NSW BIODIVERSITY REFORMS CRITICISED BY SOME FARMERS

 The NSW Government’s proposed biodiversity reforms have been criticised by conservationists and scientists who fear that the weakening of native vegetation laws will lead to an increase in  widespread land clearing and an acceleration of  native flora and fauna extinctions. 

 

These reforms replace other legislation including the Native Vegetation Act 2003 and the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.

They have also been criticised by some farmers for similar reasons.

Towards the end of June Inverell beef farmer Glenn Morris rode his horse across the Harbour Bridge to draw attention to the problems he saw with the new legislation.

He said that soil and vegetation  were not the most popular things to talk about “but if we don’t start getting a culture of respect and love for nature, we’re in big trouble.” 

Echonet recently reported on a statement from a group of farmers calling on the state government to make significant changes to the proposed legislation - the Local Land Services Amendment Bill and the Biodiversity Conservation Bill.

These concerned farmers, including two former Young Farmers of the Year and a former regional director of the NSW Agriculture Department and CEO of Landcare, are urging the government to set bold goals for improving native vegetation and farm sustainability. They  want the new laws to ensure that soil health, salinity and water quality are protected and that there is a significant increase in funds for stewardship and private land conservation.

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Northern Rivers Macadamia farmer Pam Brook is concerned that the proposed legislation will lead to more land clearing rather than regenerating and restoring farmland.  She points to her experience where the reintroduction of rainforest on her property paid big dividends.

“In the early days we used spray for everything,” she said. “One of the things we’ve discovered with the rainforest is that it’s a great source of predator bugs and insects that provide a rich balance for our macadamia orchards.”

Another statement signatory, Alstonville avocado farmer Michael Hogan pointed out, “Any stock and station agent will tell you that a well-treed property will attract a higher price than a cleared farm.”

            - Leonie Blain

 

 This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on August 15, 2016.

CANE TOADS IN THE CLARENCE VALLEY

Cane toads  were introduced to the north Queensland sugar cane area in the 1930s in the mistaken belief that they would eradicate the cane beetle.  Since then they have been steadily spreading south and west. To the west they have moved across the Queensland savanna into top end of  the Northern Territory ( including into Kakadu National Park) and  further west  into the Kimberley region in the north of Western Australia. To the south they have moved as far as the northern coastal section of the Clarence Valley in the NSW Northern Rivers. There are large populations in and around Yamba and Brooms Head.

Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are poisonous through their life cycle. As these introduced pests advanced they brought devastation to native wildlife which sought to prey on them in the areas they have colonised.  Goannas, snakes, freshwater crocodiles, quolls and dingoes are some of the native species which have died as a result of the toad's poison.

Efforts to eradicate the cane toad have been under way in the Clarence Valley for a number of years.

A community group, Clarence Valley Conservation in Action (CVCIA) Landcare, has been collecting and disposing of cane toads in the Clarence.  The work of these volunteers has been assisted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, North Coast Local Land Services and local ecologist Russell Jago.

From July 2015 to May 2016 25,000 cane toads have been removed from the Clarence Valley.  71% of these came from Yamba, 17% from Brooms Head, 7 % from Chatsworth Island and 5% from other areas.  In addition 120,000 cane toad tadpoles have been trapped in the same period.  Trapping of tadpoles is a recent development and one it is hoped will cut toad numbers breeding in farm dams.

For further information on the cane toad in Australia refer to the  Australian Museum

Photo: Clarence Valley Conservation in Action Landcare

CLARENCE KOALA PETA - A SUCCESS STORY AND A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE

In February a small koala with a broken leg was picked up by a motorist on the Black Mountain Road near the Nymboi-Binderay National Park. At just 2.8kg, barely ready to leave her mother, the little koala was in a sorry state and would have died fairly quickly had she not been immediately taken to Ray Barnett's Clarence Valley Vet Clinic in Grafton.

WIRES was called, and little Peta, named after her rescuer, was X-rayed by Ray Barnett under a general anaesthetic and given a thorough checkup in contact with the Queensland Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. That same afternoon, still comfortably sleeping, she was transferred to Friends of Koala in Lismore, and by next morning was in surgery with the world's leading koala vets at the Australian Wildlife Hospital (AWH).

Peta in care at the Australian Wildlife Hospital

There Peta stayed for the next six months, lending herself well to captive care, gaining in weight, strength and agility as she underwent therapy and gathering the hearts of all who met her. This included the journalists of Australian Geographic, whose website now includes a video of Peta patiently undergoing her daily workouts.

Finally, her limp gone and able to climb again with confidence, Peta was given the all clear by AWH director, Rosie Booth to return home.

A release site was chosen not far from where she was found, and last weekend Peta was returned to her hinterland mountain home. Last seen she was munching contentedly in one of her favourite food trees to the notes of the bell-birds she had grown up with.

 

Peta in a forest she-oak after her return to the wild

Aside from a lovely success story, Peta has also furthered our knowledge of koalas' food preferences. While in care, apart from occasional forest red gum leaves, she would eat nothing but Allosuarina torulosa, commonly known as forest she-oak.

Although on some lists as a supplementary or secondary food source, the value of this non-eucalypt species has largely been ignored. Until now, one small koala has highlighted the point that it might well be an invaluable link between the primarily preferred forest red gums of the coast, and the river red gums of the inland across the koalas' range.

- Patricia Edwards

 This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on August 22, 2016.