By working with Forests NSW to destructively harvesting Camphor Laurels as biofuels to create GREEN ENERGY. They are currently doing this in the TWEED SHIRE, NE NSW, Australia. The NSW Government and the Tweed Shire Council supports and approves of this “WAR on BIODIVERSITY”.

Forests NSW :- and their Sustainable Forestry Management statements including  their voluntary certification under the Australian Forestry Standard – AS 4708:2007 (AFS)

When this Australian Forestry Standard is agreed to, it means that the operations of the industry support SUSTAINABLE Forestry Management.

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

HOW does this Australian Forestry Standard stand with the environmental non-sustainability of destroying habitat -largely a key threatening process (in a region where many Australian native wildlife animals are already undergoing habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss pressures)?

This “War on Biodiversity” is being carried out by clear felling native  (including endangered) wildlife habitats -  using many bulldozers, heavy machinery, trucks and other vehicles -  working  10 hours  per day, up to 6 days per week on private land. They have caused the habitats that they are clearing and demolishing,  to become bare, steep sloped exposed soil.

Environmental advocacy collage showing BIOENERGY (green energy) habitat destruction where the endangered Rufous Bettong lives, in Upper Burringbar, Tweed Shire, NE NSW (Mt Warning Caldera Region), AUSTRALIA

• “Converting stands of camphor laurel to rainforest” – here you will find some excellent information about “Current approaches to Camphor Control” and management-  (John Kanowski and Carla P.Catterall – Griffith University’s Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies and the Northern Rivers CMA). The information given, shows that Camphor Laurel stands can contribute to biodiversity and if managed environmentally sustainably, can lead to increased biodiversity.

• Bioenergy at wikipedia

• Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers :- and their Timber and Forestry Information for the Northern Rivers, NSW. This information includes the PDF :-  From Pest to Profit. Prospectus for the commercial utilisation of camphor laurel in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
• “Power Energy From Renewable Energy Sources” – article at Sunshine Sugar stating that  “The project is one of the largest renewable electricity generation projects currently underway in Australia and from mid-2007 at Condong and late 2007 at Broadwater, these two generators will supply the total electricity needs of the towns of Lismore, Casino, Ballina, Byron Bay and Murwillumbah – all from accredited renewable fuel sources.“
• “Green Power” Landline 28th November 2008 (Pip Courtney)
• “Tree Harvests not so Sweet” article at the Northern Star by Dominic Feain 11th January 2010 – Lorraine Vass (President of  Friends of the Koala) was quoted as saying that the Camphor Laurel clearing was increasingly happening and ““It’s becoming very obvious driving around the region, and we are deeply concerned about damage to biodiversity, habitat for significant species, soil erosion and the risk of further weed infestation.”" The article goes on to state that there was an urgent need to reassess Camphor Laurel management and clearing due to the Ecological and habitat issues surrounding the increased clearing rates.

IN CONTRAST to Authentic Land and Water Stewardship and authentic ecologically sustainable land management, the following has been observed concerning the Bioenergy, Green Fuel  and NSW Forestry approach to Camphor Laurel management:-

Very little native wildlife HABITAT is left, where they have carried out their destructive work. They then, prepare the vegetation they have  taken, (via habitat destruction of endangered species habitats), into vaste piles of  “BIOFUEL” – or camphor laurel chip/dust, which is then trucked away to their storage areas for conversion to GREEN FUEL.  This work has been going on for some time now, under the umbrellas of  “save the world from greenhouse gases” and “lessen the Mining of non renewable resources” pressures.

Burning of vegetation is also occurring onsite, with the smell of Camphour Laurel burning weeks on end. Camphour Laurel is known to produce TOXINS that may cause  illnesses and health problems in humans, and probably animals as well. This is a disputed scientific agenda that has become somewhat of a red herring in the case of the management of Camphor Laurel.

• Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) most toxic chemotypes – rejection of key threatening process listing .

Bluecray reminds anyone that is experiencing health issues due to dust, smoke and related water contamination from this War on Biodiversity to consult their Doctor, and register their situation. Native wildlife that experience health problems, including death of their family members, unfortunately, have no one to tell – no one to go to for help – and indeed, no home either. Bluecray suggests that the benefits of current Camphor Laurel populations for native wildlife habitat survival outway the “toxins” considerations, when taken into the context of having either Camphor laurel stands that are regenerating habitat areas in highly disturbed landscapes or clear felled, bare landscapes, with limited habitat value, and disturbed soils immediately vulnerable to increased weed emergence and growth.

The Broadwater Action Group Ltd bravely took the Richmond Valley Council, and the NSW Suger Milling Co-operative Limited to the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2003, attempting to contain this destructive, toxic and high energy form of harvesting biofuels.

Many – most- conservation groups in NSW will be aware of this issue, and some will have documents concerning the issues of clearfelling native wildlife habitat, under the guise of “green energy” and “weed management”.

BIOENERGY AUSTRALIA -  and its  MEMBERS .

National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development at Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts :-Objective 16.2 is “to incorporate ESD principles as a fundamental objective of relevant government authorities involved in economic, environmental and social decision making” . By this objective,  Governments   WILL “incorporate ESD principles into the objectives of relevant legislation as appropriate, particularly for legislation concerning natural resource use and management”

Energy and Water at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre .

biofuelsaustralasia.com.au :- “Farmers welcome move to turn noxious weed into biofuel”

thinkgrowsustain.com :- Future Focus – current information on green tech and green technology projects in Australia:-

• 9. Innovation in harvesting, processing and transporting camphor laurel “It is proposed to harvest and deliver at least the equivalent of 40,000 green tonnes of camphor laurel over a two-year trial period. If successful, the system will be expanded in an endeavour to control the several million tonnes of camphor laurel estimated to be standing on the north coast of New South Wales.“   “With the assistance of a $500,000 grant under the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program, camphor laurel will be harvested to supply efficient year-round energy production for the power station at Condong sugar mill. The project stems from an innovative idea put forward by State Forests of NSW and is co-funded by the NSW Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative and Delta Electricity.“

• 11. Factory- based “cane trash” separation system .

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

Camphor Laurel Abundance in the Tweed Shire 2004:- (map3A.pdf) -

Northern Rivers Invasive Plants Action Strategy 2009-2013 for the use of all public and private land managers

NSW Industry and Investment/ NSW DPI  fact sheet 733 – Camphor Laurel PDF and Noxious Weed Declarations showing an extract of the LEGAL REQUIREMENTS from the Noxious Weeds Declaration Data base (This web page provides access to the details of weeds declared in New South Wales, Australia under the Noxious Weeds Act 1993. The information is taken from the Orders published in the Government Gazette. The Order lists the weed, the control class and the control requirements for each species declared in a Local Control Area.)

CLEARING VEGETATION – EDO Fact Sheet 5.3

Native Vegetation Management and Clearing at NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.

Native Vegetation Act 2003 – Public Register – what is it? NSW Government

the DECCW’s Public Register LINK is HERE .

Many semi trailers of Camphor Laurel “dusty ground fibres” taken away to the Green Energy Storage, each day  – at Condong Mill?? Murwillumbah

In bluecray’s article “Weeds, Biodiversity and Australia’s Land and Water Stewardship Practices (17th November, 2009), you will find some of the principles of Weed Management that are largely ignored by mainstream land and water custodians. There is reference to:-

“Converting stands of camphor laurel to rainforest” – here you will find some excellent information about “Current approaches to Camphor Control” and management-  (John Kanowski and Carla P.Catterall – Griffith University’s Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies and the Northern Rivers CMA)

The Tweed Shire and NSW Government is allowing mass clearing of Camphor Laurel Vegetation communities and Native wildlife HABITATS across the Tweed Shire, in the name of “GREEN ENERGY”.  The immediate results are bare lands, native flora and fauna losses, multiple localised biodiversity losses, loss of seedbank containing native vegetation, loss of the humus layer that is essential for soil health and loss of ( carbon storing) soil holding tree root systems across steep sloping land, in the foothills of the Burringbar Range.

Some of this destructive habitat loss, being engineered by local land owners, eco clearing consultants, machine operators, the Tweed Shire Council, Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, National Parks and Wildlife NSW, Condong Mill, Sunshine Electricity, Delta Energy, the NSW Government and the Australian Government (to name some of the groups involved in this mass biodiversity and native wildlife habitat destruction)  includes HABITATS of ENDANGERED SPECIES.

As far as I know, ground trials for this type of work began over ten years ago, at least, if not further back. (Still gathering information here). Also, regulation of this type of INDUSTRY (Bioenergy) possibly operates against  the laws concerning destruction of habitats that relate to the well being of endangered species in NSW.

Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator .

Land and Environment Court NSW .

You can access the Vegetation pages for Tweed Shire here, and download the Camphor Laurel Abundance PDF for the Tweed Shire  at  Tweed Shire Council Flora and Fauna Management : Includes PDF’s on Vegetation Management Strategy ; Vegetation Types and Communities ; Camphor Laurel Abundance ; Koala Sitings ; Soil Landscapes, Steep Land and Drainage Lines ; Ecological Values and Rehabilitation Priorities

Camphor Laurel is a CLASS 4 Noxious Weed. More info about Class 4 Noxious Weeds can be found in the bluecray environmental search .

Bluecray is commencing a new campaign concerning this type of approach to ENERGY CONSUMPTION, Marketing and production, due to perceived destructive consequences on local habitat and biodiversity within the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW and SE QLD.

A series of articles will be written to help explain Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Biofuels the Wisdom therein – and how this all relates to the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW and SE QLD.  Bluecray will endeavour to show how the current approach to harvesting certain biofuels will promote net increased atmospheric carbon release, net carbon storage loss, on a local level, and direct loss of biodiversity in the immediate and possibly short & long term future.

Bluecray will also QUESTION the FOLLOWING ways

• that the current, above “green energy” extraction of Camphor Laurel demonstrates an illegal act,
• that the way some land holders in the Tweed shire have permitted these actions, demonstrates either an illegal act, or has been done following professional consultation that has advised illegal acts
• that way that the Tweed Shire Council and the NSW Government has permitted and endorsed these Camphor Laurel Extraction Industries could be shown to be  illegal. Bluecray believes that the extraction process for Camphor Laurels, as done in the Tweed Shire, for BIOENERGY contravenes current laws and agreements in place, within Australia and Internationally.

Bluecray will welcome any discussion about these matters, as many minds make a greater “wit”, and it is With Intelligent Thought, that perhaps the perceivable outcomes of this current “War on Biodiversity” can be led to armistice.

Firstly, to help you with some ecological and environmental background:-

“potential value of weedy regrowth for rainforest restoration” -

Loss of Biodiversity – at bluecray environmental search engine.

Evolution and Development of a Code for Private Native Forestry in New South Wales, Australia – search results at bluecray environmental search engine – some of these links may help you understand the current, evolving state of play concerning Private Forestry practices

It is hoped, that with this series of articles, the people who have been affected  by or advocated against this habitat destroying activity by bioenergy entities, will become better informed as to the legal venues which they can use to create a legal argument that will lead to a moratorium and injunction on this form of Camphor Laurel habitat clearing, until it is further understood within the full scope of BIODIVERSITY and ENERGY use in NE NSW and SE QLD (and beyond).

Some of the people who are operating in this industry could lose  income through this action, and so it should be seen as important that decisions to halt this Camphor Laurel extraction not be taken lightly. In fact, in preference to injunction and moratorium, these people who are engaged in this industry should be employed, rather, to work towards habitat restoration in a legal, and environmentally sustainable way. However, the “might is right” tendencies of the Corporate energy groups may chose not to agree, as their profits, projected agreed quotas and economic viability may be at risk.

NSW Constitution : about the Land and Environment Court – extract from a Chief Judge (Mahla Pearlman) Land and Environment Court of New South Wales Paper entitled “The Role and Operation of  The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales”

“The Forgotten Forests the environmental regulation of forestry on private land in NSW between 1997 and 2002 by James Prest,  University  of Wollongong 2003:- the paper can be found at Research Online http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/413 .

The Pursuit of Practical Wisdom by vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz, of Macquarie University. (August 25th 2010). You can download Steven Schwartz’s lecture “Wise up: Restoring wisdom to Universities” here.

A final word here, for this first article of bluecrays’ journey into the world of BIODIVERSITY, BIOENERGY, BIOFUELS and WISDOM:-

Court Cases, Lawyers, Corporations, individual workers, politicians, beaurocratic representatives can all be tied up , very expensively, in COURT ROOM SCENARIOS. Bluecray believes that it is better to educate, advocate, honour individuals’ Constitutional rights and the rights of individuals, under the LAWS of GOD and NATURE, over the seemingly endlessly increasing LAWS of COMMERCE and ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.

It is better to change our ways, accept that we have done wrong, and move ahead speedily, in a creative and harmonious way, than to stop, argue, debate endlessly and waste valuable resources of the people of Australia.

• Rufous Bettong at NSW Threatened Species – Northern Rivers
• Some bluecray educational storyline articles about the Rufous Bettong and Habitat Clearing :- “PK and Litoria look for Rufous Bettong, and on the way, meet up with Goanna” ;  “Rufous Bettong and the Glyphosate Bank“  – this ARTICLE  describes the habitat that the Rufous Bettongs have been seen and heard in, over the past years, adjacent to habitat destruction being conducted by NSW “green energy groups and individual landholders; “Goanna leaves the glyphosate bank, the butterflies leave too” and   “Wildlife leaves glyphosate bank – finds refuge in organic garden“.
• Habitat Loss /Change :- key threatening process (NSW GOVERNMENT) .
  

Bluecray also believes, however, that one of the most powerful and important resources available to the people of Australia, is its BIODIVERSITY and WISDOM thereof.

tread lightly, my friends. Alison Polistchuk

……..about 17 years ago, I was invited to be part of a steering committee for developing protocols re clearing under powerlines in Queensland – the big powerlines that you see transversing the landscape, bringing power to your locality. Back then, environmental considerations were deemed of minimum importance, when it came to electricity, power generation, and land and water stewardship management issues. I suggested back then that heavy machinery operators should be given training in a national standards approach to habitat management issues and understanding of soil/natural vegetation dynamics. The idea fell on deaf ears, and today, the idea is still, apparently considered non essential for heavy machinery operators within the elctricity/power industries. As I write this, the bulldozers are still relentlessly killing and destroying poor Rufous Bettongs’ habitat, and the habitats, homes and food sources of our other precious little native animals. Shame on you, NSW Government. Shame on you, Tweed Shire Council, Shame on you Bioenergy providers.  Mammals – marsupials, are disappearing at an unprecedented rate in Australia, and still the emperors of power play their tunes of glory.

Conservation of Australia’s BIODIVERSITY at Australian DEWHA

The Precautionary Principle . OnlyOnePlanet

The Rainforest Information Centre .

Australian Government State of the Environment Reporting . and BIODIVERSITY .

Habitat advocate – Habitatadvocate.com.au

Public Interest Advocacy Centre :- “The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is an independent, non-profit law and policy organisation that works for a fair, just and democratic society, empowering citizens, consumers and communities by taking strategic action on public interest issues. ”

Total Environment Centre .

a balance of faeries :- you will find bluecray’s story “A Balance of Faeries” here – telling the true story of how bulldozers and fuels, powered together with mankind’s lack of WISDOM, results in loss of the smaller, essential biological components of our wonderful Australian landscapes. This makes the degraded landscapes lose their biodiversity, and lessens the landscape’s ability to withstand the greater forces of nature- wind, sun, heat, cold, fire, rain, flood etc.

Loss of Hollow-bearing Trees – key threatening process determination:-

(a) it adversely affects threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or
(b) could cause species, populations or ecological communities that are not threatened to become threatened.

“Trees retained during harvest are susceptible to damage from logging operations and post-harvest burning, or can suffer poor health owing to changes in abiotic conditions (Gibbons and Lindenmayer 2002). Consequently, retained trees are prone to early mortality, especially with repeated exposure to harvesting events over their lifespan. Prescriptions for forestry operations also stipulate that young trees are retained for long-term replacement of hollow-bearing trees, typically with one recruit for every hollow-bearing tree. The age structure in natural forests, where recruitment and loss of mature trees is at equilibrium, indicates that only a small proportion of younger trees survive to reach maturity. A ratio of one-to-one will be inadequate in itself to sustain the stipulated minimum densities of hollow-bearing trees in harvested areas. In addition, the average age of hollow-bearing trees in harvested areas will continue to decrease as the few remaining very old trees die. Trees are also retained in areas excluded from harvesting, such as along drainage lines, with the aim of creating a matrix of harvested and non-harvested areas. In the longer term as trees mature in exclusion zones they will help to provide hollows across production forest landscapes, yet their usefulness to fauna is affected by the reduction in hollows and the quality of foraging habitat in the surrounding forest.” from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/lossofhollowtreesktp.htm

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

“Ecologically Sustainable Development: Legal Principles “  a paper by Justice Peter Biscoe, Land and Environment Court of New South Wales delivered on 15 April 2009 to the postgraduate course in Environmental Law and Policy conducted by the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales .

NSW  Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation : a case study presented by the University of Ballarat. This Case Study explains the processes involved in creating the NSW Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation.

• It shows timelines and technical information that is easy to understand. It is well presented and worth a read. Unfortunately, it does not indicate the ecological significance of clearing Camphor Laurel on a large and lengthy scale, as is being done in the Northern Rivers Shires in NE NSW, Australia for renewable electricity generation. There is a link to the environmental impact statement for the Broadwater Biomass Cogeneration Proposal (I couldn’t get it to work, though).
• It also does not show the calculations concerning the energy that is required to create the “green fuel” from Camphor Laurels and the “energy calculations” for the loss of biodiversity and ecological sustainability  from systems being destroyed by camphor extraction.
• It does not show calculations for biodiversity and carbon storage losses such as carbon storage in root systems, trunks, stems etc , soil and seed bank sustainability factors and calculations relating to individual habitat threatening processes, the loss of native flora and fauna in the extraction process and soil degradation calculations.  These calculations, when compared to the time and energy that it will take to repair the camphor extraction sites, once the machinery and trees have gone, would be interesting to see.

photo of  how your green energy is made by NSW  Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation – Burringbar, Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia

WAKE UP!!!

Mothers of children all around the world care deeply for their childrens’  future. Mothers protect and teach their children. In this uncertain world, protecting and teaching our young requires, amongst other things, continuity of educational basics within a safe teaching environment.  Environmental concerns and fears do not always seem immediate to our lives, if we live in Australia – particularly within the cities and towns along the eastern coast..

We hear about these dreadful things that are happening in our world -fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, war, oil / gas disasters, species extinction, habitat loss, increasing pollutions and nuclear threat, but often, we are so busy in our own little world, that all these things seem so very far away from the safety of our homes here.  Living safely in our homes, we also forget that there are many homeless families and individuals in Australia.

Homeless Persons’ Legal Service .

The ACE Study – “Bridging the gap between childhood trauma and negative consequences later in life” Adverse Childhood Experiences Study & Score

Public Interest Advocacy Centre :- “The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is an independent, non-profit law and policy organisation that works for a fair, just and democratic society, empowering citizens, consumers and communities by taking strategic action on public interest issues. “

Below is a poem about a mother and her young son. In the poem, the mother is looking after her son with love and care, teaching him all she knows…..but harsh circumstances prevail  upon her and and, uprooted from her home, she endeavours to find a new place to live with her son….

I will protect you and teach you……..

(an environmental advocacy  poem )

“For you, little young one, as you sleep with your dreams
cradled in arms of protection, it seems
that your future on earth faces heat, drought and less
than the past futures made by “them” leaving this mess.”

“I cry for your children, your hopes dreams and cares
As mysterious moneymen count ill gotten fares.
The userers wallow in time stole from you
Masked wasters of life , toxic moneys accrued.”

“You stir as  the night owl glides from its tree
And the howling of dogs surrounds you and me
My arms close  about you, ancestral strength
I’ll protect you and feed you,  I’ll teach you at length”

“Now waken my dear one, the night closes in
And it’s time that we moved through this forest -so thin
We’ll find a tall tree where the shelter is safe
To keep us till morn – ”

They moved on in good faith.

Following tracks, the mother  showed son
what she’d learnt and had followed when she had been young
But tracks, trees and wetlands – were now tarred concrete
It went on for miles,  it hurt their bare feet.

“For you, my dear young one, hold fast on my back
I promised to lead you, but I’ve lost my old track
The morning approaches, dogs bark -  so near
My darling – please waken – I smell a great fear”

The mother and child then ran for their lives
straddling a fence and cut by the wires.
The fierce dogs chased them and hounded them hard
as a tall tree loomed up – unfenced in its yard

Scrambling treeward  they climbed, then looked down
three dogs barked out loudly with dark dogged frown
Up in the tree, confused,  bleary eyed
Mother cradled her child -  with full strength of the wild.

.  … ….    ….   .   ….    …. …  .

It was a crisp winter’s morning……..a young child woke up and looked out of her window.

(She had woken suddenly from a nightmare, where, as she played in a faery glade,  large fierce dogs came to attack her.  In her dream, she had run into a tall building where smiling business suited men , dripping with oil and tar, offered her suitcases filled with plastic money . )

The young child cried out to her mother,  “Oh Mother – look see – a Koala is in our tree!! Oh, Mama, I think it has a baby with it!!!”

Concreting the Coastal 2003 : Clearing and Development Pressures on the NSW Coast 2003 Total Environment Centre PDF – this compiled resource by the TOTAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE show problematic development, land clearing activity, approvals and proposals in coastal nsw 2002 -2003. It looks at the larger, more controversial, uncompleted developments at that time – (not the smaller, under the radar ones, nor the already completed ones). This is an excellent recent historic resource.

“I will Jail you and Feed you” – Balance of Faeries article at bluecray.wordpress.com – includes links to help you understand SEPP’s for NSW Koala Plan of Management.

Clearing the habit of Habitat Clearing .

SEPP 44 koala plan of management – search results bluecray environmental search

State Environmental Planning Policy 44 - Koala Plan of Management – NSW  Consolidated Regulations

Below is some Koala Legislation, policy, koala advocacy, habitat management information for NE NSW and SE QLD, Australia:-

(not exhaustive, but includes links to some current (2010)  ways in which the governments of Australia steer people and their industries  to save the Koala on the east coast of Australia from increasingly localised Extinction -  habitat clearing and koala corridor destruction-  death and illness.)

• Spatiotemporal dynamics of habitat use by koalas: the checkerboard model .   William A.H. Ellis, Alistair Melzer, Fred B. Berkovitch  Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Volume 63, number 8,1181-1188, DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0761-2.           find at http://cat.inist.fr/ or   SpringerLink .  Published online 31st March 2009 – the keywords are :-  foraging strategies , koalas , phascolarctos, resource use, spatial ecology, home range.

• Bluecray now has a number of Koala Articles and LINKS to Koala info, and so searching the KEYWORDS and using the Bluecray Environmental Search Engine may turn up more info to help you understand.

joint submission prepared by the North Coast Environment Council and the NSW Nature Conservation Council:- Re: Phascolarctos cinereus (Koala) – Assessment of Koala’s eligibility for listing as a threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) EPBC Act nomination to list as a threatened species , ( link disappeared!.. like the Koala?)  at Australian Government Department of  the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts.  FIND  the KOALA info the Australian Government makes available…..

by searching for KOALA listings  at the Australian Government Department of  the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts.

• Threatened Species Scientific Committee assessment of the koala – Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett Interview with Annie Gaffney ABC Sunshine and Cooloola Coasts         25 May 2010

NCC of NSW = Nature Conservation Council of NSW – their Assessment of Koala’s eligibility for listing as a threatened species under EPBC Act 16th June 2010

KOALA at Qld Government Department of Environment and Resource Management .

KOALA Response Strategy at Qld Government Department of Environment and Resource Management – this link has the following information, mostly  in PDF format :-

• South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory Provision

• State Planning Policy 2/10: Koala Conservation in South East Queensland

• Offsets for Net Gain of Koala Habitat in South East Queensland Policy

There is also the following information:-

• The  State Government Supported Community Infrastructure Koala Conservation Policy .
• Koala Habitat Mapping .  This section deals with the 2009 SEQ Koala Habitat Values Assessment map & the GHD Report: SEQ Koala Habitat Assessment and Mapping Project .
• Koala Habitat Programs :- This Koala Habitat Program is focusing on the Koala Nature Refuges Program.

I am not sure as to what “on the ground IMMEDIATE SOLUTIONS ” to the plight of the Koala all these initiatives are creating.

The information about koala habitats and the capacity to create useful extension tools and outreach programs for KOALA GUARDIANS and koala future wellbeing has been about for decades. Whilst new techniques, scientific studies and all typesof “credentialled experts” and authentic Koala HABITAT guardians have contributed to this “new approach” from the Qld Government, the fact remains that Koalas are and HAVE disappeared from many KOALA HABITAT areas in SE QLD and NE NSW. KOALAS are, right NOW, and in the near forseeable future, GREATLY AT RISK

The above poem about habitat destruction and its consequences on wildlife mothers and their young shows us that the education of young wildlife by their parents can be very stressful in a constantly changing environment. This is especially so when the native fauna habitat is destroyed or altered dramatically. Non environmentally sustainable development and its related infrastructure nightmare in SE QLD and NE NSW are two of the many factors destroying habitat for native Australian wildlife.

BIODIVERSITY LINKS : -  some useful  links for Biodiversity, Flora, Fauna, Koalas, Ecology and Catchment Management  (NE NSW and SE QLD – Mt Warning Caldera Region)

Animal Law Centre :- nice animal advocacy site – giving an overview of Animal Law in Australia – references and links to Australian and State legislation. Includes animal law and the Australian Constitution, enforcements and threatened species laws in Australian States

KOALA SCHOOL

Biodiversity Certification :  enabling ” local government in areas with high development pressure to provide for the protection of biodiversity, including threatened species at the strategic planning stage. These are likely to be mainly urban and coastal areas.

Certification can switch off the need for threatened species assessment under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, providing more certainty for local government, development applicants and other stakeholders. Biodiversity must be improved or maintained for certification to be conferred. ” from environment.nsw.gov.au  – biodiversity certification”

More plans, more paperwork, more “expert opinion” and re-hashing of studies, more re-arrangements of habitats and ecosystems to justify heavy machinery handling and toxic lifestyles???? hard to say, but more than likely it is going to be the same as it always is……. better to focus on education of our young in environmentally friendly ways of living… then, instead of  regulations, paperworks, endless time and money spent on professional “spin”, people may just end up walking gently with the earth….

PLANNING GUIDELINES FOR KOALA CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY – C McAlpine – 2007:- search results bluecray environmental search engine

Advocacy for Animals at Encyclopaedia Britannica and Kangaroo Culling .

Wildife – Native Australian Wildlife Advocacy at (We)  can do better .

Meanwhile, at Kingscliff,NE NSW:-  large developments (that will further fragment our native wildlife habitats) are planned nearby (Kings Forest, Cobaki Lakes ) and the sea is moving inwards – “Hungry Mother Nature bares her teeth” -  infrastructure damage at Kingscliff on the NSW North Coast -  by coastal erosion (2010): SMH article by Saffron Howden

Kingscliff battles beach erosion (story 11th august 2010):- at ABC local + other local beach coastal erosion stories from NE NSW (Tweed and Byron shires)

the above environmental advocacy images by al at bluecray

Tread lightly, honour the earth – it is the only home we have.

..                             and now,

for some philosophical freedom food

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blogs + philosophy + podcast+ videos +philosophical conversations….

“The Bomb in the Brain“

Human Contraptions: Episode Guide - “Academy Award-winning animator and political cartoonist Bruce Petty takes us on an anarchic journey for five minutes each” topic.

Ideas Serving Knowledge and Vision .  Some astrobabble for the anarchist – Includes Australian Federation Astrological Chart.

These industries also appear to offer herbicides as an acceptable answer to mainstream Australian weed management. Diminishing biodiversity due to a weed chronically infesting an area is often the “umbrella” under which mass herbicide application occurs. The logic of killing on a large scale to create biodiversity is a remarkable dichotomy that does little to serve future life on earth.

• ” The Roles of Biodiversity in Creating and Maintaining the Ecosphere” by Ted Mosquin .
• National Weed Incursion TOOLKIT can be found at Weeds Australia .
• National Weed Incursion Response Plan at Weeds Australia .
• Weed Warriors : “Weed Warriors program is adaptive to all levels of education however the program is most often targeted at grades 3 to 6 in primary schools and years 7 –9 in secondary schools.” – whilst having some great info, this NSW website has very conventional vision – highlights how lack of practical level environmentally sustainable teachings can be fostered by inappropriate educational vision.
• Weeds and Biodiversity : search results at bluecray customised environmental search engine (remember- some more recent info will also be available, if you take the time to look in recent journal publications and Government/CSIRO updates)
• Ranking priority environmental weeds for biodiversity conservation in NSW . and “Ten Worst Weeds” in the Gold Coast City Council Area, SE QLD .
• “Converting stands of camphor laurel to rainforest” – here you will find some excellent information about Camphor Laurel management (John Kanowski and Carla P.Catterall – Griffith University’s Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies and the Northern Rivers CMA)
• Camphor Laurel Abundance in the Tweed Shire 2004:- (map3A.pdf) -

• Condong Mill, Sunshine Electricity, Delta energy, individual land owners and other Bioenergy consortiums, providers, merchants and “tradespeople” are currently harvesting biofuels to create GREEN ENERGY. They are currently doing this in the TWEED SHIRE, Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia.   They are doing this by clear felling native  (including endangered) wildlife habitats,  using bulldozers working  10 hours  per day, 6 days per week on private land.  At least three  Rufous Bettongs have been seen and heard living and nesting adjacent to this area over the past  years. Habitats that they are clearing and demolishing   become bare, steep sloped exposed soil.  Vegetation  taken, (via habitat destruction of endangered species habitats), is conveyed via machinery, into vaste piles of  “BIOFUEL” – or camphor laurel chip/dust, which is then trucked away to their storage areas for burning as GREEN FUEL.  This work has been going on for some time now, under the umbrellas of  “save the world from greenhouse gases” and “lessen the Mining of non renewable resources” pressures. This is weed management gone mad, is highly destructive to native flora and fauna “remnant habitats”, and gives the appearance of  using more energy to create less energy. This type of vegetation management gives the local area of Upper Burringbar, NE NSW  decreased habitats for endangered species and short-medium term loss of carbon stores and overall biodiversity loss. I call this “war on Biodiversity”.  What laws protect biodiversity, at a local level, in this situation????
• Rufous Bettong at NSW Threatened Species – Northern Rivers
• Some bluecray educational storyline articles about the Rufous Bettong and Habitat Clearing :- “PK and Litoria look for Rufous Bettong, and on the way, meet up with Goanna” ;  “Rufous Bettong and the Glyphosate Bank” ;   “Goanna leaves the glyphosate bank, the butterflies leave too” and   “Wildlife leaves glyphosate bank – finds refuge in organic garden“.
  

• BIOENERGY AUSTRALIA -  and its  MEMBERS .

• Invasive Weeds at Australian Botany Pages (ANBG) and Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research (CPBR) (includes article on Bitou Bush)
• Byron Environment Centre’s “weed control without chemicals” articles (4 in all), by Geoff Dawe can be found HERE .
• “Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” :- bluecray article at Wisdom in the Land blog
• Animal-Plant Interactions in Rainforest Conservation and Restoration – Rainforest CRC proceedings – workshop 11th November  2003 and a few other interesting links
• Monitoring Revegetation Projects for Biodiversity in Rainforest Landscapes (Rainforest CRC Report 51) John Kanowski and Carla P. Catterall ISBN 0 86443 767 6
• Society for Ecological Restoration International : “to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture.”
• The Ecology Centre – University of Queensland, Australia
• Plant Nurseries and the Australian Nursery Industry have much more to offer in the way of some  gentle, energy efficient weed management solutions. Sustainable management solutions!  The growing of local provenance and provincial native plant species and seed for sale is one of the best answers that a Nursery can offer, when it comes to helping Land and Water Stewards (Environmental Stewards).
• Northern Rivers Invasive Plants Action Strategy 2009 – 2013 NE NSW for the use of all Public and Private land managers -( it is  the “NCWAC-Weed-Book.pdf “  at northcoastweeds.org.au/ )

***You can click on each of the illustrations in this article to get a brief idea of the body of this article, if you are in a rush!!***

Collection and distribution of local, native seed.

Largely an unmentored industry, a strong and diverse Australian Native Seed Industry offers a practical, low energy solution to Australia’s Weed Management issues.

Habitat and ecological community restoration projects, developments, infrastructure landscaping and environmental rehabilitation programs -  all of these require a concerted, coordinated Vision and National Direction concerning their use of local provenance and provincial native plant species.

To date, this has not been effected by the Australian Government, nor any State government or Local Authority. There are some token gestures in place. There is some  work on a handful of native pasture grasses. Native plants are required to be used in development and infrastructure works, but not always local provenance or provincial strains. There has been some funded work for plant species that make up a large percentage of Australian Vegetation communities, but  that are relatively unkown in economic terms. (See LINKS below)

The Nursery Industry has many cultivars for Australian trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines . With the rise of plant variety rights in the 80′s, the trend to market same style, same shape, uniform product has trended the development of Australian native species towards  cuttings (the same genetetic source) for mass growing and planting. This isn’t helping biodiversity, as it promotes the same genetic species being spread throughout an area, whilst the other genetic strains die out. This has occurred already in our food industries, and shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our natural environmental industries.

The Forestry industry has a large network of Australian native seed available for distribution – mainly trees and shrubs. Greening Australia has a mentorship program for native seed. There are also a number of other small seed industries that promote Australian native plant seed via collection and distribution. CSIRO  has some great information on native seeds and native seed banks.

The Society for Growing Australian Plants has been at the fore regarding work done on Native Plants. However, much, much more needs to be accomplished, if we are to replace our vaste weed inhabited, poorly managed landscapes with a diversity of local provenance and provincial native plant species.

• SGAP SEED BANK information about the Society for Growing Australian Plant’s Seed Banks – Queensland Branch
• Australian Native Plants Society – Australian Seed Suppliers for Native Seed .
• Native vegetation Management: A Needs Analysis of Regional Service Delivery in Queensland – a state summary : search results at bluecray Environmental Search
• NATIVE SEED IN AUSTRALIA: A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE – search results at bluecray Environmental Search Engine
• “Seed dispersal science used to combat weed invasions” ; article CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
• Australian Tree Seed Centre (CSIRO )

• ENSIS : CSIRO and SCION
• ANBG Seed Bank (Australian National Botanic Gardens)
• NSW Seed Bank (NSW Botanic Gardens Trust)
• Australia Advances series 15 :- Seed Bank (CSIRO)
• Greening Australia SEED & NURSERY
• Australian Government Grains Research & Development Corporation :-WEEDLINKS
• Land & Water Australia. 2009. The Lower Murray Floodplain seedbank: status and response to flooding. [Online] (Updated July 3rd, 2009)
  Available at: http://lwa.gov.au/node/2931
• “australia native grass sustainable agriculture” search results bluecray environmental search engine – you may like to try other searches about weeds and weed alternatives, or native seed production etc
• Weed Seed Wizard – Weeds CRC – now a NON updated site
• “War against weeds goes underground with DPI&F-GRDC collaboration” 24 September, 2008 :-article about seed banks and the Qld Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries
• search for BRADLEY METHOD of WEED REMOVAL here.
• Philosophy of Environmental Destruction in the Name of Healing
  By al at bluecray on March 3, 2009
• Effects of Pasture Management on Germinable Seed Bank in a Degraded Phalaris Pasture  – Jim Virgona and Annabel Bowcher :- Australian Society of Agronomy article at the Regional Institute .
• Soil Seed Banks of Adjacent Unlogged Rain-Forest Types in North-Queensland by AW Graham and MS Hopkins in the Australian Journal of Botany 38(3) 261 – 268 (CSIRO)
• Biotechnology online : SEED BANKS - the Australian Government and the  Millenium Seed Bank Project
• Native Seed Pty Ltd : Native Grass Seed Suppliers in Australia

• Looking for some native pasture Alternatives? try here:- Grasses of Subtropical eastern Australia Margaret Elliott : search results bluecray Environmental Search Engine

• and, Grasses of Subtropical Eastern Australia by Penny Watsford & Margaret Elliott Nullum Publications, Murwillumbah .at Brunswick Valley Landcare Inc. BOOKSHOP. This book is worth buying or finding in your library. It comes with a CD, photos and clear illustrations. You may even like to purchase a copy and donate it to the library of your local school or TAFE!!

• Grassed up – guidelines for revegetating with Australian native grasses (Released/reviewed: 27 Jun 2001   Authors:Cathy Waters, Wal Whalley, Charles Huxtable) NSW Department of Primary Industries and here is a link to some of their useful publications .
  

• Weeds, Pests animals and ants at Qld Primary Industries and Fisheries
• North Coast Weeds Advisory Committee
• Weeds at Qld Biosecurity
• Australian Weeds : Australian Government – includes ID, management, biological, physical, cultural, preventative, integrated and chemical control chapters
• Natural Sequence Farming : search results at bluecray Environmental Search

• National Toxics Network:
• Australian Weeds :- search results at bluecray Environmental search Engine
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at bluecray Environmental Search

Instead of focusing on the WEED, the focus is better centred about the SEED BANK.

Environmental Management, under the leadership of the Australian Government,  has mentored the use of  herbicides over large scale areas of weed infestation, as well as fostering the use of herbicides in small scale revegetation and habitat rehabilitation projects. This is a destructive form of habitat restoration. Scientifically scrutinised, trials show varied results from these methods, depending on the agenda of the trials. Once the weed infested area is sprayed, then there are a number of possible outcomes:-

• the weed or another weed reinfests the area
• the habitat, weakened by the destruction, loses initial biodiversity
• the area remains low in biodiversity after only a small population of native plants are established through plantings and sowings (mainly plantings)
• other plants and animals (Australian Native) become stressed and ill
• the area, if allowed to naturally regenerate, without continual slashing, mowing, burning and herbicide spraying, may regenerate with increasing biodiversity, once animals (birds, marsupials, insects etc) move back into the area and act as seed vectors.
• planting of selected, same type species of native plants may struggle to form healthy habitats, due to lack of initial biodiversity planning and plantings.
• overall short term biodiversity loss until the future vegetation community and/or ecological community begins to function, often at least several years after spraying and destruction.

Australian Higher Learning and Understanding about Seed Banks (weed and non weed)

Historically, (and fairly recently), Australia has condoned  ill informed higher educational and extension practices that have also led to many weed infestations. Examples of this ?

• Tertiary and college teaching of species lists that include potential environmental weeds – for landscaping, architecture, agriculture, forestry and horticulture students.

• Tertiary teaching of Integrated Pest Management, yet focusing largely on the Agricultural Chemical Industry and it’s use of herbicides in pasture, recreational, infrastructure and development land and water management. ( I was extremely lucky to study, for part of my Bachelor of Applied Science with the (old) Plant Protection Department at the Gatton Agricultural College – Now University of Queensland Gatton Campus , where the dedicated staff gave me a sound,  very informed background in both Integrated Pest Management AND Pesticide Application Technology and Safety. )
• The use of herbicides for many government sponsored environmental rehabilitation projects:-  Landcare, Land for Wildlife, Large scale/regional Weed Management – (eg Bitou Bush, Lantana), environmental training projects for the unemployed and a range of scientific trials in development of food and textile cropping for the high energy, biologically wasteful practice of monoculture.
• The use of herbicides in Environmental training projects without consideration to gentle bush regeneration methods, without use of local provenance and provincial native seed and without habitat care.

The above picture shows two flowers. The flower on the right shows good Land and Water Stewardship. The flower on the left show very poor Land and Water Stewardship. Both flowers have, at their centre, the SEED BANK. {I use this term rather loosely here, as some plants self propagate by tuber, rhizome, suckering, air layering, leaves, stems. Some “seed banks” are held in the ground, some above ground on the plant, whilst, as in rainforests, the seed bank germinates, but often the plant is held, as a seedling, in a dormant state, awaiting an opportunity to grow bigger.} I have used the words seed bank, or reserve of future plants (native and weed) to keep this story simple.

The left flower is ill formed, out of balance and sick looking. It shows the current types of weed management practices that appear to be advocated for, by the NSW, Qld and Australian Governments. Herbicides are offered as a solution to weed control over and above the growing of native local provenance and provincial stock “seed” plants for seed collection, distribution and growing on in areas infested by environmental and noxious weeds. Extension methods, as perceived by bluecray, are in the main, for herbicide use.(Reference:- “Noxious & Environmental Weed control Handbook – a guide to Weed Control in non – crop, aquatic and bushland situation.” Rod Ensbey, Regional Weed Control Coordinator Grafton NSW (NSW DPI Bookshop, ORANGE, ISSN 1443-0622)

The flower on the right is full formed, balanced and well. It shows the type of educational and practical solutions to weed management that cater for BIODIVERSITY and Habitat care. (Reference:- see ##below)

So now you have the lowdown on my practical understanding of this issue, let us continue…..

The Flower on the right has biodiversity as one of the PETALS of knowledge. Biodiversity is all essential, when it comes to Environmental Stewardship.

The petals on the flower are not all encompassing, as there are a number of other “petals”  that I could add, but in order to keep it simple, let us look at the PETALS on the Right Hand FLOWER:-

• BIODIVERSITY : speaks for itself!!!
• Competition :- bare topsoil, degraded, overgrazed land with poor water runoff management offers little competition to weed invasion. On the other hand, a resilient and biodiverse vegetation community offers good competition to invading weeds
• Rain:- rainfall can trigger weed seed germination & invasion. It is also a useful natural aid for cultivating out weeds from an area. Run-off can carry both weed and native seed. Pooling of nutrients, after run-off can help create little islands of biodiversity.
• Soil and Water Health :-weed infested water and weed infested soils contribute to poor land management hygeine. They can be sources of future infestations via seed bank stores. Degraded topsoil can foster the increase of opportunistic weed species as opposed to Native Seed regeneration.
• Fire:- over burning can create bare degraded soil – thus increasing the opportunistic weed seed bank’s capacity  to colonise the burnt area. fire can also release native seed that is held in above and below ground seed banks
• Weed Map:-knowing where and when the weeds occur is essential to understanding the overall situation of the land being managed. Knowing where outbreaks are high or low can help you decide where to start your weed management strategy. A good focus for a weed map is to show the areas of HIGH RESILIENCE of native vegetation or working pasture. These are the areas that, if protected at their “edges”, can expand, as the seed source of wanted plants is already there.
• Seed Map:-knowing where to get native seed from, locally or regionally is essential to replacing vegetation. This is especially so where over grazing, over clearing, over cultivation and over spraying occurs. Your SEED MAP can also include the local seed resources nearby to you, where birds and other animals may act as vectors to carry the seed to your “weeded” or “regenerating” area.
• Time Management:- this is a pivotal knowledge point. If you do not have the time to manage your weeds, then perhaps you can look at how your time is managed. Herbicides are often used, due to time shortage. However, they are increasingly energy reliant. Also, naturally occurring cycles of weeds need to be understood, if management is to be successful. The biological and seasonal/yearly timing,  with regard to the overall weed and native seed cycles needs to be understood. Some weeds may stay in the seed bank for a number of years, until the conditions are right for germination. Planning ahead with a good supply of native seed for competition with weed seed germination can be helpful, when the conditions are good for germination events (after rain, seasons, disturbances, flooding etc)
• Cultivation:- cultivation primarily disturbs soil. This can give the seedbank signals to begin growing. If you know what weed or native seed is in the soil, then once cultivation begins, you can expect that seed to germinate, to some degree (depending on the season, rainfall, temperature, soil conditions and so on)
• Grazing:- over grazing, overstocking and disturbance by hoofed animals created degraded land. Weeds, if present in the seed bank, can then colonise the disturbed site unless other legumes, pasture grasses and herbaceous native plants are present and resilient in the grazed area.
• Wildlife:- wildlife often help seedbanks function – they eat and transfer (vector) seed, fruit and other plant material. Birds are an excellent indicator of how successful a weed management program is. A general rule of thumb:- more bird species, the more biodiversity. Wildlife disappears when overly destructive weed management techniques are used. Wildlife can carry both weed and native seed. If you look under a tree or post where birds sit, you will often find seedlings coming up. Some are weeds, some are native. You can help native wildlife by planting native, local plants, and they can help you by bringing in more seed, when they visit the plantings. Nice one, nature!!!
• Overwhelming:- some weeds, if in their initial colonisation period throughout an area, can be overwhelmed by native plantings. Time is important here, and patience. Shading out, nutrient competition, drought tolerance and native plant survival strategies often allow native plants to prosper where non native plants die. However, weeds, as opportunists, mainly do the overwhelming, in disturbed, non resilient, native remnants.
• Suppression:- techniques such as mulching, shading, high native plant densities and lack of disturbance can act to suppress weed cycles.
• Eradication:- this is best done at the initial onset of a weed infestation. This is best done where the weed has only spread to a small area. Eradication, on a larger scale demands strict replanting, resowing, non disturbance follow up practices. It often involves follow up weed seed bank germination for following seasons, and hence, more maintenance.
• Co-existing:- weeds infest an area and compete successfully, where the native seed bank has diminished or is supressed by the invading weed, cultural practices and disturbance. Co-existing of weeds and native vegetation is prevalent throughout much of Australia. some weeds co-exist so well, that they have become “naturalised”. Many flora and faune co-habit successfully with these weeds. However, co-existence of weeds with natural landscapes can offer a source of further weed spread in surrounding disturbed, non resilient habitats and ecological units.
• Habitat Enhancement:- at the crux of all weed management should be Habitat Health. The killing of weed vegetation en masse destroys whatever habitat there is, creating stress for our native wildlife and often destroying small surviving native plants that struggle to live with the weeds. Constant mowing, constant spraying, constant traffic and cultivation, constant burning – these things destroy habitat.
• Life Cycles:- the life cycle of the weed must be fully understood. some weeds have yearly lifecycles (annuals), some are herbaceous perennials (long & short lived), some are long lived woody species (small and large trees). Weed cycles give us an idea how and why they have invaded a disturbed area. Weed vectors such as wind, animals, human traffic, run-off, soil movement need to be understood. Weed propagation and renewal processes need to be understood fully. Where weeds have infested an area to the point of lack of biodiversity of native plants and animals, their growth and regeneration cycles need to be fully appreciated. These areas of widespread, non biodiverse areas of weed are often the target for herbicide use, burning, mowing and other destructive forms of habitat management. The life cycles of native plant species endemic to the area need to be understood fully, before any destruction of the existing weed infestation occurs. Otherwise, if there is no native seed bank to replenish the area, the habitats will suffer short term, and possibly long term.
• Resilient Areas:- where native vegetation is biodiverse and functioning with fewer weeds. These areas are to be treasured and enhanced. It is from these areas that native fauna help disperse native seed into surrounding weed infested areas. These areas can also be at risk of weed invasion, once disturbed. These areas are at the forefront of the weed infestation line. Spreading the resilient areas outwards, into the weed infested area is recommended. This can be done by either edge weeding (Bradley Method style) or by planting “islands” of similar vegetation comunities nearby, thus creating a chain of native vegetation stands that offer native fauna a refuge, habitat and food source. The native vegetation “islands” become future sources of seed bank, that can then naturally spread further or be used for future plantings of more “islands”.

Now let us look at the PETALS on the government extension offered by the NSW Government for Weed Management:-

• Slashing
• Mulching
• Fire
• cultivation
• Reafforestation
• Biological
• Flame Weeding
• Goats
• Herbicides
• Land Management – Pasture, grazing, cropping, hygeine, weed identification

NATIVE SEED BANKS and WEED SEED BANKS

**Bluecray does not advocate the taking of seed from just anywhere, should you wish to collect native seed for yourself. You can, of course, take the seed from native plants on your own property, however, be mindful that the seed is also part of the functioning ecology in situ. To take from, usually means that you will also have to give back. This is especially true for endangered species and seed that doesn’t germinate easily. Taking this seed may mean a net loss in the overall seed bank, should your seed not germinate, and be wasted.

The interface between a weed area and a native bush area can be very dynamic, and hard to map out. It can change dramatically season by season, and is not something that can have a “line” drawn to show the weed from non weed area. Much of the seed bank is either under the ground, held in the above ground vegetation or growing nearby to be dispersed by wind, water, soil movement, animals and traffic.

Weeds and native plants compete for food, light, space, water. Weeds are often tough, adaptable, both by genotype and phenotype, opportunistic and are very good at renewal of themselves,usually by prolific seeding, suckering, tubering, leaf fall or air layering. Weeds, like some native plants, can produce chemical inhibitors that hinder the germination of other seeds nearby . Weeds method of spread also help them succeed. They often are wind born, but also eaten by animals, transported by water, animals, vehicles, movement of soil and dumping of vegetation “waste”.

Remnant vegetation is disappearing along much of our coastal strip, and also inland. It is becoming fragmented, weed infested and losing resilience.

Resilient remnant vegetation is important to protect. Weeds to not readily invade intact, resilient native remnant vegetation. Weeds invade disturbed landscape situations. The following diagram shows the hard to define line between weeds and remnant vegetation.

The capacity for the remnant vegetation to buffer up against incoming weed populations and spread depends in part, on its resilience. Resilient native remnants have capacity to withstand  opportunistic weed spread, via having enough seed bank and vegetation cover to outcompete the weed. They can  “win” by having reserves of seed, soil cover, niche populations via biodiversity and sheer domination over incoming weed populations by giving little  soil, light, water for the weed to grow. However, once the native vegetation stand loses its resilience, loses its biodiversity, and particularly, once it is disturbed, then weeds can gain a foothold.

Regarding time and space management in the world of weed and remnant vegetation “frontiers”?  Remember, weeds compete with the native stand for the resources of space, light, water and food. The weeds may co-exist with the remnant stand. They may suppress the native stand. They may overwhelm  or strongly compete . They may eradicate the native stand. This can also work the other way. The native vegetation may co-exist, suppress, overwhelm, eradicate or just compete with the weeds.

• A Balance of Faeries – revisited:- a story about clearing fragile remnants where Koalas and other vulnerable species live, and why recovery of those remnants may never occur unless immediate authentic land and water stewardship  action is taken.
• Goanna leaves the Glyphosate Bank
• PK and Litoria look for Rufous Bettong
• Living with and managing Fireweed in SE Qld and NE NSW By al at bluecray on September 26, 2009
• Land and water stewardship : Rescuing Remnants By al at bluecray on October 24, 2009
• Macleay’s Swallowtail – a beautiful green and brown butterfly By al at bluecray  on March 15, 2009 (this article covers some information on LANTANA management that is being carried out by the Australian, NSW and QLD Governments, in association with local councils, community groups and Catchment Management Groups)
• Centre for Spray Technology Application Research and Training at School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, UQ, Gatton Campus :- research and training support programs are provided in agriculture, public health and forestry
• Seed Bank Research :- at bluecray enviromental search
  
• Seed Bank Research Australia :- at google search
• Australian Native Seed Suppliers:- at google search
• Australian Native Seed Growers:- at google search
  

##Reference:- (My own experiences:- Many years of varying types of seed bank studies(under and post graduate), native seed collecting, distribution and growing, environmental consulting for Department of Transport and power utilities, Integrated Catchment Committees, landcare groups, liason with organic growing and permaculture communities, foundation teacher and set up for TAFE horticultural studies, Bremer, 2nd paid landcare coordinator in QLD (100,000ha – lower Brisbane Valley and Bremer River- almost twenty years ago), award winning schools project on environmental weeds, training council and groundspersons in pesticide application and safety technology and integrated pest management, numerous habitat restoration and revegetation programs, training Greening Australia staff for native australian grasses educational extension- mid 90′s).

The following excerpt is from “Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land:-

HABITAT
H – for humanity, its history and  its law
A – for Aborigines and their ancestors before
B – biodiversity – to me it spells out “FREE”
i – for the little guy – that means you and me
T – for the teacher that leads us through the land
A – for AUSTRALIANS that learn to understand
T the Trust of wildlife friends living hand in hand

CLEARING
C is for cutting and clearing their land, taking their bedding, dispersing their clan
L is for larsony, looting and lost
E is for Everything in rubbish piles tossed
A is for Arid Lands’ creep from the west, and
R is remorse for failing this test
i is the little guy – that means you and me
N is right NOW. Wake up!!! LOOK and SEE!!!!
G is for Global, Gaia, God, Gift and Ground

Gracious abundance for many times round!!