CLARENCE ENVIRONMENT CENTRE Inc 29-31 Skinner Street South Grafton 2460 Phone/ Fax: 02 6643 1863 Web site: www.cec.org.au E-mail: [email protected] Submission to Department of Primary Industry [email protected] on The NSW Travelling Stock Reserves Review Compiled by John Edwards For the Clarence Environment Centre Date: 20th June, 2017 Submission to “The NSW Travelling Stock Reserves Review” Introduction The Clarence Environment Centre (CEC) has maintained a shop-front in Grafton for over 28 years, and has a proud history of environmental advocacy. The conservation of Australia's natural environment, both terrestrial and and marine, has always been a priority for our members, and we believe the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity is of paramount importance. To a large extent, modern transport and road infrastructure have rendered travelling stock routes and reserves (TSR) redundant, in that they no longer provide for the movement of livestock across the country as was their historical function. Today we see those corridors as providing a vital connection between now fragmented remnants of native vegetation largely contained within other public lands, mainly national parks or the state forests. The Clarence Environment Centre (CEC) has recently been involved with Local Land Services in the assessment of environmental values contained within TSRs in the Clarence Valley (see attachments 1 – 3). Summary As a direct result of our surveys and research for Local Land Services, we have identified that most, if not all TSRs contain high levels of flora diversity including threatened species, populations and communities, which in turn provide habitat for a wide range of fauna, many of which are currently facing extinction if current trends persist. Collectively, the network of corridors provided by TSRs is providing crucial corridors for the movement of wildlife, both in the short term for use by migratory birds, and long-term migration of species in a warming world as a result of climate change. TSRs provide social, cultural, benefits to all peoples of NSW and Australia, and opportunities for education and potential economic benefits from carbon trading and Biobank type offsetting. Therefore, we urge the NSW Government to retain TSRs in public hands, fully assess their ecological assets, then manage those assets to enhance and expand those assets into the future. The ecological significance of TSRs 1. The CEC's work in assessing the ecological values of TSRs in the Clarence Valley has identified extremely high levels of biodiversity, including threatened species, populations and communities, that have survived in these reserves (see attachments 1 – 3). This is largely because these reserves have, for the most part, been spared the widespread land- clearing that has occurred in NSW over the past 200 years, and the heavy disturbance that has been, and still is being, inflicted by logging and grazing in both state and privately owned forests. As a result, many of these corridors contain abundant old growth, hollow-bearing trees that are fast disappearing from the landscape, but are critical for the survival of the close to 50% of our threatened fauna which are tree-hollow dependent. 2. As already mentioned, the TSR network in NSW, potentially provides a globally unique, country-wide corridor of publicly owned land, which not only contains high conservation value native vegetation, but provides much-needed safe movement corridors for wildlife With the advent of climate change these corridors will be crucial for the migration of both flora and fauna over the long term as conditions in a warming world change, making traditional habitats no longer habitable. 3. TSRs provide cultural, Indigenous heritage and social benefits to the peoples of NSW and Australia. The are already provide widespread opportunities for leisure activities, including bush-walking, picnicking, and bird watching. 4. These reserves also provide opportunities for education of conservation land management, and a range of environmental sciences. 5. The carbon storage capabilities of the TSR network is huge, and the inevitable introduction of carbon trading, should be a source of income to help offset management costs. Recommendations 1. All TSRs should be fully assessed for their ecological, social, and heritage values, and appropriate management plans drawn up to ensure the protection, and expansion of those values. 2. All TSRs be managed for their ecological, social, and heritage values in the same way as national parks, with the exclusion of mining, timber getting, or similar destructive exploitation. 3. Where TSRs adjoin existing conservation lands, that they be incorporated into those lands where feasible. 4. Government should promote TSRs for passive recreation and even tourism, and develop them accordingly (picnic and camping areas, toilets etc). Nominal charges could apply to help offset costs. 5. We believe that TSRs should be considered for use in biodiversity 'offsetting' schemes such as Biobanking as a form of revenue raising. However, we need to stress that we do not support “like for like” offsetting, as this always results in a net loss of biodiversity. Essentially, we suggest that offsetting should require the recreation of the lost biodiversity by re-vegetating cleared or otherwise degraded land. This would provide an opportunity to in-fill any cleared gaps within the TSR network, to greatly improve habitat connectivity. 6. That State Government lobby the Federal Government to initiate a carbon trading scheme that will allow TSRs to be used for that purpose to generate revenue to offset management costs. We thank the Minister for this opportunity to comment, and sincerely hope that our suggestions receive serious consideration. Yours sincerely John Edwards Honorary Secretary. Attachment 1. Bostocks Waterholes TSR flora, fauna and weed report Attachment 2. Fortis Creek TSR flora & fauna report Attachment 3. Sandy Crossing TSR flora, fauna and weed report. CLARENCE ENVIRONMENT CENTRE Inc 29-31 Skinner Street South Grafton 2460 Phone/ Fax: 02 6643 1863 Web site: www.cec.org.au E-mail: [email protected] Grevillea robusta Stellaria angustifolia Kennedia rubicunda Callistemon salignus Report on conservation assets Bostock's Waterholes travelling stock reserve. 15th May 2017 Introduction. The Fosters Hut Road Travelling Stock Route (TSR) is managed by the NSW Local Land Services, (NSWLLS) an agency that was represented by the then Livestock Health and Pest Authority at an introductory meeting organised by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW towards the end of 2013. That induction explained the purpose of the Upper Coldstream Biodiversity Project UCBP), and extended an invitation for all agencies, natural resource and land managers to be involved. At the time the proposal received enthusiastic support from all quarters, and in recent times the NSWLLS has contracted the UCBP weed team to undertake weed eradication and biodiversity assessments at a number of TSRs in the district. Part of that contract was to provide this report on the conservation assets of the Bostock's Waterholes TSR. Assessment of conservation assets Methodology This report has been partly compiled from data collected during 6 hours of survey on 15th September 2014, a further 2 hours on the 21st October, and a final 6 hours on 22nd October, as part of the Federally funded Upper Coldstream Biodiversity Project. Since receiving the current contract, a further 14 hours of flora surveys have been undertaken during April and May Flora meander surveys of the Fosters Hut 2017, to fully assess the biodiversity values of Rd. TSR.22.10.14 the reserve. The earlier surveys were carried out entirely by random meander, and the information gathered to assist in compiling a comprehensive data base of vegetation types and species contained within the Project boundaries. The later surveys, focused on the vegetation communities and determining their extent. 50M x 50m plot sites were selected , and all species recorded in order to Property description The 39ha reserve extends generally south west from the end of Fosters Hut Road (off Bostock Road), is all forested, and consists mostly of low-lying flood plain, dissected by Bostock Gully, a tributary of Chaffin Creek. Bostock Gully feeds into the extensive wetlands at the centre of the TSR, including one of the Bostock Waterholes, before flowing into Chaffin Swamp, part of the major floodplain wetlands of the Coldstream River near Tucabia, which are recognised as nationally significant and listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia. Weather conditions Because of the time span covering the UCBP it has enabled flora assessment to be undertaken in all seasons and weather conditions, from severe drought to floods. Dry periods facilitated access to the wetland areas of the site and helped us to compile a comprehensive list of species for the reserve. Survey results Almost half the reserve consists of Endangered Subtropical Coastal Floodplain Forest Community, with approximately 2 hectares containing vegetation consistent with the Endangered Freshwater Wetland on Coastal Floodplains Community (see map below). The southern quarter of the reserve, with the exception of some 2ha across the centre which has suffered significant disturbance in the past (see area marked H in the map below) supports high quality dry sclerophyll forest, containing a good mix of hardwood tree species, with large numbers of old-growth trees, suggesting