Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

FOBIF has received a response from the MAS Mayor, Christine Henderson, to our letter about the proposed off leash dog park in the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens. The mayor informs us that ‘Council has received and considered expert advice which confirms FOBIF’s concerns for the safety of the Eltham Copper butterfly colony. While no formal Council decision has been made, I believe that Councillors are of a mind to accept the advice and seek an alternative location for an off-lead dog park.’

The state government has produced a draft document, Protecting Victoria’s Environment—Biodiversity 2036, for consultation. You can find it here.

The government is inviting responses to the draft, and as part of the consultation process is running information sessions around the state in the coming weeks. The nearest to us is on Thursday 14 April 2016 4.30pm to 8pm  at the Bendigo Club, Woodbury Room – 22 Park St, Bendigo.

In Croajingalong National Park: Victoria’s Parks bring huge economic benefits to the State, yet Parks Victoria’s budget has been cut by 40% in the last four years.

We’ll be responding to the draft in due course. In the mean time, below are a few stats to brood on, from page 11, on the economic benefits our parks bring to the state. And when you’re reading this, remember that Parks Victoria’s budget is less than $150 million dollars:

• Tourism: $1.4 billion in spending per year is associated with visits by tourists to parks in Victoria. This generates $1 billion gross value added to the state economy and 14,000 jobs.
• Health benefits: It is estimated that visits to parks save Victoria between $80 million and $200 million per year from avoidance of disease, mortality and lost productivity…
• Water purification: Avoided costs are estimated at $33 million per year in metropolitan areas and $50 million per year in non-metropolitan areas.
• Flood protection: $46 million per year from avoided infrastructure costs.
• Coastal protection: $24 million-$56 million per year from avoided costs.

These figures aren’t conservation propaganda: in 2008 Tourism Victoria estimated that the annual economic benefit to the state from just three of our parks–the Grampians, Wilson’s Promontory and Port Campbell, was $481 million dollars! Yet in the last five years Parks budget has been cut by 40%...

The Victorian National Parks Association has launched a petition calling on the state government to return Parks funding to at least 2010 levels: you can sign it online at http://vnpa.org.au/page/nature-conservation/take-action/petition:-rescue-our-parks

The group resting at the end of the walk to the dam near the corner of the property.

The combined FOBIF/Connecting Country walk on 20 March was an enormous success. The weather was wonderful, Andrew Skeoch and Sarah Koschak’s Strangways property was the perfect location for a guided walk, and it turned out to be a great way to conclude the Feathered Five Festival. There were over 60 walkers who split into three groups led by Asha Bannon, Tanya Loos and Andrew Skeoch. Forty-one different species of birds were observed and five mammals: an Eastern Grey Kangaroo, a Swamp Wallaby, an Echidna, a Yellow-footed Antechinus and a Koala.

Photo taken by Geraldine Harris

For a full report on the walk have a look at the ConnectingCountry Facebook page which includes a series of terrific photos taken by Dean McLaren.

Thanks to Andrew and Sarah for sharing their property with us and helping to organise the day. Also thanks to the walks leaders and others who put time into organising the day.

Our next FOBIF walk will be on 17 April in the the Yapeen/Guildford plateau area. It will be guided by Max Kay with guests Julian Hollis and Maurie Dynon. More detail can be found on the FOBIF walks page. There is no need to book for this one.

Representatives of several conservation groups, including FOBIF, have done a couple of reconnaissance trips along the Pyrenees Highway to look over trees marked for the chop as part of Vicroads proposed Safe Road Project.

FOBIF will be making a submission on the proposals by the due date of Friday April 8. Submissions should be sent to Vicroads at 53-61 Lansell St Bendigo or by email to nrmailbox@vicroads.vic.gov.au

FOBIF is puzzled that some trees high on embankments, like this Yellow Gum, are marked for removal. We are also interested in the fact that highway edge vibration strips are not included in the project.

Initial impressions from the group include the realisation that a tree classified ‘medium’ [that is, with a trunk diameter between 52 and 70 cm at breast height] might be medium by the standards of, say, a Gippsland forest, but in this region that could be significantly larger than average.

We are also puzzled that highway edge vibration strips are not listed as among the works; and that only limited improvements to the road shoulder are planned: the road for significant stretches has little or no shoulder and falls quickly away to eroded gutters.

It seems that the strips were considered in the early stages of this project, but left out for budgetary reasons. There is substantial evidence that they reduce runoff road accidents. One US report offers the following: ‘According to National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) studies, milled shoulder and edge rumble strips reduce single-vehicle run-off-road injury crashes by as much as 24 percent on rural freeways and by as much as 46 percent on two-lane rural roads.’ If this research matches Australian experience, it would seem strange to leave the strips out of this project, whose main object is to reduce such crashes.

We’ll be looking to clarify these and some other questions before making our submission. We also want to clarify the matter of distances between roadside barriers and adjacent trees; and we’re curious that a number of trees high on embankments have been marked for removal.

As a footnote: in the time it spent examining the roadside, the group witnessed a couple of scary examples of driver irresponsibility: passing at excessive speeds on sections with limited visibility. It’s clear that the margin for error on a road like this, with a narrow verge and steep drop offs is small: and that traffic calming should be a priority. We don’t envy Vicroads in the challenges it faces on this one. Our society continually plays the contradictory game, where we are told that speed kills–and yet high speed, powerful vehicles are put in the hands of anyone with the money, and events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix [not to mention numerous TV programs] glamorise speed and power.

Representatives of the Friends of Kalimna Park met with DELWP and Parks Victoria fire officers last week to discuss the planned burn of a section of the Park this autumn. The exercise is set to happen in the next five weeks, conditions permitting.

The fuel reduction exercise will cover a section of the western and southern part of the park, not including Kalimna Point [which has been groomed] or the eastern side of the tourist road [the Happy Valley side]. Part of this latter area may be burned next year, and part  groomed.

FOKP representatives expressed the following concerns about the upcoming operations:

1. Mineral earth breaks [used by DELWP as borders for its fires and to protect sites deemed significant] are often intrusive and not rehabilitated properly: they can end up as permanent trail bike or mountain bike tracks. In any case, some are so crudely done as to be erosion hazards.
2. The destruction of big trees is an ongoing annoyance, especially as everyone agrees they’re not a fire hazard. DELWP has undertaken to take measures to prevent fires taking hold at the foot of such trees, and to patrol the fire in the days following its ignition to ensure these measures work.
3. Bursaria vegetation which is habitat for Eltham Copper Butterfly colonies needs to be appropriately protected. The butterfly has recently been observed in sections of the park which were mosaic burned last year. It is important that DELWP has maps of bursaria which should enable it to focus fuel reduction where it matters, not on a precious biodiversity resource.

FOKP will pay careful attention to the operation when it happens. The Department’s approach to consultation has improved markedly in recent years, now it’s time to see improvements in results on the ground.

DELWP is also in consultation with local beekeepers concerned about smoke damage. As we’ve noted, Grey Box, a very important tree for honey and pollen, is flowering prolifically at the moment, and could go on flowering beyond May.

The Friends of the Earth have produced a paper discussing how climate change will affect the Loddon Mallee region of northern Victoria. The material in it mostly won’t be new to our readers, but it’s worth a look, all the same.

Among other things, the report notes that

‘According to research from the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) (2) we are already experiencing a ‘new climate’, one that has become noticeable since about 2000.

‘The AEGIC analysis, based on rain records since 2000, shows rainfall zones have moved — in some cases up to 400 kilometres. Parts of the Mallee, North Central and Riverina are now designated as being ‘uniform’ rainfall zones, where rain is equally distributed over summer and winter seasons. This has significant implications for cropping in the region, which has traditionally relied on a winter rainfall pattern.’

Rainfall is predicted to drop in our region by 2.5% by 2030, and temperatures to rise by almost a degree.

These changes have implications for agriculture, tourism [blue green algae’s not a great drawcard for visitors], water supply for communities, and our struggling bushlands.

The FOE paper is going to be used in the Bendigo electorate during the federal election campaign. It can be found here.

People might remember Sarah Lloyd who gave a very popular talk on slime moulds at last year’s FOBIF AGM. She has just published a new book, The Feathered Tribes of Van Diemen’s Land. It’s full of wonderful photos and so comprehensive it could used to identify most species. However it’s main intention is to “encourage an interest in the birds that surround us and an understanding of their habits and needs so that all landowners – whether of small backyards, extensive farms or beachfront properties – can help to ensure that Tasmania’s special birds will thrive.”

More about the book and where to buy it can be found here.

Strangways resident and nature sound recordist Andrew Skeoch was recently featured on the ABC radio program Big Ideas:

Trying to record birdsong in the pre-dawn darkness, Andrew Skeoch realised how few of us get a chance to really listen to nature. Now he’s a champion of natural soundscapes, and believes they can teach us much about beauty and even the evolution of life. (from ABC website)

The episode entitled ‘Listening to Nature’, was recorded at this year’s Woodford Music Festival. Click here to listen to Andrew’s fascinating talk.

As pointed out in an earlier post, FOBIF combined with Connecting Country to organise the 20 March walk to Andrew Skeoch’s property in Sandon. Booking was necessary for this first walk and we are now booked out. Our next walk will be on 17 April,  Exploring Yapeen and the Guildford plateau. Bookings will not be required for this walk.

Click to enlarge

The Trees in the Mount Alexander Region exhibition hosted by FOBIF is now at TOGS Place Cafe, 58 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine. The poster above shows a miniature version all the photographs and an online catalogue with commentary on each photograph is available. All photographs are for sale (framed: $95 large, $70 small) and the show runs until the end of this month. (There is wheelchair access to TOGS via a portable ramp. It is advisable to ring TOGS first if you wish to use this facility: 5470 5090.)

In mounting this exhibition we wish to pay tribute to our founding President,
Doug Ralph (1948-2015), bushman, conservationist and champion of our trees.

Doug was a keen photographer in the last decade of his life. The photo above showing the bush reflected in water trapped in leaves was a favourite subject of his.