LOWLAND RAINFOREST RESTORATION

Lowland rainforest is listed as endangered and protected under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act and also the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Now, an epic five-year project to restore six dry rainforest remnants in the Chambigne area has just been successfully completed by the Clarence Environment Centre’s bush regeneration team, thanks to a $345,000 grant from the NSW Environmental Trust.

 Five of the project’s remnants are located on Clarence Valley Council’s “Rockview” property, part of the regional water supply’s land acquisition for the Shannon Creek dam, with the sixth remnant located in the adjoining Chambigne Nature Reserve.

All six had been under serious threat from invasive weeds, predominantly Lantana, which needed to be painstakingly removed to reduce disturbance. However, with work still to begin, the entire area was reduced to ashes in the 2019 bushfires.

While most of the remnants suffered significant damage, the fire, combined with the severe drought conditions at the time, actually killed much of the Lantana on the periphery and surrounding areas.

This led to a rethink, and the launch of an ambitious plan to expand one small quarter hectare remnant, across steep slopes and gullies, to measure more than 20 hectares.

Most of that area had once been rainforest but was cleared for grazing early last century. However, over the last 50 years or more it had been largely neglected, allowing it to become invaded by a variety of weeds with Lantana forming an almost impenetrable barrier.

The bushfire changed all that, consuming not only the Lantana, but most of the regenerating rainforest. However, it opened up the area for the weed team which has been able to keep on top of the weeds and allow nature to take over.

The natural regeneration that occurred was amazing, starting with a dense cover of Acacia, now standing over 5 metres and providing shade for a wide range of emerging rainforest trees and shrubs. 

The biggest challenge now is to keep fire out for a prolonged period and obtain ongoing funding to ensure the good work isn’t wasted.

 

-        John Edwards

 

 Published in the "Voices for the Earth" column in The Clarence Valley Independent , August 14, 2024.

GREATER GLIDERS THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

 Greater Gliders, a nocturnal species and the world’s largest gliding marsupial, weigh up to 1.3 kg and are capable of gliding up to 100m through a forest. Once abundant in eucalypt forests throughout Queensland, NSW and Victoria, the species was federally listed as endangered in July 2022.  

Professor David Lindenmayer, a world-leading expert in forest ecology and biodiversity conservation, said recently, “Forty years ago when my colleagues and I did spotlighting surveys, the southern greater glider was the most common animal we’d see. Now, this amazing species is endangered. In many areas it is hard to find; in others it has been lost altogether.”

Glider populations declined by 80% in the last twenty years as a result of habitat destruction – including forest destruction, bushfires and climate change.  Gliders are amongst the range of species relying on tree hollows which can take over 100 years to develop.  So old growth forest provides the required habitat of large tree hollows where they shelter and breed.

Recently the role of NSW Forest Corporation (Forest Corp) logging in destroying endangered species habitat for Greater Gliders and Koalas has been highlighted with community members reporting numerous breaches of regulations which are supposed to offer some protection for these species.   Breaches in Styx River SF and Sheas Nob SF are amongst the latest reported.

Although the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has imposed fines on Forest Corp for breaches, environmentalists are concerned that the prosecutions and fines are not enough to bring Forest Corp into line and that effective action is needed from the Environment Minister and Premier to stop the habitat destruction.

One of the community groups campaigning to stop forest destruction is the Blicks River Guardians which last Friday at Billys Creek celebrated 150 days of saving the Greater Gliders in Clouds Creek SF.  The Guardians have identified over 40 gliders to date in bushfire impacted older forests along Billys Creek and the Blicks River in areas scheduled for industrial logging by Forest Corp.

Campaigners like the Guardians are urging people to call for effective Government action to stop the destruction.

-        Leonie Blain

Published in the "Voices for the Earth" column in The Clarence Valley Independent , August 7, 2024.