Archive for October, 2015

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Members of the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council’s Ramsar Initiative TAG (Technical Advisory Group)

27 October 2015…The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council’s role in facilitating a collaborative approach to the protection of our Ramsar Wetlands has been recognised, with the PHCC announced as a finalist in the prestigious national Banksia Foundation Awards.

With the support of 27 Stakeholder groups, the PHCC lead the preparation of the Ramsar Management Plan for our 26,530 hectare Ramsar Site 482. The Plan, and the subsequent investment in on-ground and community engagement projects it has enabled, has collectively raised the awareness of the need to protect these internationally recognised wetlands.

Other finalists in the Natural Capital Category are Birdlife Australia (Gluepot Reserve, South Australia); Dairy Australia (on behalf of the Australian Dairy Industry Council, Victoria); Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services; and Tweed Shire Council in NSW for their Koala Connection project.

PHCC Deputy Chair Jan Star AM said the region’s peak natural resource management body was one of only four West Australian finalists to contest the Banksia Awards, which will be announced in Sydney on 13 November.

“We are delighted to be a finalist. The Banksia Natural Capital Award recognises demonstrated leadership and innovation in the sustainable management of renewable and non-renewable resources. While having our work recognised at this level is excellent, the important outcome is that the awards provide another vehicle for us to show our decision makers, community and visitors, just how lucky we are to have these wetlands and how important it is that we do everything we possibly can to protect them,” said Jan Star.

More on the Ramsar Management Plan:

The Peel-Yalgorup System was listed as a wetland of international significance – Global Site 482 – under the Ramsar Convention in 1990. It is the most diverse estuarine complex in south-western Australia and supports vulnerable and critically endangered species and communities including the Lake Clifton Thrombolites and migratory birds.

In 2004, The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council embarked on a collaborative program to protect and manage the 26,530ha Ramsar Site 482. After advocating to Government the need to better manage Ramsar 482, we secured funding from the Australian and State Government to prepare the Management Plan.

The Ramsar Initiative commenced with the preparation of the Ramsar Management Plan and Ecological Character Description for the Peel-Yalgorup System. These community driven frameworks have been the catalyst for collaborative management. Implementation of the Plan is increasingly gaining momentum with several millions of dollars already invested and many successes celebrated. Funding has primarily been secured by the PHCC, with support from the 27 stakeholder groups that make up the Ramsar Technical Advisory Group (TAG).

The Ramsar TAG, which includes representation by Indigenous custodians, local governments, state government agencies, individual community members, local interest groups and community based organisations, continues to actively collaborate for the protection of the Peel-Yalgorup System under the co-ordination of the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council.

ENDS…

Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, jane.omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

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City of Mandurah, Birdlife WA Peel Branch, PHCC staff and volunteers from the local community collected rubbish to pave the way for the arrival of the migratory shorebirds this year.

20 October 2015…On Saturday 10th of October, the local community came together to remove more than 100kgs rubbish from the Coodanup and John Street foreshores in preparation for the arrival of this year’s migratory shorebirds.

Birds from as far as Siberia, Japan and China are starting to arrive in Mandurah to feed during summer on our local wetlands, before returning to the northern hemisphere to breed in their spring.

The annual “Pave the Way Clean Up Day” was initiated by Mandurah’s world renowned photographer David Rennie to raise awareness of the significance of our local Ramsar 482 Wetlands and the birds that depend on clean, undisturbed mudflats for their food and energy.

The Tangaroa Blue Beach Cleanup event is organised by the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) with support from City of Mandurah, Birdlife WA Peel Branch and volunteers including the Pinjarra Lions Club. PHCC Deputy Chair Jan Star said it was important to ensure the bird’s migratory habitat was as clean and safe as possible and thanked everyone for their valuable contributions.

“There was less rubbish on the beaches than last year, which is a positive sign. The cleaner we keep our beaches, the healthier the birds’ habitat. The smallest of our migratory birds, the Red-necked Stint, weighs about 30 grams and takes almost 8 days to fly from Siberia to Mandurah. They lose about half their body weight in the flight so before they attempt to fly back again, they need to gain weight, ideally to a healthy 40gms.”

“The wetland shallows are the key browsing area for these birds and it’s so important not to disturb them. Because they are so small, you don’t see them until you are right on top of them. We urge walkers to be very careful during this time and keep their dogs on a leash so that they do not disturb these weary travellers,” said Jan Star.

This project is supported by the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council through funding from the Australian Government and the City of Mandurah.

Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, jane.omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

Click here to view or print pdf …

The speaker line up at Peel-Harvey Catchment Council’s recent S.H.A.R.E.
Tegan Douglas, Professor Stephen Hopper, Peter Lacey and Dr Steve Fisher

21 October 2015…Threats to endangered species and ecological communities in the Peel-Harvey catchment were presented by eminent guest speakers at the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC)’s recent S.H.A.R.E. (Social Help, Action & Resources for the Environment) community event.

The topic was chosen to help inform the PHCC’s involvement in the State Threatened Species Forum being held in Geraldton on the 30 October. Guests were briefed on the uniqueness of our landscape and the special animal and plant species and communities that live here. Programs to support citizen science and action on ground to reduce some of the threats were discussed and information is available on the PHCC’s Facebook and website.

The keynote speaker was Western Australian botanist Professor Stephen Hopper AC FLS FTSE. A former director of Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London following development of the Kings Park and Botanic Gardens and an internationally renowned plant conservation biologist, Professor Hopper is currently Foundation Professor of Plant Conservation Biology at The University of Western Australia.

Professor Hopper told the audience community-led conservation would continue to play a key role in threatened species and communities, and emphasised the significance of the Peel-Harvey catchment within the South-West biodiversity hotspot.

“It’s about letting your country ‘speak’ to you. Today, people are realising more and more that a healthy environment makes for healthy communities. Here in the South West, long-term survival of threatened species has occurred despite major historical climate change in older, infertile landscapes. Through understanding this, evolutionary science may help to plan future conservation efforts. Caring for biodiversity, involving the whole community including cross-cultural learning, is the way forward,” said Prof. Hopper.

Western Australia’s black cockatoos Cockies in Crisis Project was the subject of an address by Birdlife WA’s Tegan Douglas. “All three of West Australia’s black cockatoo species are affected. Through Cockies in Crisis, we are building awareness of onground conservation initiatives private landholders can do such as protecting habitat trees, establishing food plants and installing nest boxes,” said Tegan Douglas.

Peter Lacey of the Department of Parks and Wildlife detailed the Numbat/Woylie Predator Control Project underway in the Dryandra Woodland, one of only two sites in the world where Numbats still naturally exist. “As well as habitat loss, a major factor impacting their decline is introduced predicators – feral cats and foxes. Our program raises awareness and engages the wider community in predator control,” said Peter Lacey.

Dr Steve Fisher, science advisor at the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, also spoke at S.H.A.R.E. on the impact of climate change on the distribution of species. He said the information shared by the other speakers would prove to be highly valuable to take to the WA Threatened Species Forum where he is presenting on the topic ‘Endangered Species and Ecological Communities in the Peel-Harvey Catchment’.

“PHCC board member Michael Schultz and I will be taking the learnings from S.H.A.R.E. about the Peel-Harvey catchment’s threatened species and communities directly to the Forum,” said Dr Fisher.

This project is supported by the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.

More about the WA Threatened Species Forum:

The WA Threatened Species Forum, in Geraldton on 30 – 31 October 2015, is a collaboration between Western Australia’s seven regional NRM groups (NRM WA), together with the Department of Parks and Wildlife.

The inaugural event will bring together a cross-section of society with a common concern for Western Australia’s animals and plants to explore solutions, and promote practical and effective ways of tackling threats to their survival, while also building and enhancing networks of support in the field of threatened species conservation.

With special guest Gregory Andrews (Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner) the forum will seek alignment and synergies between policies and practices at multiple levels of government, businesses, research institutions, scientific and conservation management experts, non-government organisations and others active in threatened species conservation.

ENDS

Media Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Jane.Omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

Click here to view or print pdf …

Founding Chair, Jan Star AM

15 October 2015…At the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council’s Annual General Meeting today, Chair Jan Star AM announced she would step down as Chair of the Peel-Harvey region’s peak natural resource management body.

The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) was established in 2000, with Jan as its founding Chair. Among her many other roles, Ms Star has spent the past 15 years being a highly influential advocate for natural resource management in the Peel-Harvey. Jan’s extensive list of achievements include an impressive 13 year campaign to see the Peel-Harvey recognised as an independent region. This has been realised and the Peel-Harvey Catchment is now the 55th NRM region in Australia.

Jan also instigated the Ramsar Management Plan to protect the Peel-Yalgorup’s Ramsar-listed natural heritage. This initiative has been recognised this month as a finalist in the longest run environmental awards in Australia; the prestigious Banksia Foundation’s national Sustainability Awards.

Jan, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2002, has a long history in local government with Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire/WALGA, working in areas of sustainability, climate change, environment, land use planning, agriculture, and regional development at local, state and national level. This involvement in the local LCDC and SJ Landcare Centre led to working in natural resource management (NRM), the NHT Joint Steering Committee and the South West Catchments Council. Besides NRM and biodiversity in particular, Jan has pursued a keen interest in best governance models for adaptive management.

Despite the changing of the guard, Jan plans to remain highly engaged with the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council as Deputy Chair and will continue to play a leading role in the Strategic Assessment for Perth and Peel.

“My time with the PHCC has been an exciting roller coaster of a ride. I have been extremely lucky in having highly capable Executive Officers (now CEO) in a row. The organisation has now reached a state of maturity where it is ready to spread its wings even more and cement the environment as the fundamental core of this region,’ Jan said.

Mandurah MLA David Templeman said Ms Star had made an outstanding contribution to the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council and to leadership within the region.

“In the broader context, her local government expertise and knowledge of regional issues effecting the environment and her capacity to work collaboratively with all levels of government has been a real strength. Jan is highly respected by politicians of all persuasions and her focus on ensuring the needs of the catchment are represented has been exceptional,” he said.

“In terms of her numerous achievements, which include keeping the needs of the catchment in front of successive state and federal environment ministers, her service to fellow organisations including the Swan River Trust have helped to enhance her advocacy for our region. Jan’s legacy was the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council achieving the status of becoming the 55th Commonwealth Natural Resource Management Region in its own right. This was a crucial outcome for the future health of the catchment and our precious waterways. While Jan may be stepping down from her leading role, I look forward to her continued passionate advocacy both as Deputy Chair and as a member of our local community.”

PHCC member Paddi Creevey refers to Jan as one of Australia’s greatest living treasures. “She is so highly regarded nationally and her commitment to the Peel region over so many years in so many capacities has been such an asset for our community. Jan is a most effective leader because she is so inclusive. Her intelligent approach is evident in everything she does and she gains integrity by basing her decisions on the best evidence and science available. Because she has such credibility with everyone she is in contact with she has been able to forge such effective relationships. What an amazing contribution she has made – we are so lucky to have her!”

Former deputy chair, Andy Gulliver, was duly elected into the role of Chair at the AGM of the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council.

ENDS…
Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, jane.omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 880

Click here to view or print pdf …

We so enjoyed this interview with birder Eric McCrum on the breakfast show on ABC Perth Radio today – we thought you may also enjoy to listen to what Eric had to say about our waders and migratory visitors (who are just starting to arrive in the Peel-Harvey!).

Click here to listen:  ABC Radio Eric McCrum

Luke Rogers is PHCC’s new Regional Landcare Facilitator

Community landcare in the Peel-Harvey region is set to receive a boost with the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council announcing a key appointment this week.

Luke Rogers has joined the region’s peak natural resource management body as their Regional Landcare Facilitator. The Regional Landcare Facilitator Program is supported through funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture through the National Landcare Program.

The focus for the first 12 months will be on strengthening existing Landcare Group structures and processes, building their capacity to support our community and making them less vulnerable to the funding cycle. Part time Landcare officers currently work in Boddington, Mundijong and Waroona, and play a very valuable role in natural resource management. The funding and structures for these groups vary but all of them rely on grants, and the financial and in-kind support of partners, particularly the local governments where they operate. By building the capacity of the Landcare groups we will be able to increase community activity on the ground, therefore achieving much more for the region. Luke, who grew up and went to school in Mandurah, has a degree in Biological Sciences from Murdoch University and has a good understanding of environmental management and NRM across a broad range of disciplines and industries. He has worked for local government in environmental planning, and for the last decade worked in private consulting, mostly within land development and intensive agriculture in WA. He also has international experience via oil and gas clients in Alberta, Canada where he undertook impact assessments, project management and facilitation of approvals for a wide range of clients.

Peel-Harvey Catchment Council Chairman Jan Star welcomed Luke to this key role, saying his experience is already proving to be a valuable asset to the catchment.

“We are very pleased to have this role filled by someone with such a good background in NRM and business development. We welcome Luke to the team of landcare professionals at the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, and look forward to helping him support more resilient landcare structures throughout the Catchment” said Jan Star.

ENDS…

Media Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Jane.Omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

Click here to view or print pdf …

(L-R Mark Salmon, Karrie-Anne Kearing, Jo Garvey and Evelyn, Vid Taleski, Stuart Martin

On-ground restoration works at the Pinjarra Massacre site commenced this week with a cultural consultation and induction for environmental weed contractors who will be working on the culturally significant heritage listed site.

Murray Districts Aboriginal Association (MDAA) members took the time to guide contractors, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) and Shire of Murray Officers through the sensitive site. Organised by the PHCC, local community members shared stories and answered questions of the group in preparation of the weed eradication and restoration program.

Jan Star AM, Chair of the PHCC said that it is fundamental to natural resource management that we care for and about the country where we are working. Making sure that cultural awareness is part of the planning and doing deepens our understanding of that country.

“The on-ground program schedule will include the removal of blackberry, bridal creeper and woody weeds before the revegetation program can begin. These aggressive weeds severely impact on the health of natural vegetation, which in turn reduces food sources for native animal species,” said Jan Star.

The next stage of the restoration program, which includes a site clean-up, native revegetation and enhancement program, will follow when eradication of the troublesome weeds is complete.

This important program of works is part of the four-year Rivers 2 Ramsar project that is connecting river corridors for landscape resilience across the catchment. This project is supported Peel-Harvey Catchment Council through funding from the Australian Government.

ENDS

Media Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Jane.Omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

Click here to view or print pdf …

The greenshank is one of at least 36 species of migratory birds that visit the wetlands of Western Australia, including the Peel-Harvey Ramsar Listed Wetlands. Photo courtesy of Jesse Steele

The Minister for Environment has asked the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to reverse a decision not to formally assess a long-term mining venture near Lake Clifton, following a successful appeal process.

The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) was one of the appellants that presented a submission to seek reconsideration of assessment for this site of international environmental significance.

Jan Star, Chair of the PHCC said it was important to consider the impacts the commercial venture could have on the highly sensitive area, which is located adjacent to the Ramsar listed wetland of Lake Pollard.

“The proposal to excavate limestone and sand has the potential to alter the water quality of the Lake and is likely to significantly affect its unique environmental values. The site supports large numbers of local and migratory waterbirds, the latter of which are listed under international agreements.

“Nature’s way of providing a rich food source for these birds is through the natural land structure, a limestone ridge that separates the lake system from the ocean. This creates a water chemistry that promotes a habitat hostile to many predators, providing a safe haven and rich food source for protected bird species,” said Jan Star.

On behalf of its community, the PHCC raised concerns over the original decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) not to formally assess the proposed commercial site.

In response to the matters raised and additional information received through the appeal process, the EPA acknowledged that uncertainties regarding previous predictions had heightened and potential impacts could be greater than originally thought.

As a result the EPA reconsidered their decision and is now supporting the proposal be remitted for assessment.

The process aligns with the Strategic Assessment of Perth-Peel that will address the impact on Matters of National Environmental Significance of future developments within the Regions including urban, industrial, rural-residential and infrastructure development and basic raw materials extraction.

“On behalf of our community we welcome the reconsideration and decision to formally assess the potential effects mining will have on this important site,” said Jan Star.

ENDS

Media Contact: Jane O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Jane.Omalley@peel-harvey.org.au , (08) 6369 8800

Click here to view or print pdf …