Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Inc. Land Management Update Babel, Badger, Big Dog, Hummocky, lungtalanana, Preminghana, trawtha makuminya, piyura kitina/risdon Cove & putalina This is a quick overview of some of the things the TAC land management team have been up to in the last 6 months of 2015. We have 4 crews based at Preminghana, Risdon Cove, Hummocky & Flinders Island working on 8 Indigenous Protected Areas and trawtha makuminya. For more details, reports, maps, concerns or questions please contact us: Steve Cronin steve.c@tacinc.com.au Launceston 6332 3800 or Andry Sculthorpe andry.s@tacinc.com.au piyura kitina/ Risdon Cove 6243 1761.
Gorse control Solid strategic work continues to tackle gorse, through power tools, cutting and pasting as well as fire. The gorse soft shoot moth has also been noticed in new colonies away from the original release sites. patrula nayri The pakana Rangers at Preminghana have been practising cultural burning following training workshops and the production of a fire management plan. It is important to be reducing the potential for catastrophic fires as recently experienced in the region (which sadly forced the postponement of the Jan camp).
Campground improvements A lot of effort has gone into making the camp facilities very comfortable and functional. Work has been put into the BBQ shelter, new tables and seats, plumbing, tanks, tracks and generally keeping the campground in tip-top condition. Community visits have occurred, including a trip to the top of the mountain in NAIDOC week. Preminghana
Babel 2008 2016 Drummer s crew continue to transform the areas of Babel Island from swathes of boxthorn to thriving poa tussocks that support a thriving muttonbird rookery. The two photos above show how different the area is in front of the house compared to 2008. This is just a fraction of the area transformed (the house has changed a bit too).
Muttonbird monitoring Starting to build up multi-year information
Mirrorbush The crew went on a blitz in Winter/Spring, finding and spraying mirrorbush across the island (see map). Some boxthorn and pampas grass was also controlled, with a desire to stop these species taking hold on the island. Big Dog Pampas grass control BEFORE AFTER
Hummocky Weed control Work continues to control the boxthorn, with much effort spent pulling out new seedlings over a large area, particularly the eastern side of the mountain. After the bushes have been cut, they are pushed up and burnt. Revegetation follows, allowing native species to take hold in place of the boxies. Mirror bush and sea spurge have also been given a good hammering.
New Coordinator: Steve Cronin Tim Brown, alas, has left for greener pastures. Steve Cronin introduces himself: My previous experience is as a ranger in Tasmania with the Parks and Wildlife Service and the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Environment Centre Director, lighthouse keeper, weather observer, and environmental consultant inter alia. Everyone has made me feel very welcome and I feel privileged to be a part of the TAC team. I will give full support to the land management teams working in Bass Strait by utilising my experience and through good communication and logistical support. I have just returned from five years working in New Zealand with the Department of Conservation as a ranger and programme manager and with the Hokotehi Moriori Trust as Whenua Tchieke (Land carer) on the Chatham Islands on lands purchased from treaty settlements and lands handed back to the Polynesian Moriori. I have lived on Flinders Island in the early 1980s, am familiar with the outer islands and have completed multiple trips of boxthorn work on many of the islands with the Friends of Bass Strait Islands group, so I understand the core work the crews are doing in Bass Strait. My specialisations: Tasmanian Small mammals, particularly the New Holland mouse, Frogs: recognised as a specialist in Tasmanian species, Seabirds, penguins and seals: surveying, observing, recording and tagging/banding of fur seal species and seabird populations (on islands in the Southern Ocean, New Zealand, Bass Strait and South Pacific Ocean), Camera traps, running a number of workshops and presentations on the use of these, Environmental management on private land: with Landcare Australia and as a consultant, Conservation law compliance and education: A long association with conservation law education, compliance and enforcement in Australia and New Zealand including years as a Wildlife Protection Officer enforcing a range of Acts and Regulations.
trawtha makuminya New bridge over the Nive. The contrast between the old and the new couldn t be more stark. Including lengths of the old Bailey bridge (which crossed the Derwent at Risdon Cove when the Tasman Bridge was down and were present on the property at the time of purchase), the new bridge should allow passage to the north of trawtha makuminya for many years to come. Other improvements. Some ILC grant money has also seen more fire and weed work, an upgrade to the second shack, two smaller river crossings and kilometres of fence work to stop wandering stock.
piyura kitina/ Risdon Cove & Risdon Cove finally has a palawa name: piyura kitina Decided at the 2015 AGM, the name means small native hen, who thrive on this important land (as we do). In time, this will become the only name for this place. Cultural Days In the holiday program at the children s centre, pakana rangers led young crew on small walks and sparked conversations about the animals and birds. Other activities included building a hut on the hill, painting with ochre and tucking into BBQ roo, muttonbirds and mussels.
putalina
patrula nayri We have been resurrecting traditional burning on our country, which does help with fuel management, but has a deeper purpose of rejuvenating the land. Native grasses such as silver tussock and wallaby grass are bouncing back 5 or 6 weeks after each burn, competing with the previous cover of introduced grasses, that were dry and brittle. Wallabies and birds are spending more time on this country now. The place feels a lot happier Jason Smith, pakana Ranger Periwinkle Fire was also trialled as a tool to control periwinkle patches, followed by spraying of the regrowth. kanikung (pigface) has also been planted in areas of periwinkle to see if it can outcompete the weed.