suitably control and manage access on private land. • Protect populations of the listed species through the development of conservation agreements and/or covenants. Invasive Weeds • Identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to Ravine Orchid, using appropriate methods (DECC, 2005b). Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for Ravine Orchid. • Provide maps of known occurrences to local and state Rural Fire Services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plans, risk register and/or operation maps. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of Ravine Orchid within the local community by developing a targeted education and awareness program highlighting threats to native orchids from illegal collecting and include advice to only purchase plants from licensed nurseries (DECC, 2005a,b). This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to Ravine Orchid, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice. Existing Plans/Management Prescriptions that are Relevant to the Species • NSW Priority Action Statement for Ravine Orchid (DECC, 2005b), • Dorrigo National Park plan of management (NSW NPWS, 1999), • Parks & Reserves of the Tweed Caldera Plan of Management (including Limpinwood and Mount Warning NP) (NSW NPWS, 2004), and • Werrikimbe National Park Plan of Management (NSW NPWS, 2005). These prescriptions were current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions. Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Information Sources: Briggs, JD & Leigh, JH 1995, Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (rev. edn). Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing. Department of Environment & Climate Change New South Wales (DECC) 2005a, Ravine Orchid – Profile, viewed 19 May 2008, <http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10744>. Department of Environment & Climate Change New South Wales (DECC) 2005b, Ravine Orchid – Priority actions (New South Wales Threatened Species Priority Action Statement), viewed 19 May 2008, <http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/pas_profile.aspx?id=10744>. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) 1999, Dorrigo National Park Plan of Management, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, viewed 4 June 2008, <http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pom_final_dorrigo.pdf>. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) 2004, Parks & Reserves of the Tweed Caldera Plan of Management, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, viewed 4 June 2008, <http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/PoMMountWarningNPEtal.pdf>. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) 2005, Werrikimbe National Park Plan of Management, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, viewed 4 June 2008, <http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pomwerrikimbenp.pdf>. Palsboll, PJ, Berube, M, Skaug, HJ & Raymakers, C 2006, DNA registers of legally obtained wildlife and derived products as means to identify illegal takes, Conservation Biology, 20, 1284-1293. Stanley, TD & Ross, EM 1989, Flora of south-eastern Queensland, vol. 3, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane. Weston, PH 1993, ‘Sarcochilus’ in Flora of New South Wales, vol. 4, (ed.) GJ Harden, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii Conservation Advice - Page 3 of 3 .