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2015
Biodiversity
Dreaming
Conference
Charles Sturt University, Bathurst
November 10 - 11
Bringing together different perspectives on biodiversity
and land management in the Central West/Bathurst Region/
Wiradyuri/Wiradjuri Country from 1815 to 2015.
Sponsors
We would particularly like to thank those who donated full scholarships
for Aboriginal people to attend the conference: Lake Cowal Foundation (6)
The Nature Conservation Trust (6) and Integrated Design Group (2) and to
Greening Bathurst for the organisation and sponsorship. The other sponsors
also made generous donations and organised scholarships.
Contents
Conference background
Acknowledgment
4-5
6
General information
7-8
Post-conference tour
9
Program timetable
10 - 12
Abstracts – spoken
13 - 53
Abstracts – posters
54 - 59
THE BIODIVERSITY DREAMING CONFERENCE
4 THE BIODIVERSITY DREAMING CONFERENCE
This Conference has been organised and sponsored by Greening Bathurst, a small
conservation group focussed on the Bathurst Region. In November 2013 Greening
Bathurst set up a planning committee that aimed to make two significant
contributions to Bathurst’s cultural celebrations in 2015, 200 years after the
settlement of Bathurst was proclaimed by Governor Macquarie on the 7th May 1815.
Early on we sought permission from the Bathurst Wiradyuri1 Elders and leaders to
undertake both projects and to use the word ‘Dreaming’ in both of our projects.
These projects are:
•
Cox’s Road Dreaming – a 100 page book with 8 marvellous maps that interprets
the natural history of William Cox’s 1814/1815 road, Australia’s oldest inland
European road. People from three Aboriginal Nations contributed to the
production of Cox’s Road Dreaming through giving of their knowledge and
suggesting sites that should be visited. We have attempted to significantly
reposition this ‘European story’ with its many myths to appropriately
acknowledge the story of the First Peoples, so often expunged from the historic
record.
•
The Biodiversity Dreaming Conference at Charles Sturt University. In this
conference we have sought to bring together Aboriginal people, researchers from
a number of disciplines, farmers, land managers and environmentalists to hear
each other’s stories and to dream about and help create and shape a landscape
that sustains both nature and agriculture. .
From 1815 the fledgling Bathurst settlement became the central administrative focus
of a significant area (the Bathurst area) for half a century or so, stretching from
Hartley Vale through the whole of the Lachlan and Macquarie catchments and into
the inter-fluvial area between the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers. This area of
influence more-or-less coincided with the boundaries of Wiradjuri Country,
approximately equivalent to the Lachlan and Macquarie river catchments as well as
parts of the Murrumbidgee area
Early European settlement was mainly contained east of the Macquarie River but
from 1820, agriculture and grazing spread rapidly beyond the frontiers of recognised
settlement, out to the ‘unoccupied’ areas in search of better pastures and reliable
stock water. It is therefore not surprising that the most significant impacts on
biodiversity in the first years of inland settlement by Europeans were likely a direct
result of agricultural expansion and intensification. However, less well understood is
the gradual loss of Wiradjuri input to the management of their traditional lands as
they were forced to become fringe dwellers in their own Country. Gradually,
Europeans imposed their own cultural landscape on Country. European land
management was accompanied by widespread land degradation and the inevitable
biodiversity losses that followed.
The preferred spelling by the Bathurst Wiradyuri people. Many alternate spellings are used including Wiradjuri. 1
The Biodiversity Dreaming Conference 4
THE BIODIVERSITY DREAMING CONFERENCE CONTINUED
5
Not only is Bathurst Australia’s oldest inland European settlement but the ‘Bathurst
area’ also contains Australia’s oldest inland agricultural lands. This conference
offers a unique opportunity to:
•
Assess some of the impacts of 200 years of European inland settlement on
biodiversity and land management and compare the outcomes of European
stewardship with those of the Wiradjuri Nation, including the Bathurst
Wiradyuri;
•
Better understand the contrived, cultural landscape that Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri
people imagined, created and managed that was so admired but not understood
by European settlers and explorers; and
•
Bring together Aboriginal and European wisdom in creating a cultural
landscape in the 21st C that is sustainable for nature conservation and production
agriculture, building on the existing ecological capital.
This Biodiversity Dreaming Conference represents the next part of our journey
This program comprises a mixture of presenters in plenary and poster slots:
together.
Aboriginal 27%; researchers from various disciplines 51%; farmers 17%;
and environmentalists 5%.
This biodiversity Dreaming Conference represents the next part of our
journey together.
5
The Biodiversity Dreaming Conference
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Greening Bathurst and all those associated with the development of this conference
wish to acknowledge Wiradyuri Elders past and present. More than that, we
express profound gratitude that so many living Wiradyuri/Wiradjuri Elders
and community have recognised our efforts in the spirit of redressing the imbalance
of knowledge concerning this Country and how it works. It is with humility
(and permission) that we use the term ‘Dreaming’, knowing how incomplete
our understanding of that word can be. We seek to strengthen an emerging
conversation that values culture and science equally, creating opportunities
for shared learning and leading to healthy landscapes and people.
GENERAL INFORMATION
CONFERENCE CONVENOR:
All enquiries should be directed to Cilla Kinross,
[email protected] 0439 815 791
CONFERENCE VENUE
The Centre for Professional Development (buildings 1285/1286)
This venue includes
Foundation Rooms 1 and 2 (Building 1285) is the smaller lecture room
James Hardie Room (Building 1286) is the larger lecture room
The Conference Dinner is The Rafters Bar (Building 1413)
The parking area for the conference is the P7 car park.
REGISTRATION DESK
This will be situated in or near the James Hardie Room.
It will be open at the following times:
Monday 9th November 5-7 pm (keys for rooms can be collected)
Tuesday 10th November 8 am – 9.30 am, then during breaks until 5 pm
Wednesday 11 November 8 am – 9.30 am, then during breaks until 1.30 pm
CATERING
Morning and afternoon tea, as well as lunches are included in the registration fee.
The conference dinner is an additional $55 and will be held at the Rafters bar and
auditorium. It will feature drinks and nibbles at 6.30 pm, followed by a buffet and a
talk on Wiradjuri astronomy. If you haven’t booked, enquire at the registration
desk if there is still an opportunity to reserve a place. Keep your dinner ticket.
When you arrive, you may hand this in and receive tickets for two drinks at the bar.
NAME BADGES
Please ensure you wear your name badges at all times during the conference
MOBILE PHONES
Please ensure that your mobile phone is switched off or in silent mode during
the talks, out of respect to the speakers and other participants.
7
SECURITY
Please do not leave bags or other items around. The conference organisers cannot
look after valuables or take responsibility for lost or stolen items.
BATHURST TAXI SERVICE
Please ring 131 008 if you need a taxi
BUS SERVICE
A copy of the Bathurst bus timetable and map will kept at the registration desk for
your convenience.
ACCOMMODATION
Keys for CSU student rooms will be at the registration desk.
The motel is a self-registration system and you will be sent your PIN for entry. If you
intend arriving out of registration hours (see above) please let the convenor know so
that alternative arrangements can me made. If you haven’t booked ahead, it may be
difficult to arrange accommodation at CSU, but we may be able to help you book a
room in town.
INFORMATION FOR SPEAKERS
If you have your talk on a USB, please see the registration desk on arrival and you
will be directed to a volunteer to load this onto the computer. This needs to be done
as soon as possible after you arrive or at least in the break before your scheduled talk.
Access to the computer is not possible during sessions. The person responsible for
audio-visual during the conference is Mike Fleming 0419 832 252.
INFORMATION FOR POSTER PRESENTERS
Please report to the registration desk for information. The posters will be viewed at all
meal breaks, although there is no special poster session. If you need assistance, please
ask a volunteer.
POST - CONFERENCE TOUR 12-13th
• Cox’s Road Dreaming with David Goldney and Wyn Jones
with two 4WDs plus interconnecting speaker system
• Cost: fuel, food and accommodation (less deposit paid)
• Commences 800 from CSU car park 7, 12th November,
returns to CSU at 1800, 13th November 2015.
This will focus on the natural history of William Cox’s historic 1814/15 Road from
Emu Ford on the Nepean River to the Flag Staff at Bathurst on the banks of the
Macquarie Rover.
Cox’s Road was Australia’s First Inland European road. The Flag Staff was the location
where Governor Lachlan Macquarie proclaimed the settlement of Bathurst on
the 7th May 1815. The modern Flag Staff memorial is situated on the river terrace
immediately adjacent to the Macquarie River. A sample of the 116 sites described in
the book Cox’s Road Dreaming will be visited during the tour and cover European
and Aboriginal history and clashes, ecology, natural history, geology, flora and
fauna, geomorphology, the explorers and naturalists who came over Cox’s Road
or the subsequent roads that were built, the resulting outcomes for Europeans and
Aboriginal people and much more.
The tour will be led by Professor David Goldney.
9
PROGRAM AND TIMETABLE
Biodiversity Dreaming Conference Programme: Charles Sturt University
Clock Time 800 -‐ 900 Tuesday 10th November: Biodiversity & Sustainability in the Bathurst Area Registration, tea, coffee poster and display setting up 910 -‐ 920 Ashley Bland, Chair Greening Bathurst General welcome, -‐ what we hope to achieve-‐ Welcome to Country – Gloria Rogers, with Gavin and Garth Waters on didgeridoo 920 -‐ 955955 Yalmambirra: The importance of Aboriginal knowledge in land management 955 -‐ 1030 Anne Kerle: 200 years of European land management in central western NSW – how has this change affected biodiversity and the landscape? 900 -‐ 910 Morning Tea: Browse posters and displays 1030 -‐ 1100 1100 -‐ 1140 George Main: Walking into Country: a story from the south. 1140 -‐ 1220 Yalmambirra: The importance of protocols in implementing Aboriginal land management 1220 -‐ 1245 Mike Augee: Humans and the Australian megafauna Lunch: Browse posters and displays 1245 – 1345 1345 – 1405 1405 -‐ 1425 1425 – 1445 1445 -‐ 1505 1505-‐ 1530 1530 -‐ 1545 1545 -‐ 1600 1600 -‐ 1615 1615 -‐ 1630 1630 -‐ 1700 1700 -‐ 1730 1830 -‐1900 1900 -‐ 2030 James Hardie Room Daniel Ramp: Using compassion to cohabit with kangaroos. Arthur White: Managing an endangered population of Pink-‐tailed Worm Lizards on a mine site. Laurence Clarke: Mawonga Indigenous Protected Area – demonstrating the potential of a strong partnership approach. Col Bower: The status of vegetation communities in the central west. Foundation Rooms Barbara Mactaggart: Swampy meadows: Valuing a land-‐form system embattled after 200 years of land use change. Peter Spooner: The role of TSRs in conserving biological connectivity and indigenous history. R W (Dick) Medd: Native flora of the western central tablelands. Wyn Jones: A decade of small mammal trapping at Yetholme NSW – implications. Afternoon tea: Browse posters and displays James Hardie Room Foundation Rooms Meredith Brainwood: Freshwater mussels in Marcus Croft: What was the Bathurst the upper Macquarie River Catchment. environment prior to European settlement? Cilla Kinross: Not so silent Spring: Strategies for Cerin Loane: A new deal for nature: enhancing wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. Proposed changes to NSW biodiversity laws. Ernie Holland: Characteristics of Karst Ashley Bland: Creating a biodiverse cultural farming (soluble rock) landforms. landscape at Yetholme. Gavin Waters: Observations on changes in the habitats of frogs and reptiles in the Bathurst region since 1960. Tony McBurney: Diversity and the dominant species. Bruce Pascoe: Aboriginal Dreaming, land management, ecology and cultural landscapes. Nibbles and drinks in the Rafters Bar area •
•
•
•
Conference buffet dinner in the Rafters Bar, followed by talk in the auditorium
Introduction: Bill Allan Chair; James Williams: Respecting Country (10’)
Trevor Leaman: Wiradyuri Skies: Aboriginal astronomy in central NSW (30’ + questions)
Band: Ashley Bland, Jimmy Beale, Matt Williamson
800 -‐ 900 900-‐930 930-‐1000 1000-‐1030 1030 -‐ 1100 1100 -‐ 1120 1120 -‐ 1140 1140 -‐ 1200 1200 -‐ 1220 1220 -‐ 1240 1240 -‐ 1300 Day 2: Agriculture, biodiversity and future landscapes in the Bathurst Area Wednesday 11th November Registration, tea, coffee, & browse poster and industry displays Bruce Pascoe: Roast duck and cake in Sturt’s Stony Desert Bill Gammage: The Biggest Estate on Earth Michael Sutherland: Mining, farming and biodiversity conservation can co-‐exist. Morning tea, followed by 1 minute silence for Remembrance Day David McKenzie: Soil & landscape
management in central western NSW
lessons learnt & requirements for the future.
Andrew Rawson: Climate change, biodiversity & agriculture in central NSW. Gary Howling: The Great Eastern Ranges Initiative – linking landscape & landholders. Danielle Flakelar – An Aboriginal perspective
on water and connectivity
Julia McKay: Native or multi-cultural
biodiversity – is the answer back, white or grey? John Williams: The new freshwater paradigm as a consequence of land use and climate change. Lunch, browse posters and displays 1300 -‐ 1400 1400 -‐ 1410 1410 -‐ 1420 1420 -‐ 1430 1430 -‐ 1440 1440 -‐ 1450 1450-‐ 1505 Aboriginal, land managers and landholder presentations James Hardie Room Foundation Rooms Ruby Dykes: A Murrawarri woman’s view of Bill Allan: A Wiradyuri Elder’s view of land land management. management in the Bathurst area. Michael Inwood: Engaging nature – embracing Rob Lee: Five generations of European biodiversity in farming. farming and their impact on biodiversity. Ross Thompson: Focussed on financial and Peter Eccleston: Conventional farming to
discovering the “new/old” way of doing things environmental sustainability at Goonamurrah. Paul Newell: The phenomena of connecting Caroline Forest: Microbats of the Bathurst natural cycles by multiples of species. region. David Suttor: Some impacts of colonial farming Mal Carnegie: Lake Cowal’s boom or bust in the Bathurst region through the eyes of the biodiversity – past, present and future. Suttor family. Dean Ansell: Cost effective habitat restoration on farms, making the dollar go further. 1505 -‐ 1530 Afternoon tea, browse posters and displays 1530 -‐ 1600 Bev Smiles: Establishing environmental flows in the Murray – Darling system. Bruce Pascoe, Anne Kerle & Ashley Bland: A synthesis – future landscapes in the CWR: A way forward. 1600 -‐ 1700 11
Browse posters and displays The Biodiversity Dreaming Conference
Poster Papers
1. Peter Dykes, Utilising Murrawarri cultural knowledge in native vegetation conservation.
2. Peter Dykes: Integrating Wiradjuri cultural education with native vegetation management.
3. Yularna Dykes: Tricketts Arch Bio-banking Conservation Agreement
4. Juanita Kwok: What has been the impact of Chinese immigration on land and agriculture in Bathurst?
5. Syd Parissi: Aboriginal Nature and Bioscience Park development on the CSU Orange campus.
6. Nicole Hansen, Don Driscoll and David Lindenmayer: How does matrix management influence
connectivity for frogs and reptiles?
Displays
1. Nature Conservation Trust
2. Bathurst Climate Action Group: Part of the 200 Plants and Animals Exhibition.
3. Neil Ingram and the team from Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council Cultural Burning
Post Conference Tour: 12th – 13th
• Cox’s Road Dreaming with David Goldney and Wyn Jones with 2 4WDs plus
interconnecting speaker system
• Cost: fuel, food and accommodation
• Commences 800 from CSU car park 7, 12th November, returns to CSU at 1800,
13th November 2015.
Reserve speakers in case of cancellations:
Peter Dykes, Juanita Kwok, Syd Parissi and David Goldney
A WIRADYURI1 ELDER’S VIEW OF LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE BATHURST AREA
(Dinawan Dyirribang) Bill Allan Jnr, Bathurst Wiradyuri Elder
[email protected]
In this talk, Dinawan will tell us about the history of the Bathurst Wiradyuri, who first met
Europeans when Surveyor George Evans and his party arrived in 1813 on what Evans
named the Bathurst Plains on either side of the Macquarie River. This river was known to
the Wiradyuri as the Wambool. The Wiradyuri had created the park-like landscape that was
so appealing to colonial explorers and settlers. However the subsequent European
management of this fragile landscape was very different to the sustainable practices that had
been used by the Wiradyuri for thousands of years.
1’
Wiradyuri’ is the spelling adopted by the Bathurst Wiradyuri people. .
Dinawan Dyirribang (Old Man Emu or Bill Allen Jnr) is a Bathurst
Wiradyuri Elder who actively promotes his cultural heritage. The
following youtube address, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UfhwIjUteg,
is a replay of the major contribution by the Bathurst Wiradyuri to the
celebration of the bicentenary of Bathurst’s proclamation on May 7th
2015, led by Dinawan Dyirribang. The Bathurst Wiradyuri and
Aboriginal Community presented the Mayor of Bathurst and people
with a gift of a possum skin cloak, for use on ceremonial occasions.
13
COST-EFFECTIVE HABITAT RESTORATION ON FARMS – MAKING THE
BIODIVERSITY DOLLAR GO FURTHER
Dean H Ansell
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra ACT
Habitat restoration is now widely applied as a biodiversity conservation strategy on
Australian farming landscapes. Most research into the effectiveness of restoration, however,
ignores one of the most critical components: cost. The economic cost of restoration is an
issue, not just for the funder, having a dominant influence on the amount of biodiversity
benefit that can be achieved, but also for landholders through the opportunity cost of
reduced agricultural income. In this talk I will examine the typical costs of habitat restoration
on farms and discuss opportunities to increase cost-effectiveness, maximising the
biodiversity benefits of our conservation dollar. Drawing on recent research in the Boorowa
region comparing the cost-effectiveness of revegetation and woodland remnant restoration
strategies in the conservation of woodland birds, I will show how integrating costs into the
evaluation of different restoration strategies can challenge traditional views of where we
should focus our conservation investments on farmland. I will also highlight a novel agrienvironment scheme being rolled out across the NSW tablelands that focuses on increasing
the cost-effectiveness of habitat restoration on farms by using existing farm infrastructure,
prioritising large-scale projects and integrating benefits to the farmer.
Dean Ansell is a PhD Scholar at the Fenner School of Environment and
Society, Australian National University. His PhD focuses on the costeffectiveness of biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. His
research also involves on-ground evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of
ecological restoration projects in farmland in southeast Australia.
HUMANS AND THE AUSTRALIAN MEGAFAUNA
Mike Augee
Wellington Caves Fossil Studies Centre
When the first humans arrived in Australia, they found a continent that had undergone
protracted aridification over the last 450,000 years, with marked drying during the last
interglacial. This aridification appears to have resulted in the extinction of almost all of the 90
or so megafaunal species known from fossil deposits of the early to mid-Pleistocene. How
many of these species survived until the arrival of humans? This is a vexed question, with
published estimates ranging from 6 to 14 species.
Hard evidence, in particular the association of megafaunal elements with evidence of human
activity, in my opinion provides support for the presence of only 6 or 7 species at the time of
human arrival. One of the most certain holdovers is the largest marsupial that ever lived,
Diprotodon. Since the vast grasslands in the middle of Australia had disappeared, this large
herbivore could only have existed in refuges, such as those around Wellington. Since there
is no evidence of direct predation by Aboriginal people on megafauna; if they indeed had a
role in the extinction of the remnant megafauna species, it must have been due to changes
in the environment.
The likely mechanism for such change would have been the use of fire as a tool. Fire which
removed ground cover and shrubs would have been a disaster for large grazers and
especially browsers and their predators. This speculation seems the best interpretation of
what hard data is available.
Mike Augee is a palaeontologist currently working on fossil
deposits from Wellington Caves.
15
CREATING A BIODIVERSE CULTURAL FARMING LANDSCAPE AT YETHOLME.
Bland, A, Bland, Q and Bland, D
For over 100 years the Bland’s have been farming commercially in and around Kirkconnell,
turning the rich soils and usually ample rainfall into fruit and vegetables. As the surrounding
bushland was cleared for Pine plantations in the 1960’s, Dayle commenced planting native
trees and shrubs over the ~ 140 acre family holding. At that time there were only a handful of
mature Snow gums on the property.
Having an association with renowned garden designer Paul Sorenson, Dayle’s father John
had been planting an extensive garden of mainly introduced species since 1949. From the
mid 1980‘s one of John’s other sons, Quentin (and his wife Lesley) also created a large
garden and continued planting Gums in areas of the farm that were not ideal for fruit or
vegetables. A 5 acre Pinus radiata plantation was felled in 2003 and replanted with E.
globulus.
Now, in 2015, the property is a mosaic of cropped fields, grand gardens, agroforestry,
recreated native bushland and a range of introduced shrubs and ground-covers, aka weeds.
This landscape supports a large, commercially viable, organic horticultural enterprise and
native wildlife. Habitat to promote biodiversity is fostered and production benefits from the
resultant ecosystem services, such as pure water and pest insect predation within crops.
This paper examines the possibility of created ‘hybrid’ ecosystems that meet the needs of a
multitude of animals and plants and provide a range of ecosystem services from which wider
society benefits.
Ashley Bland is currently Senior Manager - Environment at Skillset
where he manages a range of programs aimed at reducing the negative
impacts of modern life and maximising the positive impact of new
sustainable technologies and knowledge. Having grown up on a farm
near Bathurst, Ashley feels deeply connected to this country and has
spent a great deal of his professional career seeking to understand and
work with nature. Ashley studied Engineering and Ecology at the
University of New England and is a Fellow of the Australian Rural
Leadership Foundation.
THE STATUS OF VEGETATION COMMUNITIES IN THE CENTRAL WEST
Colin Bower
FloraSearch, 3/23 Sale Street, Orange, NSW [[email protected]]
The native vegetation of Central Western NSW is among the most extensively cleared in
Australia. Generations of farmers, agricultural scientists and government policy makers have
sought to extract maximum economic benefit from the landscape. Consequently, over the last
200 years the vegetation of the Central West changed dramatically as native forests, woodlands
and grasslands were converted to cropping lands, improved pastures and horticulture based on
introduced species.
The impact of development has fallen unevenly on the original vegetation. The most heavily
affected native plant communities were those favouring fertile soils and gentle terrain that can
be worked by machinery. Many of these communities are now endangered or critically
endangered. By contrast, native vegetation adapted to less fertile soils or steep and rocky
terrain has been less impacted, although government policies post World War II unwisely
encouraged the clearing of these marginal lands.
This paper reviews existing vegetation classifications for the Central West and summarises
published estimates of native vegetation losses at the level vegetation class. The principal
ongoing and future threats for each vegetation class are identified and discussed. It is
concluded that although large scale clearing of native vegetation has slowed, smaller scale
clearance remains a significant threat, especially given political pressure to water down existing
legislative protections. The remaining stock of native vegetation is also slowly degrading as
insidious threatening processes alter vegetation composition leading to loss of species from
remnants. Ongoing degrading processes include weed invasion, overgrazing, sale of crown
lands and inappropriate fire regimes.
Colin Bower has a PhD in biological sciences from the University of
Sydney and worked as a research entomologist for the former NSW
Department of Agriculture for 17 years. He is currently the Principal of
FloraSearch, an environmental consultancy. He has extensive knowledge
of the flora of Central Western NSW and beyond through formal botanical
surveys, and a life-long interest in natural history. He has published many
scientific papers on the pollination of native orchids.
17
FRESHWATER MUSSELS IN THE UPPER MACQUARIE RIVER CATCHMENT
Meredith A Brainwood
Applied Ecology P/L, Bathurst NSW
Local Wiradjuri people considered dhandjuri (freshwater mussels) a delicacy which were
cooked in the hot coals of a fire. Shells were used as a scoop or cup for babies. Larger
shells were used as tools such as scrapers for skinning and cleaning animal hides. The
pearl-like shells were worn as ornaments by older men as an indication of status within the
group.
Two species of mussels are found in the Upper Macquarie River. The big river mussel
(Alathyria jacksoni) is a large shellfish up to 15cm long, and is restricted to larger slow
flowing rivers, while the billabong mussel (Velesunio ambiguus) is found in permanent
ponds, farm dams and small to large streams. In the Bathurst region, the big river mussel is
found in the Macquarie River in bigger pools below the Forge, near the junction with the
Turon River. The billabong mussel has been recorded from sandy pools in the Macquarie
and its tributaries.
Freshwater mussels are an important but poorly understood part of our river biota. They
have a complex life history starting as tiny larvae which attach to a fish host to undergo
transformation to adult form. Upon reaching adulthood they become relatively sedentary
bottom dwelling filter feeders. Individual animals are able to filter in excess of 10L of water
per day during the warmer months. They remove algae, blue green algae, nutrients, heavy
metals, and chemicals such as endocrine disruptors from the water column. This provides an
enormous service for maintaining river health.
Dr Meredith Brainwood completed a Bachelor of Applied
Science at Charles Sturt University (Mitchell) in 1993. She
worked in bushland restoration while completing a Master of
Science (Catchment Management) and then a doctorate in
Ecohydrology at University of Western Sydney. Since then
she worked as an environmental consultant with Australian
Wetlands before starting Applied Ecology with several
colleagues. Her work allows her to combine practical
experience with research interests in restoration ecology,
vegetation management and aquatic ecology to produce
effective on-ground solutions for a range of environmental
management situations.
LAKE COWAL’S BOOM OR BUST BIODIVERSITY – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Malcolm Carnegie
Lake Cowal is New South Wales’ largest natural inland wetland covering an area of over
13,000 hectares. The natural function of this ephemeral system provides both opportunity
and perturbation to a diverse range of flora and fauna; boom bust cycles which are so much
a feature of the regional landscapes of inland Australia in the context of ever changing
climate processes. Interwoven with the natural landscape function is the more recent
influence of agriculture and industry, creating another layer of complexity within which the
endemic populations must exist.
The complexities of this inconspicuous natural icon are recorded from the very first
European settlement of the area with detailed descriptions of bountiful wildlife, accounts of
fire and drought, the highly variable flooding/drying cycles, targeted scientific research and
generational community experience and observation. Inherent resilience in an ephemeral
wetland system such as Lake Cowal can be demonstrated through time, but is it diminishing
into the future and what can be done to ensure the values of such systems are conserved
and enhanced?
Malcolm Carnegie is the Projects Manager for the Lake Cowal
Foundation, a not-for-profit environmental trust working to protect
and enhance the environment of Lake Cowal and its catchments
through a whole of landscape approach which incorporates
conservation, agriculture, research and education. Malcolm is a
local landholder in the Lake Cowal/Clear Ridge area of West
Wyalong, having a comprehensive knowledge of vegetation and
landscape systems. He is interested in assisting the local
community to initiate and implement strategies and projects which
will deliver increasing economic, environmental and social
sustainability.
19
MAWONGA INDIGENOUS PROTECTED AREA – DEMONSTRATING THE POTENTIAL
OF A STRONG PARTNERSHIP APPROACH
Lawrence Clarke
Chair of Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation
This talk will describe the story of the recent hand-back of Mawonga Station, 80 km north of
Hillston, to the Winangakirri Aborignal Corporation on the 26th September 2015. Mawonga is
the largest IPA in south eastern Australia. Ngiyampaa Wangaaypuwan people have long
fought for access and rights to look after country and to continue the role of their ancestors.
The former owner of Mawonga recognised the significance of the property to traditional
owners and was keen to see it returned. This was the start of a long process which required
confident patience.
In 2011, the land was purchased by the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC). Over the last 4
years a strong partnership for guiding property management and planning has developed
between Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation, ILC, IPA sections of Commonwealth
Government, Nature Conservation Trust of NSW (NCT), Bush Heritage Australia, NSW
National Parks and Wildlife, and Western Local Land Services. One example of the benefits
of this approach is the provision of ecologists by groups such as NCT to help to train and
empower the future community rangers of Mawonga.
Mawonga has important rock art sites, traditional camping areas and travelling paths which
feature ancestral stories. It is also home to the threatened Yungkay, Mallee Fowl, and
Nhiilya or Nelia (Acacia loderi). Natural resource management techniques have included
cultural burning, biodiversity surveys, fencing and controlling feral goat numbers.
Lawrence Clarke is the Chairperson of the Winangakirri
Corporation. Lawrence grew up in Lake Cargellico, worked for
16 years as Senior Field Office with National Parks and Wildlife
Service; moved to the Cultural Heritage section of the Office of
Environment and Heritage and is a board member of Mt. Grenfell
Historic Site.
WHAT WAS THE BATHURST ENVIRONMENT LIKE PRIOR TO
EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT?
Marcus P Croft
An understanding of the nature of the pre-European environment is important in
informing decisions regarding sustainable land management. It is commonly thought
that existing bushland remnants exemplify the ‘natural’ environment, but these areas
are not necessarily representative, and may also have undergone change over the
past 200 years. This study examined 22 historical sources, including early paintings,
and the accounts of explorers, settlers and travellers, to locate 358 point
observations of the vegetation of the Central Western Region made prior to 1850.
The descriptions were grouped into classes based on density of tree, shrub and
grass cover, and correlated with factors such as geology and climatic zone, allowing
tentative extrapolation to similar nearby areas. The results indicate that the
vegetation of the Central Western Region was highly variable, even over short
distances. The region had more or less continuous tree cover, but there were limited
tracts of grassland, most notably about 12 000 Ha around Bathurst. Undulating
granite country was generally covered in open grassy woodland, but the surrounding
hills probably supported denser tree and shrub cover. The results indicate that the
sweeping generalisations often advanced concerning the nature of pre-European
vegetation are frequently inaccurate, and that factors such as climate, topography
and underlying rock type, interacting with Indigenous land management practices,
produced a mosaic of vegetation structures.
After moving to Bathurst almost 30 years ago, Marcus Croft
became interested in the area’s natural environment, and
pursued this interest through study at Charles Sturt
University. He undertook a research project, supervised by
David Goldney and Sylvia Cardale, examining historical
records in order to build a picture of the pre-European
environment. Marcus teaches Science at All Saint’s College
in Bathurst.
21
A MURRAWARRI WOMAN’S VIEW OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Sharon Ruby Dykes
Tricketts Arch, 605 Jaunter Road, Jaunter via Oberon 2787
In this talk I will share with some thoughts about a Murrawarri view of land management.
Sharon Ruby Dykes is a Murrawarri Muginj from North Western
NSW. Originally from a remote community called Weilmoringle,
100km north of Brewarrina, but around 11 years of age moved to
live on the River Bank in Brewarrina, .a place called Boomerang
Bend down by the Black Stump on the Darling River, before
moving to Dodge City an Aboriginal Housing Reserve, West of
Brewarrina. I moved to the Oberon area in 1994 in the Central
Tablelands. My Hubby - Peter Dykes and I have a property called
"Tricketts Arch" which is one of the largest Biobanking sites in
NSW. We live there with our daughter - Yularna and our little Jack
Russell - Katie. We have an all natural environment and plan to
build a cultural centre and expand our camping ground. We have
a Consultancy called "Ngalina" which is a Murrawarri word for "The Two of us" - we do
Cultural Vegetation Mapping and Cultural Awareness.
CONVENTIONAL FARMING TO DISCOVERING THE “NEW/OLD”
WAY OF DOING THINGS
Peter Eccleston
Peter Eccleston: a retired stock & station agent, now full time farmer, grew up on a
“conventional” farm at Bathurst, using conventional farming methods. Now farms at
Orange, using and trying new methods through trial and error, improving the water
and soil through a biodiversity line of thought, helping the farm rebuild itself. An active
member of Landcare, Peter has a keen interest in soil biology, water health, plant
diversity and how it affects the land we live off and its relationship with animal health
& importantly our health.
23
MICROBATS OF THE BATHURST REGION
Caroline A Forest
Applied Ecology P/L, Bathurst NSW
For the Wiradjuri people ngarradhan (microbats) brought messages of death, and many
other cultures also associate them with death. Despite their bad reputation, microbats are an
important part of the ecosystem, eating more than half their body weight in insects every
night. One of the longest surviving species, these mammals rely on echolocation to navigate
and to hunt and capture their prey. Their echolocation calls are often used to help with
identifying one species from another. These ultrasonic calls have characteristic shapes
and/or frequencies for each species, and are also used to find water and for social
interactions.
Microbats are generally predominantly cave dwellers or forest dwellers, depending on the
species. For microbats, their world is virtually unknown by humans, as are the ecosystem
services they provide. Take this opportunity to experience their world!
Caroline Forest worked as an electrical fitter mechanic and high
voltage electrician with State Rail before completing a degree in
Paramedic science while working with NSW Ambulance. More
recently she has taken to saving the natural environment,
starting with certificates in rangeland conservation, natural area
management, and arboriculture, and culminating in a degree in
Environmental Health. She is currently completing an honours
project in dendrological photography. As well, Caroline works as
an ecologist with Applied Ecology P/L where she combines her
skills in educating and OHS with her passion for the natural
environment.
1
THE BIGGEST ESTATE ON EARTH
Bill Gammage
Using illustrations, this talk sketches how Aboriginal people, including Wiradjuri, managed
land at the time Europeans arrived (“1788”). People allied with fire and no fire to distribute
plants, and used plant distribution to locate animals, including birds, reptiles and insects.
Country was carefully arranged to give every species a preferred habitat according to Law,
while resources were made abundant, convenient and predictable. The landscape was not
natural in 1788, but made.
Bill Gammage is an emeritus professor in the Humanities
Research Centre at the Australian National University (ANU) in
Canberra. He grew up in Wiradjuri country, and was an ANU
undergraduate and postgraduate before teaching history at the
Universities of Papua New Guinea (1966, 1972-6) and Adelaide
(1977-96). He wrote The Broken Years on Australian soldiers in
the Great War (1974), An Australian in the First World War
(1976), Narrandera Shire (1986), The Sky Travellers on the
1938-39 Hagen-Sepik Patrol in New Guinea (1998), and The
Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia (2011).
He co-edited the Australians 1938 volume of the Bicentennial
History of Australia (1988), and three books about Australians in
World War 1. He was historical adviser to Peter Weir’s film
Gallipoli and to several documentaries. He served the National
Museum of Australia for three years as Council member, deputy chair and acting chair. He
was made a Freeman of the Shire of Narrandera in 1987, a fellow of the Australian Academy
of Social Sciences in 1991, and an AM in 2005.
25
CHARACTERISTICS OF KARST (SOLUBLE ROCK) LANDFORMS
Ernst Holland
Depending on the properties of the base rock, such as limestone, marble, dolomite and
gypsum, characteristic solution features, with climate and soils playing a part, define a Karst
landscape. The fluvial karst landscapes of the Bathurst region display a large number of
these features that by their presence give a good understanding of past processes.
Early European settlers had very little understanding of the characteristics of karst resulting
in soil loss, water contamination, regolith collapse and habitat destruction.
Ernst Holland has either worked or carried
out speleological activities on all of the major
cave and karst areas in Australia and New
Zealand. I have also caved and visited and
worked in the karst areas of Hungary,
Austria, Malaysia, Switzerland and France.
THE GREAT EASTERN RANGES INITIATIVE - LINKING LANDSCAPES AND
LANDHOLDERS
Gary Howling1
1
NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, PO Box 513 Wollongong NSW 2520,
[email protected]
The global emergence in continental scale connectivity conservation partly reflects a
mainstream recognition amongst natural resource managers of the need to address
ecological processes which operate beyond traditional regional scales of action. Commonly,
such initiatives engage participants from a cross-section of society, encouraging
collaboration and alignment of efforts with a vision to connect and conserve habitats.
Implementation of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative (GER) across 3,600 kilometres of
Australia's eastern seaboard, addresses a range of challenges for managers seeking to
achieve a range of ecological, social and institutional outcomes.
GER establishes a multi-scale framework to accommodate the different types and emphases
of decisions made at three key operational scales. At continental scale, understanding the
spread of entities, their distinctiveness and reliance on climatic and edaphic factors guides
allocation of investment between regions and provides a context for efforts; within priority
regions, data on the composition and inter-connectedness of ecosystems and species metapopulations allows networks of diverse cross-sector participants to agree common objectives
and explore spatial priorities for action; at local scale, a more detailed knowledge of
landholders' willingness to participate in conservation efforts, combined interpretation of data
on ecological and tenure-based opportunities and constraints, is essential to facilitate
agreement on scheduling of actions and participants contributions.
After 8 years of active investment in landscapes across eastern Australia, GER has
established a series of regional partnerships to demonstrate practical approaches to
transcending scale of thinking and action, so that even the seemingly smallest of
commitments at property scale can combine to achieve outcomes of continental significance.
Gary Howling is currently Conservation Manager with the Great
Eastern Ranges Initiative (GER) where he is responsible for
providing regional and program-wide partnerships with specialist
scientific conservation advice to guide development of connectivity
conservation projects. His role also involves communicating the
importance of collaboration across and between stakeholders and
landscapes.
27
ENGAGING NATURE – EMBRACING BIODIVERSITY IN FARMING.
Michael Inwood
Toulon, Glanmire Lane, Glanmire via Bathurst.
In this presentation I will share with delegates how we have attempted to “tip the balance” on
our farm (Toulon) in natures favour using regenerative farming techniques. After explaining
what ‘regenerative agriculture’ (RA) is, I will provide examples of RA in practice including the
use of time controlled grazing and the associated strategic rest periods from grazing. As a
result of our changed approach to land management we have observed significant
improvements in the health and biodiversity of our farming system including:
•
•
•
•
An increase in the diversity of plants and animals on the farm;
A significant improvement in soil biology that has helped to reduce our reliance on
external farm inputs;
The rehabilitation of degraded land; and
An increase in the number of native vertebrate animals on Toulon.
These changes have helped us to remain financially viable, as well as improving the value of
our farm’s natural capital.
Michael Inwood is a local Bathurst farmer who, with his family,
manages Toulon (800 ha) at Glanmire. He is a graduate of CSU
Wagga Wagga’s School of Agricultural Science, subsequently
undertaking an agricultural exchange in the USA before
returning full time to Toulon. The family run a sustainable
superfine and ultrafine merino wool growing operation
incorporating some opportunity cropping. A more recent focus
has been an on farm natural resource management project
“Toulon – Engaging Nature” which included the development of
a world first solar powered crop sowing system and other innovative natural management
techniques. Michael received a 2011 Nuffield Scholarship to study sustainable and
regenerative agricultural management with a focus on soil inputs.
A DECADE OF SMALL MAMMAL TRAPPING ACROSS A REMNANT ISLAND FOREST
AND A FIRST GENERATION PINUS RADIATA PLANTATION INTERFACE AT
YETHOLME NSW – IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION IN THE CENTRAL
WESTERN REGION.
David Goldney1, Wyn Jones2 and Rod Kavanagh3
1
Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University [email protected]
2
Conference presenter [email protected]
3
[email protected]
Two small native mammal populations, the Southern Brown Rat (SBR Rattus fuscipes) and
the Brown Marsupial Mouse (BMM Antechinus stuartii) were investigated over a ten year
period (1977 – 1987) in a mark-recapture programme. The investigation occurred in a
remnant island of lightly logged forest dominated by Brown Barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata),
Manna Gum (E. viminalis) and Mountain Gum (E. dalrympleana) and an adjacent 30 year
old first generation Pinus radiata plantation at Yetholme, in the Sunny Corner State Forest,
30km east of Bathurst.
Two 10.6ha gridded plots were established in the plantation and the open forest with grid
intersections 40m apart. The trapping grid in the open forest was subsequently increased to
16.6ha. Forty four trapping sessions were conducted over the 10 year period, representing a
trapping effort of approximately 40,000 trap nights.
The objectives of this research were to:
•
Determine the population characteristics of the two native mammal species;
•
Assess the capacity of pine plantations to support native small mammal populations;
•
Assess the long term population viability of small ground dwelling native mammals
residing in an island habitat.
A total of 1309 BMM were captured in the native forest (Male:Female 1:1.02), compared with
52 in the pine plantation (M:F 1:0.18). A total of 1591 SBR were captured in the native
forest (M:F 1:0.82) compared with 851 in the pine plantation (M:F 1:1.12). Introduced small
mammals captured included Rattus rattus and Mus domesticus, both present in very small
numbers in both the native forest and the pine plantation.
Wyn Jones: Born Winston Jones, Sydney 1944; graduated 1969
with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Sydney University).
Employed in drought research with NSW Department of Agriculture
at University of New England and Glenfield Drought Research Unit
1969-1972. In 1975 appointed as the first Wildlife Ecologist with NSW
Forestry Commission and for seven years collaborated with Dr Harry
Recher of the Australian Museum and NSW NPWS researchers,
pioneering survey methods for birds, small mammals and arboreal
mammals in forests. Wyn became Senior Naturalist at NPWS and continued survey and
research, specializing in endangered plant species of the Blue Mountains. He retired in
2000.
29
200 YEARS OF EUROPEAN LAND MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL WESTERN NSW: HOW
HAS THIS CHANGE AFFECTED BIODIVERSITY AND THE LANDSCAPE?
Anne Kerle, David Goldney and Mike Fleming
C/- Kerle Environmental [email protected]
Two hundred years ago the land management of central western NSW changed from that of
the local Aboriginal custodians to that imposed by the European settlers in a landscape new
to them, one they did not understand, using practices from a different continent. How has
this new paradigm changed the landscape, how has the biodiversity survived and is this
paradigm sustainable?
When European settlers arrived, the Macquarie River at Bathurst was described as “clear
and beautiful” and fish, platypus, turtles, frogs, emus and waterfowl were “abundant”. Within
13 years rapid stocking with cattle and sheep, cropping on the treeless Bathurst plains and
extensive vegetation clearing had a devastating impact.
Fast forward 200 years. Of the 597 vertebrate species known from the Central West and
Lachlan Catchment Areas, 64% (382) are declining. This includes species already listed as
threatened and those that are declining but have not yet become threatened, as defined by
State and Federal legislation. These statistics present a grim picture for the survival of
biodiversity in these catchments. This has been driven by significant habitat loss and
induced landscape change. In the two catchments, native vegetation cover has been
reduced to 39% (61% lost), predominantly in the east.
If this serious decline is to be halted, strategies aimed at broadscale habitat and landscape
restoration must be developed. We must retain and expand remnant habitat, we must repair
the soil quality and structure and we must re-establish the water cycles of the landscape.
And we must do it now if we are to achieve sustainability with the quickening pace of climate
change.
Dr Anne Kerle is an ecologist with a depth of knowledge from 35
years’ experience. This includes natural resource evaluation,
environmental
assessment,
management
and
planning,
environmental education and training, legislative review and policy
development, and information dissemination. She has an holistic,
landscape view of environmental issues and has worked in both the
public (Local, State and Commonwealth governments) and private
sectors. Her professional experience has taken her from tropical
northern Australia to the arid centre, the western slopes and plains
of NSW as well as Vanuatu and sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.
She has been based in the central west of NSW for the last 20
years.
NOT-SO-SILENT SPRING: STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING WILDLIFE HABITAT IN
AGRICULTURAL AREAS
Cilla Kinross
Charles Sturt University, Orange
Bringing back the wildlife to agricultural areas after over-clearing and pesticide use has been
aided by the planting of windbreaks and shelterbelts in many countries throughout the world.
Many studies, including my own, have shown that certain characteristics of these plantings
are of benefit to certain taxa, particularly birds and bats. In the Central Tablelands of NSW,
I found that windbreaks of a certain width (> 50 m) and floristic diversity (> 5 genera) are
particularly beneficial to species known to be declining regionally. Other characteristics, both
at the landscape and site scale, may also affect the fauna that frequents them and, as they
mature, they attract a different suite of species and other taxa. Thus, whilst the conservation
of remnant bushland and large paddock trees remains the most important management tool
to arrest biodiversity decline in this region, the planting of corridors can assist in this
endeavour and concomitantly improve farm productivity and arrest land degradation.
Dr Cilla Kinross is an Adjunct Lecturer in
Environmental Management at CSU, Orange. She has
a background in parks, wildlife and natural resources
management. Her research and community interests
include the restoration of riparian areas, the benefits to
wildlife of revegetation schemes, responses to fire of
Australian flora and fauna and raptor biology.
Cilla is also involved in several community organisations
and is currently the Western Representative of the
Nature Conservation Council of NSW, as well as the President of the Central West
Environment Council and her local landcare group, Summer Hill Creekcare.
31
WIRADYURI SKIES: ABORIGINAL ASTRONOMY IN CENTRAL NSW
Trevor Leaman
Wiradyuri Cultural Astronomy Project
Cultural Astronomy is an interdisciplinary study which brings together the science of astronomy
with the art of social & cultural anthropology. It focuses on looking how we, as culturally diverse
human beings, observe and perceive the wonders of the night sky, and how it gives meaning to
our daily lives.
This talk will give a quick overview of the Wiradyuri Cultural Astronomy Project and how the
whole community can get involved. Current areas of research include looking at how the
landscape may be used to observe the movements of the Sun, Moon and stars, and how the
lifecycles of animals are mirrored in the movements of the stars they represent. As part of the
Giving Back process, the project also aims to develop educational material for teachers,
students & community in the form of study guides, video documentaries, and a Wiradyuri
Astronomy add-in for the Stellarium digital planetarium program.
Trevor Leaman is a Cultural Astronomy PhD candidate at UNSW.
He is researching the astronomical traditions of the Wiradyuri
people of central NSW under the supervision of Dr Duane
Hamacher and Prof Stephen Muecke. He earned diplomas in civil &
mechanical engineering, degrees in biology & forest ecology, and
more recently earned his MSc in astronomy from Swinburne
University. He has worked as an astronomy tour guide and
educator at Ayres Rock Resort & Launceston Planetarium, and at
Sydney Observatory. Currently based in Sydney, He is planning to
move to the Central West in early 2016 to be closer to community.
FIVE GENERATIONS OF EUROPEAN FARMING AND THEIR IMPACT
ON BIODIVERSITY
Robert R. Lee
“Coorah”, Larras Lee
The Lee family has been associated with grazing in the central west since first European
settlement to the present. The impact that each generation has had on the land has differed
but all have been significant. My talk focuses on our current property near Molong which was
settled by a Bathurst pioneer in the late 1820s. That pioneer, William Lee obviously had the
greatest impact on the environment as he and his contemporaries displaced the local
Wiradjuri management and introduced sheep and cattle. The subsequent two generations
basically maintained an extensive grazing regime relying on native species to feed their
livestock. This resulted in a decline in the more palatable and less grazing tolerant species
and a proliferation of red grass, stipa and introduced weeds. Post WWII, exotic pasture
species, superphosphate and fences have again dramatically changed the landscape. This
technology massively increased production and further excluded the native species. I argue
that the first wave of European impact probably reduced the biodiversity quite dramatically
but that modern farming can be compatible with improved biodiversity outcomes.
Robert Lee has farmed on his family’s property “Coorah” since 1986 where he and his wife
Kim have raised three children. Robert and Kim have consolidated the ownership of the farm
over the past eighteen years. Since taking over the management they have generated farm
profitability consistently above average in the Holmes Sackett benchmarking database.
Robert has been involved with Landcare for twenty five years including three years as
chairman of Little River Landcare Group. He credits the Landcare movement with
transforming his attitudes to sustainable land management.
33
A NEW DEAL FOR NATURE: PROPOSED CHANGES TO NSW BIODIVERSITY LAWS
Cerin Loane
Nature Conservation Council of NSW
Nature is in crisis. Over the last 200 years our natural heritage has been in dramatic decline
with over 100 plant and animal species now extinct. There are currently over 989 species of
plants and animals threatened with extinction in New South Wales.
Land clearing and habitat loss is the single biggest cause of species loss in NSW. Improved
land management practices can prevent further losses of biodiversity and support the
services that healthy ecosystems provide.
The NSW Government has proposed significant changes to our State’s biodiversity and
conservation laws, including: repealing the Native Vegetation Act 2003 and Threatened
Species Conservation Act 1995; requiring land clearing applications to be assessed as
development under the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979; and increasing the
use of biodiversity offsets
The re-write of NSW biodiversity laws is an important opportunity to improve land
management practices, take action to halt biodiversity decline and restore our natural
heritage. The new laws must include a clear commitment to improving outcomes for nature,
create a level playing field for all development, ensure important habitat is protected, and
close the loopholes that allow under-the-radar clearing. There must also be increased
investment in private land conservation and sufficient resources to implement new laws.
Cerin Loane is the Policy and Research Coordinator at the Nature
Conservation Council of NSW (NCC). Cerin worked as a planning and
environment lawyer before spending several years exploring the natural
wonders of South America. Since returning to Australia she has worked
with NCC to provide a voice for nature and advocate for strong
environment and conservation laws in NSW. NCC is the peak
environment organisation for New South Wales, representing 150
member societies across the state and is committed to protecting and
conserving the wildlife, landscapes and natural resources of NSW.
SWAMPY MEADOWS: VALUING A LANDFORM SYSTEM EMBATTLED AFTER 200
YEARS OF LAND USE CHANGE
Barbara G Mactaggart
Mactaggart Natural Resource Management [email protected]
Introduction: To understand the processes that have degraded swampy meadow landform
systems since European settlement, it is necessary to understand their geomorphic
evolution before that time, across many spatio-temporal scales. Foremost, however, the
swampy meadow is not always well recognised or understood due to their rarity in the
contemporary landscape and the predominant focus of riverine attention being on river
systems lower in the catchment. As well, problems in defining a landform that has many
analogues and naming conventions create uncertainty. Poor system awareness engenders
the importance of being able to recognise the geomorphic, ecologic and hydrologic
characterisations and variations and to be able to make some prediction of where these
landforms once occurred. Gaining these fundamental understandings is a prerequisite to
effective management and restoration to achieve localised, farm-scale benefits; such as
minimising water and nutrient loss and consequent improvement to on-farm productivity.
Further, it attributes to catchment benefits of improved water quality, moderating flood
hydrographs and contributing to ecosystem diversity and landscape resilience.
Results: Swampy meadows were ubiquitous in the Central Tablelands upper catchments
prior to European settlement and were, and still are, more likely to occur in areas where a
suite of characteristics allow for permanent or periodic saturation of the substrate. They are
highly variable in terms of geomorphologic, hydrologic and ecological attributes both across
landscapes and within swamps. They also change over time in response to natural and
human induced influences.
Conclusion: The high heterogeneity in swampy meadow morphology and ecosystem
functions mean that a prescriptive approach to their management or restoration is not
appropriate and can lead to poor outcomes.
Dr Barbara Mactaggart is principal consulting ecologist at
Mactaggart Natural Resource Management in Bathurst and attained
her PhD in the field of swampy meadow research in the NSW Central
Tablelands covering the disciplines of geomorphology, hydrology and
ecology. Barbara has undertaken many natural resource consultancy
projects across NSW and has been engaged in the strategic
management of vegetation, riparian systems and biodiversity for local
government.
She has also provided legal opinion, prepared
environmental
assessments
and
undertaken
swamp
characterisations and assessments, aquatic macroinvertebrate and
flora and threatened species studies for federal, state and local
governments, private industry and landholders as well as community
groups.
35
WALKING INTO COUNTRY: A STORY FROM THE SOUTH
George Main
National Museum of Australia
In September 2014 a small group of people walked 50 kilometres south from the
Murrumbidgee River near Narrandera, through modern farmland, to a property owned by the
Strong family, pioneers in ecological farming. Artists, writers, farmers and Wiradjuri leaders
participated in the project. What might it mean, at this moment in time, to walk attentively
through agricultural country reshaped and groomed by industrial machinery and modern
systems of knowledge? Might the land itself hold capacities to guide our efforts to return
wellbeing to country, and stability to climate?
George Main works as a curator and environmental
historian at the National Museum of Australia, where
he has contributed to the creation and management
of the Landmarks and Old New Land galleries. He is
the author of Heartland: the Regeneration of Rural
Place (2005) and helps run the Bush Retreats for
Eco-Writers network.
DIVERSITY AND THE DOMINANT SPECIES
Tony McBurney
Director, integratedDESIGNgroup
The settlement pattern and practices of “the dominant species” has a pronounced impact. As
we come to understand the Australian continent as a “managed” environment influenced
significantly by at least two quite divergent cultures, we must confront our own responsibility
of stewardship. How can we live in and share an enormously resource rich but fragile land?
The activities of ‘management’ and ‘plunder’ reverberate through our history to inform how
we might now learn to share the continent between traditional and dominant cultures, but we
also need to consider our capacity to participate in a global population expansion and crossborder movements of incredible scale.
This presentation will seek to set a context for these matters, and then go on to consider
contemporary settlement patterns, their implications on land use and diversity, and the
scope for sustainable society and settlement. Regional Australia will be called upon to
participate in a national response to global pressures and we need to prepare to do this well.
We even have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership through a clearer understanding of
the inter-related complexities of the landscape and managed settlement.
Tony McBurney moved to regional NSW with his wife Sarah about
20 years ago, starting a family, a business, and a passion for the
positive growth of regional Australia. All 3 have matured and
continue to inform each other as Tony ‘lives the dream’ and ‘walks
the talk’. He is getting desperate to help rural communities find good
ways into a diversified future.
Tony’s professional skills as Director of IntegratedDESIGNgroup provide insights in urban
design and built form - issues much more important to regional towns and villages than is
often credited. This is augmented with several years of research into the ‘big picture’ forces
that will drive the opportunity of the coming decades of social, economic and political
change. More recently, a tour of the western half of the continent opened the family to an
understanding that traditional management patterns actually ‘formed’ much of what we now
value as significant natural assets. This changes our view of the Bathurst Plains that we
have come to cherish for so many reasons.
37
NATIVE OR MULTI-CULTURAL BIODIVERSITY – IS THE ANSWER BLACK,
WHITE OR GREY?
Julia McKay1
Fenner School for Environment and Society, Australian National University,
Canberra, 0200 ACT, Australia E-mail: [email protected]
Australia is one of the most multi-cultural nations on earth. Since our earliest settlement we
have welcomed immigrants from all over the world and this policy is now embodied in the
proposed intake of 14,000 additional refugees from Syria.
In keeping with this importation of people, Australia has seen fit to import the animals and
plants that provided food and fibre for those immigrants - cattle, goats, pigs, alpacas, deer
and sheep, together with some of the plants upon which such animals forage. Vegetables
from Asia, fruits and berries from Europe, tubers from the Americas and the Pacific, nuts
from South America all provide “fusion” food ingredients for the modern Australian chef.
Along with these functional species, our settlers brought cats, dogs, rabbits and a multitude
of garden plants to make their lives more like “home” and to beautify what they perceived to
be a hostile landscape.
Can everyone and everything live in harmony to make our land more productive or are we
going to “play favourites” by discriminating against some species on the grounds of a desire
for native biodiversity? It is impossible to turn back the clock on human impact in this
country, so how is it to be managed? Are “novel ecosystems” the way of the future?
Julia McKay B.A., LL.B., (University of Sydney), Grad. Cert. Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (Australian National University, ACT), Retired
Lawyer, Dairy Farmer, Deferred PhD Scholar, Fenner School,
Australian National University, ACT, Active Landcarer, Upper
Shoalhaven Landcare Council
SOIL AND LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL WESTERN NSW: LESSONS
LEARNT AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FUTURE
David C. McKenzie
Soil Management Designs, Orange NSW 2800
To provide ‘food security’ for an expanding human population, the world’s farmers will be
expected to boost their outputs – possibly by as much as 60% by 2050 – and maintain those
improvements indefinitely into the future. The Bathurst region, like many other parts of
Australia and beyond, will be expected to contribute despite having to deal with major soilrelated challenges.
For success to occur, we need to ensure that we understand the failures and successes
from the last 200 years, in relation to inherent features of landscapes such as depth to rock
and availability of nutrients. Experience with indigenous food production and landscape
stabilisation from the Wiradjuri Nation must also be considered by planners.
The massive land degradation problems associated with two hundred years of European
settlement are well documented, particularly erosion and disruption of hydrological cycles
through overgrazing by sheep and rabbits. However, there has been important progress with
soil assessment and land management driven by entrepreneurial landholders and local
scientists.
Overcoming future challenges with local-to-global land management can only succeed if
there is a long-term commitment by governments and industry to world-leading education –
and on-going support – of effective teams of landscape management practitioners and soil
science researchers. They need to be based in rural centres such as Bathurst-Orange where
hands-on skills can be learnt, and where all relevant groups within our community can
contribute to land management debates and implementation. This strength in diversity and
competence will maximise our chances of providing ‘food security’ without compromising the
natural environment.
David McKenzie is an Orange-based consultant with 38
years’ experience in soil assessment and management. He
was a soil scientist with NSW Agriculture for fifteen years and
co-founded the SOILpak concept. David has published over 40
scientific papers and book chapters, most of which focussed
on soil structure.
agriculture.
39
He established ‘Soil Management Designs’ in 1996. Soil
survey work for new vineyards was the main activity initially.
More recently, contracts have included soil surveys for
sandalwood plantations across northern Australia, a soil
carbon review for the dairy industry, and soil assessments for
mining companies that improve mine closure outcomes for
NATIVE FLORA OF THE WESTERN CENTRAL TABLELANDS
Richard W Medd
593 Cargo Road, Orange. NSW 2800, [email protected]
The vegetation and flora of the Central Tablelands Botanical Subdivision west of the Great
Dividing Range has never been studied in detail so no comprehensive account has been
published. Consequently the plant diversity that existed pre-European settlement will always
essentially remain unknown and conjectural. Through interrogation of various databases it
has been possible to compile an inventory of the native flora for the high altitude portions of
the westerly flowing Lachlan and Macquarie River catchments, based primarily on both
historical and recent herbarium specimen records and observations. Covering an area of
approx. 1.4 million hectares, species richness is surprisingly high with almost 1000
dicotyledons consisting of predominantly low shrubs and forbs, over 400 monocotyledonous
species and around 50 pteridophytes. Eleven species are endemic and a further 21 species
which occur within the region are near endemic. Thirty five threatened species gazetted
under either or both the NSW TSC and Commonwealth EPBC Acts occur in the region as do
a further 23 ROTAP species. Many other species are rare or uncommon and also at risk.
Extinction is in the order of 36 species but georeferencing and other issues means some
may well have either not existed or were precarious within the region. Over one third of the
flora can be considered as being regionally significant on the basis of natural range limits.
More than half of the flora is inadequately conserved in conservation reserves which cover
ca. 8.5% of the region. The rich fabric of floral and genetic diversity coupled with endemism
and regional significance has hitherto been overlooked and underappreciated.
Dick Medd retired as Principal Research Scientist from NSW DPI
[formerly Dept. of Agriculture] after a career of 40 years in applied
weed research. He is a graduate of Hawkesbury Agricultural College
(Hons) and completed B.Rur.Sc. (Hons) and Ph.D. degrees at the
University of New England. In retirement he has embarked on
studying the native flora of the western Central Tablelands with the
aim of compiling an illustrated Field Guide.
THE PHENOMENA OF CONNECTING NATURAL CYCLES BY
MULTIPLES OF SPECIES
Paul Newell
‘LANDSMANSHIP’ [email protected]
Only Nature working as ‘eco-system’, can maintain the ‘supply chain’ of Earth, which is the
multiples of living species, soil and water (diverse species, diverse species types and
diverse environments), that connect and re-connect small natural cycles locally where we
live and it is all of life on Earth together, that creates and maintains large natural cycles
between the biosphere and the atmosphere.
Species, soil and water co-evolve functionally (productively) together, without human
intervention.
Where land is disconnected from natural cycles (cycles are broken), land becomes
dysfunctional.
Single species dominance (monoculture) can only make the landscape dysfunctional, each
time, every time, urban and rural.
Replenishment of species, soil and water is greater than depletion, when a land and water
system is functional (productive).
Where land is functional, oceans, seas, lakes and rivers are also functional.
In functional valleys ‘riffle benches’ (raised, transverse to flow benches) form from stream
bed material at each and every scale of landscape, where ever surface water flows through
living banded vegetation. Whole of valley landscapes are‘re-soiled’, ‘re-formed’ and ‘rehydrated’ in this way.
Everything on Earth is interconnected and interrelating without loss to the surface of the
Earth, as the natural ecology working, in multiples of natural cycles, naturally (automatically)
governed by temperature, not man alone.
It is now essential for life on Earth to live and work as multiples of species together, making
‘habitat in common’ as local communities in functional land and water systems, each time,
every time, over time, for all time.
Paul Newell’s working lifetime of experimenting on the
land, includes research with the NSW Department of
Agriculture into multi species crop and pasture practices in
farming. For the past twenty five years Paul has carried
out research privately on various regional and family
farming properties, into natural farming methodology,
practical farm management, practice adaptations,
education, and training and implementation programs of
“Landsmanship” principles as teacher / trainer / consultant
in applied ecology.
He has maintained his focus on the intense study of “Evolution Ecology” contributed greatly
to “Restoration Ecology”, innovative practices, at low monetary cost.
41
ROAST DUCK AND CAKE IN STURT’S STONY DESERT
Bruce Pascoe
When the explorer Charles Sturt arrived in Australia, the interior was still largely unknown to
Europeans. Efforts to penetrate to the centre of the continent had been thwarted by the
terrain and inhospitable conditions.
Sturt’s expedition, beginning in 1844, was hampered by the rigours of the environment. It
was so hot thermometers burst, screws fell out of boxes and the lead from pencils. Sturt’s
party reached Cooper’s Creek, in what was to become known as Sturt’s Stony Desert,
where they were confronted by sand ridges thirty metres high. They ploughed on, enduring
incredible hardships. Sturt climbed one final dune and peered down onto the plain. His
journal records, ‘… on gaining the summit [we] were hailed with a deafening shout by 3 or
400 natives, who had assembled on the flat below … I had never before come so suddenly
upon so large a party. The scene was of the most animated description, and was rendered
still more striking from the circumference of the native huts, at which there were a number
of women and children, occupying the whole crest of a long piece of rising ground at the
opposite side of the flat. Sturt was looking on the dry floodplain of a river and he couldn’t
understand how these people were able to survive. Sick and weary and with horses
stumbling with hunger, thirst and fatigue, Sturt was alarmed at coming so suddenly on so
many Aboriginals.
‘Had these people been of an unfriendly temper, we could not in any possibility have
escaped them, for our horses could not have broken into a canter to save our lives or their
own. We were therefore wholly in their power … but, so far from exhibiting any unkind
feeling, they treated us with genuine hospitality, and we might certainly have commanded
whatever they had. Several of them brought us large troughs of water, and when we had
taken a little, held them up for our horses to drink; an instance of nerve that is very
remarkable, for I am quite sure that no white man (having never seen or heard of a horse
before, and with the natural apprehension the first sight of such an animal would create)
would deliberately have walked up to what must have appeared to them most formidable
brutes, and placing the troughs they carried against their breast, they allowed the horses to
drink, with their noses almost touching them. They likewise offered us some roasted ducks,
and some cake. When we walked over to their camp, they pointed to a large new hut, and
told us we could sleep there ……and (later) they brought a quantity of sticks for us to make
a fire, wood being extremely scarce.’1 Sturt was doing it tough among the savages alright.
New house, roast duck and cake!
(The above is an excerpt from Bruce Pascoe’s new history to be released in February by
Magabala. The book calls into question the Australian belief that Aboriginal people were
primitive hunter gatherers.)
Bruce Pascoe, a Bunurong man, a member of the
Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative of southern
Victoria, and an awarding winning Australian writer,
editor, and anthologist. His works have been published
nationally and internationally, and have won several
national literary competitions. He has combined writing
fiction and non-fiction with a career as a successful
publisher and has been the director of the Australian
Studies Project for the Commonwealth Schools
Commission. He has also worked as a teacher, farmer, fisherman, barman, farm fence
contractor, lecturer, Aboriginal language researcher, archeological site worker, and
editor. He has also appeared in the SBS TV program, First Australians.
USING COMPASSION TO COHABIT WITH KANGAROOS
Daniel Ramp
Centre for Compassionate Conservation
School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
Many populations of wild animals are considered to be a nuisance to humans because they
are perceived to impede on human values (e.g. lives, livelihood). Likewise, species that have
introduced into new landscapes are of concern because they may impact on biodiversity and
human values. Whether native or non-native, the management response is often to
eradicate or reduce populations of these species. The problem is that justification for
intervention is frequently blurred; a conflation of anthropocentric values and environmental
morality. Not only does this manifest in widespread killing and poor welfare for many wild
animals, badged under the auspices of managing for the greater good, it promotes
disengagement and fear of wild animals in local communities. Compassionate conservation,
which promotes the inclusion of individual welfare in conservation practice, is reframing how
conservation targets are established and actively encourages coexistence with wild animals
in ways that incorporates their welfare and well-being. In this talk I highlight how we have
utilised the principles of compassionate conservation to find pathways for coexistence
between kangaroos and humans in the Bathurst region, particularly those cohabiting on
Mount Panorama. Specifically, we established a strong local community group to promote
open discussion of the issues, and then engaged with the local council to understand what
the issues were. We then established a scientific monitoring program to determine how
kangaroos were using the Mount and surrounds. Since beginning this research project, a
marked increase in positive sentiment towards kangaroos and a decrease in persecution
has resulted. By linking attitudinal and education programs for people to sound and
independent scientific research we are providing an inclusive way for all stakeholders to
participate in re-envisaging how to coexist with kangaroos. This simple approach has the
potential to result in better welfare outcomes for these wild animals and greater empathy for
them as constituents in the wider community.
Dan is a conservation biologist who has written on concepts in
landscape ecology, behavioural ecology, road ecology, humanwildlife conflict and ethics in decision-making. He is currently a
Senior Lecturer in the School of Life Sciences at UTS and
previously was an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow and then Senior
Research Fellow in the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the
University of New South Wales. He is the Director of the Centre for
Compassionate Conservation at UTS and overseas its research and
teaching programs across 5 faculties. The kangaroos are his
greatest passion and he did his doctoral research on individual decision making in eastern
grey kangaroos at the University of Melbourne.
43
CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURE IN CENTRAL NSW.
Andrew Rawson
Charles Sturt University, Orange
The 21st Century is destined to be dominated by the effects and implications of global
anthropogenic climate change. In the Central Tablelands changing climates will almost
certainly impose extra pressures on an already degraded and fragmented landscape.
Recent climate modelling for NSW (NARCliM) demonstrates that there is a very high
confidence that all temperature indices (max, min, seasonal, annual, extremes) will continue
to increase over the coming decades. Both mean maximum and mean minimum
temperatures are expected to rise in the Central West of NSW by around 0.7 degrees C by
2030, and 2.1 degrees by 2070. This represents a significant acceleration in the rate of
temperature rise by comparison to 20th Century increases. This, coupled with the likelihood
of changes to the frequency, intensity and seasonality of rainfall will impact on the survival
capacity of many species, especially those already at the margins of their ranges or
independently vulnerable. Due to its central location and high relative altitude the Central
Tablelands will experience a net inflow of: a) people (climate refugees from hot areas west
and north; lifestyle blocks; retirees to get closer to medical services); b) native species
(range expansion or shifting); c) broadacre agriculture (shifting into the region as cold
winters become milder); d) weeds, pests and diseases (known, and previously unknown in
the landscape). Managing the inevitable land use conflicts will require a multi-faceted
response from NRM agencies and local councils.
Dr Andrew Rawson is currently an Adjunct Associate
Professor with Charles Sturt University, Orange, teaching
climate change science and agricultural sustainability. Dr
Rawson has contributed to a number of major soils research
projects involving mapping acid soils in NSW, development
of MIR spectroscopy for soils analysis, calibrating RothC for
the National Carbon Accounting System and mapping soil
carbon sequestration potential in public lands. He is
regularly invited to speak to landholder and community
groups on the measurement and dynamics of soil carbon
and implications of climate change for the agricultural
sector. Dr Rawson has contributed to many NSW Government policies including the NSW
Greenhouse Plan, the NSW Climate Change Impacts Profile, and the NSW Soils Policy.
ESTABLISHING ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN THE MURRAY - DARLING BASIN
Bev Smiles
Inland Rivers Network
It is recognised that water has been over-allocated and over-extracted in the MurrayDarling Basin. This has caused deterioration in river and wetland health across the
system to the Murray Mouth. Water dependent biodiversity and Aboriginal cultural
heritage values have been impacted by changes to natural flows and seasonal
variability. The millennium drought indicated that the long term resilience of
significant wetland areas is under threat causing habitat loss for water dependent
flora and fauna species. Australia has commitments under international treaties to
protect Ramsar wetlands and migratory bird habitats.
The Basin Plan is considered to be a world first in water management across
jurisdictions with the objective of returning flows to the riverine environment. The
Murray Darling Basin Authority was established to implement the Basin Plan and the
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder was established to manage the water
regained through the Basin Plan. Key outcomes for vegetation, native fish, water
birds and water quality have been identified in the implementation of the Plan and
these guide the delivery of environmental flows at local, regional and basin-wide
scales. The community is closely involved in decision-making about the management
of environmental water.
Bev Smiles is President of the Inland Rivers Network and has
held positions in water reform and management processes
since 1998. She is currently a member of the MacquarieCudgegong Environmental Flows Reference Group, the
Stakeholder Advisory Panel for the development of the
Macquarie Water Resource Plan and the NSW Floodplain
Harvesting Review Committee. Bev works closely with
environment groups, State and Federal Government agencies
and other stakeholders with an interest in improving river and
wetland health across the Basin
45
THE ROLE OF TSRS IN CONSERVING BIOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY
AND INDIGENOUS HISTORY
Peter Spooner
Institute of Land, Water & Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury NSW 2640, Australia;
Email: [email protected]
Travelling Stock Routes (TSRs) are networks of grazing routes and reserves situated
throughout much of south-eastern Australia, and thought to have originated from the tracks
of early European explorers, pastoralists and settlers. In the 1870s, a network of Travelling
Stock Routes were formally gazetted at varying widths from one to 80 chains wide (one
mile), and served as a major transport network throughout much of NSW. Since then, their
droving use has declined, however TSRs have gained attention for their role in conserving
biodiversity. As agricultural landscapes become increasingly impoverished, TSRS often
provide vital refuge for endangered woodland communities and species, where many are of
high conservation status. However the historic development of TSRs has been poorly
documented, and mostly confined to the classic droving account. An alternative perspective
suggests that some TSRs originated from previous Indigenous traditional pathways, which
are known to have existed prior to European settlement. Evidence suggests that indigenous
pathways were adopted into the present day stock route system by (1) ‘passing on’ of
knowledge of pathways by Indigenous guides and trackers, and (2) observations of physical
evidence of pathways by early Europeans, and their subsequent use as early roads. Owing
to their shared history and biodiversity values, TSRs serve as an important legacy of past
land-use decisions on the landscape.
Dr Peter Spooner is an ecologist with a broad range of research
interests including grazing management of temperate woodlands,
fragmentation effects on plant populations, plant dispersal
mechanisms, biodiversity conservation in rural landscapes,
restoration ecology, the historical legacy of human impacts on
ecosystems, and the broader environmental history of New South
Wales. Peter has specific research interests in road ecology and
roadside vegetation management in Australia, where he has
conducted extensive research on the history of Travelling Stock
Reserves and stock Routes. Peter has published over 30 refereed
scientific papers and book chapters, including a recent book chapter on connectivity
conservation in Linking Australia's Landscapes.
MINING, FARMING AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION CAN CO-EXIST
Michael D Sutherland
General Manager, Alkane Resources Ltd
While the title of this paper may seem outrageous to some, it is based on my experience
gained over 30 years of personal investment in agriculture and mining in the Central West.
My forebears have had a significant hand in changing and shaping Central West landscapes
from the 1880s, but I believe the current generations involved with land management have a
better understanding of sustainability and have the government regulations and tools to
reverse degradation if that is their will.
My wife and I developed a productive 3,300Ha sheep/wheat farm near Peak Hill (1984-2001)
which supported 84% of the vertebrate species known from the 1:100 000 map sheet. A
Voluntary Conservation Agreement was established in 1993 over 12% of our property to
protect the conservation values of that land. We also put considerable effort into reintroducing two vertebrate species which had been extinct locally for seventy years.
The Peak Hill Gold Mine where I worked (1995-2005) supports a significant increase in
biodiversity as a direct result of mining activity and landscape rehabilitation. Landscape
function analysis has been used as a tool to confirm the high levels of ecosystem function in
the man-made final landforms.
The $1.3B Dubbo Zirconia Project will be the first mine in the Dubbo LGA and will generate
significant socio-economic benefits for generations as mining, agriculture and biodiversity
are integrated across a 3,500Ha estate.
Regulation, biodiversity offsets, a plethora of management plans and financial and human
resources are dedicated to delivering social, environmental and economic benefits from
mining.
Michael Sutherland has lived and worked in the Central West most
of his life though he started his professional life working as a
geologist in South Africa. Michael has spent 17 years as a farmer and
22 years in the mining industry (six years overlapping). He earned a
Bachelor of Science (Geology/Biology) degree from the University of
Sydney (1981) and post-graduate qualifications in Community
Relations (Resources Sector) from UQ (2010) and Australian Rural
Leadership from JCU (2012). Mike is employed by Alkane Resources
Ltd as General Manager NSW – working primarily on the Dubbo
Zirconia Project but also across Alkane’s other projects from
Crookwell to Tomingley and Wellington. Mike has been heavily
involved in natural resource management (including cultural heritage)
since the early 80s through community leadership roles and local,
State and National levels. Mike is passionate about the role that mining can play in building
resilience in regional communities through employment and training.
47
SOME IMPACTS OF COLONIAL FARMING IN THE BATHURST REGION
THROUGH THE EYES OF THE SUTTOR FAMILY
David Suttor
Brucedale, 1361 Sofala Road, Peel via Bathurst NSW 2795
George Suttor with his wife Sarah, were sponsored by Sir Joseph Banks to come
as free settlers to Sydney in 1800. George was supported by Banks for his
gardening skills. His task at sea was to look after a collection of plants that were
being shipped to the new colony, eventually arriving in Sydney Cove on The
Porpoise. Suttor took up a land grant of 75ha at Baulkham Hills in 1802 as a
pioneer orchardist. Badly impacted by drought, caterpillar plagues and not enough
land, the Suttor family, with their stock, drays and horses, came across Cox’s Road
in February 1822, eventually taking up a grant in 1823 where Brucedale was
established at the junction of the Winburndale Rivulet and Clear Creek. The
grant was established on the light soils near the north western boundary of the
Bathurst granite, with open grassy woodlands dominated by Yellow Box and
Blakely’s Red Gum and patches of Angophora woodland. The two streams
were dominated by River She-oak. Little clearing needed to be undertaken to
grow crops or run stock and the land was deceptively fertile. During and preceding the declaration of martial law in 1824, the Suttor’s were not targeted by
the Wiradyuri warrior Windradyne, since he and his followers had been well
treated by the Suttor family and son William was fluent in the Wiradyuri
language. Windradyne was eventually buried on Brucedale. George Suttor
became a member of the Linnean Society and published papers on
horticulture and natural history. Some of the early impacts that settler farming had
in the wider Bathurst area will be discussed in this talk.
David Suttor is the 6th generation of his family to farm at
Brucedale Bio
Peter Eccleston, a retired stock & station agent, now full time farmer, grew up on a
“conventional” farm at Bathurst, using conventional farming methods. Now farms at
Orange, using and trying new methods through trial and error, improving the water
and soil through a biodiversity line of thought, helping the farm rebuild itself. An
active member of Landcare, Peter has a keen interest in soil biology, water health,
plant diversity and how it affects the land we live off and its relationship with animal
health & importantly our health.
FOCUSSED ON FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AT
“GOONAMURRAH”
Ross Thompson
Millah Murrah Angus Stud, Goonamurrah, 1202 Turondale Road, Bathurst NSW 2795.
We operate a 951ha property on undulating, light, Bathurst granite soils with remnant
patches of endangered Grassy Box Woodlands. In the past decade, we have moved from a
set stocking regime associated with environmental and financial stresses, to a more
sustainable model revolving around long rest periods for the pasture. This has resulted in
both financial and environmental benefits.
Some of the changes implemented include:
• fencing according to land capability with smaller paddocks;
• fencing out fragile land or land where restoration is progressing;
• adopting Time Control Grazing techniques;
• flexibly and responsibly leasing adjacent land in order to prevent over grazing on
Goonamurrah;
• construction of an extensive reticulation system to take pressure off farm dams and
allowing some to be fenced out for wildlife needs;
• measuring changes in key environmental parameters such as soil carbon to
objectively measure improvements in the farm’s ecology;
• using flumes, bars, and natural regeneration to restore and rebuild degraded gullies
(soil formation, slowing water and rehydrating adjacent lands, reducing the export of
nutrients, increased productivity etc)
• tree planting and watercourse regeneration; and
• increasing hilltop productivity to enable stock to act as fertility drivers, helping to reestablish nutrient and carbon cycles at local and farm scale.
The emphasis on restoring critical ecosystem cycles (carbon, water and nutrient), the
maintenance of a high percentage of actively transpiring ground cover, together with
restoration activities, has been accompanied by an observable increase in farm wildlife.
Some nuisance wildlife also respond well to the improved environment, at times requiring
management intervention.
Ross and Dimity Thompson with their extended
family, operate a seedstock beef cattle business
seeking to produce leading genetics for the
commercial beef industry in harmony with
sympathetic land use practice. In 2011 they were
awarded the Champion Primary Producer and
Champion Sustainable Farm Practice awards from
the Central Tablelands CMA, and in the same year
were runners up in the Primary Producer section of
the State Landcare Conference. They also won the
Tablelands Region Cocky award for 2011. In 2013
the Thompsons received the Jo Ross Memorial Award for contributions towards the
environment, awarded by Greening Bathurst.
49
OBSERVATIONS ON CHANGES IN THE HABITATS OF FROGS AND REPTILES IN THE
BATHURST REGION SINCE 1960
Gavin Waters
Herpetologist, 3214 Turondale Road, Crudine via Bathurst NSW 2795. (02) 63377753
I am a person of Aboriginal descent who has worked in many occupations over the years,
including with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the Bathurst Hill End area. My
observations and research have been predominantly focused on the Central Western
Region of NSW, including the Bathurst - Hill End area. In this presentation I will be
focussing on my observations of changing habitat values over the past 50 years. My
Aboriginal heritage has very much shaped my views of nature and the need to conserve
species and their habitats.
I wish to make three main points:
1. Since 1815 there have been significant changes and losses of fauna habitats
associated with clearing, fire suppression and many very poor European land
management practices resulting in less available habitat for vertebrate species,
structural simplification of habitats, and the homogenisation of the remaining
habitats in both the private and public sector.
2. The cultural landscapes created by the Wiradyuri people pre 1815 that optimised
wildlife resources needed by Aboriginal people have been replaced by a European
cultural landscape that has in the main, been detrimental to wildlife.
3. The habitat requirements of wildlife vary from nearly a 100% overlap to quite
different requirements, hence the adverse impacts of European land management
have impacted some species more than others.
My take home message from an Aboriginal perspective is that as a society we need to
revisit vast areas of homogenising habitats and to actively create heterogeneous
landscapes (differing niche spaces) through considered human manipulation to create the
range of habitats required to conserve wildlife species. Some needed manipulations are
likely to prove controversial.
Gavin Waters was born and raised in the Bathurst area. His
herpetological knowledge and understanding exceeds that of
many professional scientists. He also manages the family’s
woodland property at Crudine with some frontage to the Turon
River. When I first came to Bathurst in 1972, Gavin Waters
along with Ian McArtney (a Wellington Wiradjuri man) were my
early mentors and I owe them both a debt of gratitude. Most of
Gavin’s knowledge remains in his head. However he is always
ready and willing to share his knowledge with young and old.
Gavin was a major contributor to a 1970s ground-breaking
National Trust Study of the Central West Region where he
helped map the distribution of every vertebrate species across
60 or so 1:100,000 maps sheets. (Prepared by David Goldney)
MANAGING AN ENDANGERED POPULATION OF PINK-TAILED WORM LIZARDS
ON A MINE SITE
Arthur. W. White
Biosphere Environmental Consultants, 69 Bestic Street, ROCKDALE 2216
The Pink-tailed Worm Lizard Aprasis parapulchella is a small, fossorial pygopod that was
first detected in the Dubbo LGA in 2000. The site where the first animal was found was on a
dedicated mine site. Subsequent surveys determined that this species was locally abundant
in the area south of Dubbo, but disconnected to other populations on the south-west slopes.
Extended survey work was commissioned by Alkane Resources PL to determine the
distribution and abundance of these reptiles, to determine their local habitat requirements
and to consider conservation options in tandem with the development of the mine.
Pink-tailed worm-lizards were only detected in areas where Jurassic intrusive volcanic rocks
were present. The lizards utilised these rocks (and the associated soils) as burrowing or
shelter areas. Furthermore, the ant species that are the prey of these lizards also utilise
these volcanic soils. This meant that the limits of potential habitat could be tightly defined
and mapped according to the lithology of the area.
Mine haul roads, sedimentation ponds and other infrastructure have been relocated to avoid
habitat areas. Trials were conducted using artificial shelters on volcanic soils to see if it was
possible to expand the range of these animals. Monitoring studies of the lizards are ongoing.
A Conservation Plan has been developed to protect these lizards during and after the life of
the mine.
Dr Arthur White is an ecologist specialising in studies of
endangered reptiles and frogs. He is also the Director of Biosphere
Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd, a company that works with
both government and private concerns to develop conservation
strategies for endangered species. These projects often entail
extensive field surveys, monitoring or habitat restoration works. Dr
White is involved in a number of research project on threatened
fauna in Australia and has published over 70 scientific papers. In
addition, Dr White is a Research Associate of the Australian
Museum and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of
New South Wales where he is involved in studies of fossil turtles.
He is currently President of the Frog and Tadpole Study Group of New South Wales and a
member of several governmental advisory panels.
51
THE NEW FRESHWATER PARADIGM AS CONSEQUENCE OF LAND USE AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
John Williams FTSE
Adjunct Professor, ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and CSU Institute of land and Society
Freshwater ecosystems in rivers, billabongs, lakes, wetlands and floodplains are rich
sources of biodiversity in the Australian landscape. Over recent decades freshwater
biodiversity has declined faster than that of either terrestrial or marine habitats, a situation
likely to continue. These losses are generally a consequence of degradation due to diversion
and regulation of river flows, fragmentation, eutrophication, contamination, over-harvesting,
invasions of exotics, filling, draining channelization of floodplains and wetlands, and
alterations to disturbance regimes. While aquatic ecosystems are particularly sensitive to
climate change through changes to catchment hydrological processes, it is upon those
ecosystems already under the above stresses that we can expect climate change to have its
greatest impact. Climate change will alter their hydrology and thermal regimes and given that
many freshwater organisms have precise thermal and hydrological tolerances, place them
under increasing threat. It is now clearly apparent that freshwater biodiversity is highly
vulnerable to climate change, with extinction rates and extirpations of freshwater species
matching or exceeding those suggested for better-known terrestrial taxa.
This future scenario of massive loss of aquatic biodiversity can only be addressed by a
paradigm shift in water policy development derived from a new generation of national water
reform which gives paramount attention to living in the Australian continent under climate
change. Our current water policy is stuck in the past climate patterns and makes little or no
systematic attention to conservation of our aquatic biodiversity which underpins every
Australians efforts to live sustainably under climate change.
John Williams is a founding member of the Wentworth Group
of Concerned Scientists, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Technological Sciences and Engineering and holds the
prestigious Farrer Memorial Medal for achievement and
excellence in agricultural science. He is one of Australia’s most
respected and trusted scientists, with extensive experience in
providing national and international thought-leadership in
natural-resource management, particularly in agricultural
production and its environmental footprint. John is currently
adjunct professor at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and adjunct professor at CSU
Institute of Land Water and Society.
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING WIRADJURI
KNOWLEDGE IN LAND MANAGEMENT +
ETHICAL PROTOCOLS IN THE USE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
Yalmambirra
120 Talgarno Gap Road, Bethanga, Vic 3691
Yalmambirra is a Wiradjuri elder, whose mother was born in Forbes and is a
direct descendent Wiradjuri woman. He grew up in Sydney, but moved to Albury
in 1997 as a ‘dare’ to commence University studies. Yalmambirra completed his
Bachelor Degree at CSU, where in 2002 he completed his honours thesis titled
“Heritage management in Wiradjuri country: Indigenous perceptions of
consultation”. He has previously worked at CSU as a lecturer in Indigenous
land management. He has just completed his PhD titled “Indigenous culture in
contemporary Australia - A Wiradjuri case study”.
For too long Indigenous Australian
communities have been labelled
‘Aboriginal,’ lumped together and
treated as one indiscriminate
population. Yet before the onset of
European administration, there was
no collective concept for the original
custodians of this continent, and
each community, culturally divergent
from its neighbours, had its own
identity. This presentation addresses
some of the issues and argues for
the need to establish separate,
and culturally speci ic and localised
consultation protocols to ensure
that proper consultation occurs
wherever the culture and heritage
of local Indigenous communities is
concerned. The perspective taken
alludes to the need for all those who
would undertake development of any
kind, to consult with the appropriate
peoples; to sit at the consultation
table so that all thoughts, concerns,
ideas, knowledge and skills of all, be
heard and acted upon in an honest
and open manner to preserve what
is left of our (Wiradjuri) heritage.
53
POSTER ABSTRACTS
POSTER 1
UTILISING MURRAWARRI CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE IN NATIVE
POSTER 1
VEGETATION CONSERVATION
UTILISING MURRAWARRI CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE IN NATIVE
VEGETATION CONSERVATION Peter Dykes
Peter
Dykes
In a ground
breaking project a group of vegetation mappers, Aboriginal community workers
In
a
ground
project
a group of to
vegetation
mappers,
Aboriginal
and linguistsbreaking
developed
a methodology
place a cultural
value
on nativecommunity
vegetation to
workers
and
linguists
developed
a
methodology
to
place
a
cultural
on native
enable Aboriginal representatives on regional vegetation committeesvalue
to more
affectively
vegetation
to enable
Aboriginal representatives
on regional
vegetation
committees
to
argue that they
have “landscape
values” as well site
specific values
with regard
to native
more
affectively
argue
that
they
have
“landscape
values”
as
well
site
specific
values
vegetation. Documenting the cultural values that 6 Aboriginal nations (Barranbinya,
with
regard
to native
vegetation.
Documenting
the cultural
values
6 Aboriginalhave
Budjari,
Euahlayi
/ Gamilaroi,
Murrawarri,
Ngiyampaa
/ Ngemba
andthat
Wangkumara)
nations
(Barranbinya,
Budjari,
Euahlayi
/
Gamilaroi,
Murrawarri,
Ngiyampaa
/ Ngemba
for plants the mappers used vegetation maps and GIS to produce cultural landscape
and
Wangkumara)
have
for
plants
the
mappers
used
vegetation
maps
and
GIS
to was
maps of country. This poster will explain the methodology and mapping process that
produce
cultural
landscape
maps
of
country.
This
poster
will
explain
the
methodology
used to provide the Murrawarri Nation with a cultural landscape values map for native
and
mapping process that was used to provide the Murrawarri Nation with a cultural
vegetation over part of their traditional lands lying between the Bokhara and Warrego
landscape values map for native vegetation over part of their traditional lands lying
Rivers on the Northern Floodplains and how the GIS dataset could be used in native
between the Bokhara and Warrego Rivers on the Northern Floodplains and how the
vegetation planning and management for this area.
GIS dataset could be used in native vegetation planning and management for this area.
Peter
Peter Dykes:
Dykes: A
A keen
keen caver
caver and
and conservationist
conservationist
since
my
youth
I
have
for
the
since my youth I have for the last
last 35
35 years
years lived
lived
and
worked
in
western;
NSW
completing
an
and worked in western; NSW completing an
Honours
at at
Honours Degree
Degree ininEnvironmental
EnvironmentalScience
Science
CSU
in
1996.
For
much
of
my
time
in
rural
NSW
CSU in 1996. For much of my time in rural NSW I
have
Aboriginal
communities
I haveworked
workedwith
with
Aboriginal
communitiesand
and
leaders
trying
to
enhance
the
social
leaders trying to enhance the socialoutcomes
outcomesfor
Aboriginal
People.
While
vegetation
mapping
at
for Aboriginal
People.
While
vegetation
mapping
Cobar
I
lead
a
project
team
that
developed
a
at Cobar I lead a project team that developed
methodology
to to
putput
a cultural
value
on on
native
a methodology
a cultural
value
native
vegetation.
I
am
proud
of
this
ground-breaking
vegetation. I am proud of this ground-breaking
project
people perspective
perspective about
about
project which
which changed
changed people
Aboriginal
values
from
site
specific
values
to
Aboriginal values from site specific values to
“cultural
landscape” values.
values.
“cultural landscape”
POSTER 2
INTEGRATING WIRADJURI CULTURAL EDUCATION WITH NATIVE VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT
Peter Dykes
Extending on the Far West Region cultural mapping project described in poster 1 and using
the same methodology, consultants from Ngalina worked with the Weilwan and north-west
Wiradjuri Peoples to document their cultural values for plants. This information was than used
to produce cultural landscape maps of their respective country covered by the Lower
Macquarie Castlereagh Vegetation Management Area. This poster will explain the
methodology and mapping process that was used to provide the Wiradjuri Nation with a
cultural landscape values maps for native vegetation over part of their traditional lands
covered by the Lower Macquarie and Castlereagh Rivers. It will also outlined how this
dataset can be used as a basis to extending cultural landscape values mapping over other
areas of Wiradjuri Country to provide an important and innovative tool in education Wiradjuri
youth about their cultural connections to country.
Peter Dykes: A keen caver and conservationist since my youth I
have for the last 35 years lived and worked in western; NSW
completing an Honours Degree in Environmental Science at CSU
in 1996. For much of my time in rural NSW I have worked with
Aboriginal communities and leaders trying to enhance the social
outcomes for Aboriginal People. While vegetation mapping at
Cobar I lead a project team that developed a methodology to put
a cultural value on native vegetation. I am proud of this groundbreaking project which changed people perspective about
Aboriginal values from site specific values to “cultural landscape”
values.
55
TRICKETTS ARCH BIOBANKING CONSERVATION AGREEMENT
Yularna Dykes
After several years of working with staff from the Office of Environment and Heritage to
develop plans and strategies to conserve and enhance the unique cultural and natural values
present on our property; “Tricketts Arch” became the first Aboriginal family or community
owned Biobanking Conservation Site in NSW when a Biobanking Agreement was signed in
November 2011. The process involved in getting the Biobanking agreement over the property
is outlined as well as the biodiversity, geodiversity, threatened species, Aboriginal heritage
and pioneer mining heritage that is conserved and protected by having a Biobanking
conservation agreement.
Born and raised in Wiradjuri Country, on parent’s property
“Tricketts Arch” located in the Oberon District. I have grown to
love our bush block. Securing the long-term preservation of the
native vegetation, wildlife, caves and Wiradjuri sites on our
property is very important to me. With my assistance and
support, in November 2011 my family signed a Biobanking
Conservation Agreement over all but 2 ha of our 144 ha
property becoming the first Aboriginal family or community
owned property to do so in NSW. I am proud as a Wiradjuri
woman to showcase my family’s achievement in preserving our unique property for
conservation.
HOW DOES MATRIX MANAGEMENT INFLUENCE CONNECTIVITY FOR
HERPETOFAUNA?
Nicole A. Hansen, Don A. Driscoll and David B. Lindenmayer
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200,
Australia; †Email: [email protected]
To maintain biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, millions of dollars are expended annually
on habitat restoration and corridor establishment. However, the effectiveness of these
expensive conservation actions hinges on unconfirmed assumptions about how animals
move through these landscapes. With growing pressure to increase agricultural production, it
is a national priority to discover the connectivity and habitat needs of fauna in these complex
and changing human-natural systems. Our project aims to significantly advance ecological
concepts about the matrix (human-modified, non-habitat areas) by examining what type of
changes in the matrix can promote or limit animal movement and if we can manipulate the
matrix to encourage movement. Here I present, findings from our primary surveys which
aimed to understand which patch-dependant species are likely to thrive within a particular
matrix treatment and under what circumstances. Movement patterns, abundance and
survivorship of targeted herpetofauna species were examined using transects extending
from the remnant native vegetation patch into four contrasting matrix treatments (planted
native vegetation, added course woody mulch, rested from cropping or pasture, cropped).
Most research examples have generally focused on the value of plantings for woodland
birds, but evidence of use by other faunal groups particularly reptiles, is hugely
underestimated. By understanding how matrix structure and quality affects movement, our
findings would assist in better planning and implementation of plantings and inform land-use
planning, policy development, restoration and stewardship payments that help maintain an
ecologically sustainable agricultural sector while reducing isolation of preferred habitats.
I have worked across a range of environment sectors, including
research, private and government. Research areas have
previously included pest management and threatened species
recovery. Current research focus has matrix ecology as a
central theme, with a focus on how species, particularly
herpetofauna, respond to habitat fragmentation in agricultural
landscapes. My landscape-scale project, based in the Lachlan
catchment, aims to address how the matrix influences patchdependent species, generating a new picture of how valuable different matrix types are for
retaining biodiversity in production landscapes.
57
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF CHINESE MIGRATION ON LAND AND
AGRICULTURE IN BATHURST?
Juanita Kwok
PhD candidate, Charles Sturt University
Recent scholarship has documented the pioneering role that early Chinese migrants played
in the pastoral and agricultural industries across Australia from the mid nineteenth to mid
twentieth century. My PhD uses this research as a basis for comparing the experiences of
Chinese who lived in the Bathurst region in this time.
Data collected so far indicates that Chinese who worked in this region impacted on land and
agriculture in a number of ways. Chinese indentured labours employed as shepherds in the
early 1850s helped facilitate the pastoral expansion which dispossessed the Wiradyuri
occupants of the land. In the settled Bathurst plains, the Chinese had less of a role to play in
land-clearing as they did in places such as North Queensland and the Riverina.
During the period of the gold rushes, the Chinese contributed to the degradation of the land
wrought by gold mining operations. In the post gold rush period, some Chinese found
employment as harvesters and farm labourers, but their main occupation was in market
gardening. The Chinese gardeners used their knowledge of floodplain farming and water
management skills to supply Bathurst with vegetables in times of drought. They established
themselves as the dominant vegetable growers in the Bathurst region in the era before
irrigation, refrigeration and rail. The intensive and organic farming practices of Chinese
market gardeners may yet offer solutions for the sustainability and productivity of agriculture
in the region.
Juanita Kwok was born in Sydney and gained her BA at the University
of Sydney. She moved to Bathurst in 2008 and completed her Honours
thesis at CSU on the representation of Chinese in Australian feature
films made in the era of the White Australia policy. She is now in the
data collection phase of her PhD research on the experiences of
Chinese immigrants to the Bathurst region between the 1850s and
1950s.
ABORIGINAL NATURE AND BIOSCIENCE PARK: A JOURNEY OF RESEARCH
INTO ABORIGINAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT AND SCIENCE
Cesidio Parissi1, Andrew Rawson1, Peter Anderson1, Cilla Kinross1,2,
Anantanarayanan Raman1
1
2
Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW; Summer Hill Creekcare Inc.
The newly established Aboriginal Nature and Bioscience Park has been developed by CSU
staff in partnership with the Orange Local Aboriginal Lands Council in an area of remnant
bushland on the Orange campus. The aims of the project are to: 1. preserve an area of
degraded remnant bushland, 2. provide a focus for preserving fast-disappearing Aboriginal
knowledge of the uses of local species, 3. provide a park that may be used to conserve rare
and endangered local species, such as Acacia meiantha, 4. benefit the local and campus
communities by developing a culturally appropriate educational and recreational area, and,
5. provide a foundation for research into the pharmaceutical, food and horticultural potential
of local species, and, 6. allow for studies into other areas, such as social and educational
research.
So far grants have allowed for traditional burns and Western approaches to the removal of
weed infestations, the creation of paths and a Yarning Circle, as well as areas for Aboriginal
cultural ceremonies to occur. Public events have already been held on site, as well as the
highly successful 2015 CSU Orange campus NAIDOC celebration, and the first teaching
event as part of a campus degree course.
Dr Cesidio Parissi is a lecturer in Problem Based Learning (PBL) at
Charles Sturt University, Orange, for the Bachelor of Clinical Science.
This course helps rural students gain entry into medical, dental and
other health courses, thus one research interest is in how to transcribe
the face to face emphasis of PBL into a distance education mode. His
other research interests include developing Aboriginal-oriented
education programs and engagement with Aboriginal communities.
These interests combine in the new Aboriginal Nature and Bioscience Park at the Orange
campus. In addition, he is exploring the inter-connections between Aboriginal Science and
Western science.
59

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