FRIENDS OF BAW BAW NATIONAL PARK INC. NEWSLETTER NO. 39 SEPTEMBER 2018 1. INTRODUCTION The Friends of Baw Baw National Park Inc. Annual General Meeting and Committee of Management meetings were was held on Thursday 19 th September 2018 at the Morwell Bowling Club Seminar Room. The AGM commenced at 7:45 PM and was immediately followed by the Committee of Management meeting, the evening concluded at 9:35 PM with a new committee formed and the frame work of a program of activities for 2018-19 established. 2. AGM The standard agenda items of a report from the President and Treasurers Report were tabled. Elections for a new committee were conducted by Kirsten Phelan, Ranger, Parks Victoria. The following office bearers were elected for 2018-19: President: Peter Maffei Vice President: John Sunderland Secretary: Ben Aalbers Treasurer: Tim Clarke Committee Members: Buffie Harris, Allan Wood, Darold Klindworth and Eileen Laidlaw 3. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT A meeting of the just formed Committee of Management followed on from the AGM. The major item of discussion was the program of activities for the coming year. The program will include all the old favourites and hopefully a few new activities: Blackberry culling Guided wild flower walk Major track maintenance Water bar clearing Track signage replacement (subject to funding) Leadbeater possum nest box inspection (subject to appropriate training) Guided snow shoe shuffle We are hoping to circulate the finalised program within a few weeks. The Committee also welcomes suggestions from members.
The reports from each of the activities conducted throughout the year are attached below. Guided Wildflower Walk Date: 13 th January 2018 Despite a terrible weather forecast we were very pleased 41 people attended this year s walk. A number of which had travelled from Melbourne. A few had chosen to stay the night in one of the many accommodation options available at the Baw Baw Alpine Resort and continue exploring the plateau on the Sunday. Greg Hollis and John Davies, our guest field leader experts talked about their relevant specialist fields although at times it was hard to distinguish between them as they both have a very intimidate knowledge of the plateau. Greg spoke at length about Philori frosti, the endemic Baw Baw frog and he painted a very sad picture for frosti s long term survival. Melbourne Zoo is doing their best to ensure he survives with temperature controlled bunkers and a breeding program however the frog still has to adapt to the natural world and develop immunity to the Chytrid fungi. The common froglet, also found on the plateau has managed to do this but remains a vector for the fungi spreading it to frosti. Surveys are still conducted each year however none are found in the alpine area of the plateau anymore and the base population is now down in the Alpine Ash areas to 900 meters ASL on the south west side of the National Park. Greg estimates there are approximately 2000 frogs remaining in the wild. Very sad news. Johns field of expertise is Botany and he spoke at length about doing quadrant surveys in the area. Approximately 25% of the plants on the plateau have had a name change since Peter and Kathie Strickland first published their book in 1997. A challenge for John to keep up with it all. He noted as the vegetation changes so does the presence of the wildflowers. More trees and undergrowth equals less wildflowers hence the most vivid displays around the village are found on the ski runs where the grass is short. We headed east from the village and meandered up along the trail to the summit stopping to have lunch in a sheltered area with picnic tables. The cold made for most people only wanting to stop briefly and we found it a challenge to keep people warm and to stop long enough to listen to both Greg and John. Past the summit cairn people had the opportunity to break off from the main group and return to the village and home if they found themselves too cold. Several people took up this option whilst the rest of us headed along the summit trail to 5 Ways. We came down back to the village via the Maltese Cross Run, an area we hadn t visited before. Here there were spectacular displays of pink Trigger plants and white daisies with purple sun orchids hugging the areas of sphagnum bogs along with sundews. Further down it was obvious there was an infestation of a species of rush, possibly introduced in the early days when hay was spread over the run. By about 2.00 pm most people had had enough and we all headed back to the Baw Baw Restaurant at the top of the old chairlift for tea/coffee/hot chocolate and cake. By 2.45 we had all left the mountain with the stragglers driving through dense fog and hail.
Water bar clearing on the Baw Baw Plateau Date: 2nd May 2018 Participants: Eileen Laidlaw, Ben Aalbers, Peter Maffei, Robyn Shingles, Oliver Raymond, Jo Durrant and Shane Atkins The Friends of Baw Baw National Park and Parks Victoria Rangers met at Parkers Corner for the annual water bars clearing activity. The water bars are cleared to allow adequate drainage of water from the walking and cross country ski tracks so as to prevent water erosion. A bonus this year in that Shane had the special key and we were able to drive to near Jeep Flat Track where we commenced work. The vehicle transport meant we did not have to carry the wide variety of tools needed to carry out this job. Our small but energetic volunteer team worked on clearing the box water drains along the track to the Rock Shelter then along the AAWT. Leading our motley crews were Jo and Shane from Parks Victoria. We were able to clear the drains from the Rock Shelter to Phillack Saddle for the first time in three years such was the enthusiasm of the team. We split into two small crews. One positive to come from the dry weather we have been experiencing is that there was little debris and soil in the box drains and consequently we were able to make good progress, reaching Phillack Saddle by 2:00 PM. It was also encouraging to see a significant number of walkers following in our footsteps and receiving appreciative comments for our work. A few before and after photo's... Before Yes there is a box drain covered by leaf litter.
After Now you can see it. Great job Jo, Ben and Eileen Australian Alps Walking Track Track Clearing Dates: 1-4 March 2018 Our task this year was to continue track clearing in an easterly direction towards Mount Erica During the planning phase for this event we had 21 people volunteer to attend at various times over the 4 days. A number indicating that they would be available for the full 4 days. Unfortunately the event had to be cut short, with no track clearing activity occurring on the Saturday or Sunday. Many thanks to everyone who assisted with the track clearing at on Thursday and Friday. Also thank you to those that had volunteered for Saturday and Sunday but unfortunately those days had to be cancelled as senior Parks Victoria staff members were needed to coordinate activities associated with the fire in the Tamboritha - Dingo Hill Track area. Given the length of the hike to the work site (approximately 15 Kilometres round trip) what we achieved was magnificent. I was beginning to think I would never see Mt Erica again but we did it well done everyone. I calculated that we contributed 286 volunteer hours (including travel, hiking and work). While I will not sound out a particular volunteer (you are all fantastic); I would like to mention the professional approach and high degree of leadership that Parks Victoria Ranger Kirsten Phelan exhibited. Kirsten is one of the newest rangers in the Parks Victoria Central Gippsland Region and we welcome her and wish her a long and successful stay in Gippsland.
Track clearing volunteers hard at work Guided Snow Shoe Shuffle Date: 12 August 2018 19 of us had a great day out in the Baw Baws with our snow shoes, and this year there was actually a decent snowfall! It was picturesque - white and beautiful! What I call a real day out in the snow (unlike last year!) We had a mixture of SBWC, FoBB and other visitors on our trip. We all took some amazing photos which have been posted on our Facebook page so make sure you check them out! Once we managed to strap our paddles onto our feet, and put plenty of layers of warm clothing on, we were off up the hill, winding through the trees from the Mt St Gwinear carpark. We only got slightly lost momentarily (the landscape looks completely different when it is covered in glorious snow!) This time when we made it to Mt St Gwinear, there was actually a snow-covered landscape to enjoy (and some freezing cold wind!). As some were starting to feel the cold, lunch was a quick one by the rock shelter in the freezing cold, a blizzard was surely on its way at this point. At times it was pretty misty, and we looked like an expedition trekking in Antarctica with our ski poles and ski gear!
The weather did clear throughout the trip a reminder that in the altitude, conditions can change very quickly! We walked about 11km for the day, using muscles in our bodies we didn t even know existed! We had all sorts of weather throughout the day, but we were all prepared, and with no injuries (apart from a few near-misses from cross-country skiers), it was a fun day had by all! We stopped in at the café at Erica on the way home for hot chocolates and lemon meringue pies! A big thank-you to the Erica Ski Hire for gifting the hire of the snow-shoes to us and to Robyn for leading a fantastic day in Peter s absence. In lieu of show shoe hire we donated funds to support for the farmers who are enduring prolonged and extreme drought conditions. We donated over $120 and our donation was matched dollar for dollar by Coles, who we used to lodge our donation. See you all next year for more fun in the snow! Kirsten Phelan Park Ranger of Baw Baw National Park A bit about myself. I have been the contact ranger of Baw Baw National Park for 10 wonderful months. I am born and bred in the south-east suburbs of Melbourne but now call Traralgon home. I studied an undergraduate environmental science degree and water catchment management postgrad at the University of Melbourne and thoroughly enjoyed both degrees as it gave me some fantastic overseas field trips to Laos, Vietnam, China, New Zealand and nation-wide. I thoroughly enjoy being in the outdoors and connecting people with the beautiful places we have here in Victoria. If I can get others to understand the importance of our environment, I feel that they
will be able to pass on their experiences and knowledge to others. Although I value all my experiences travelling overseas, I am always so grateful to come home to this landscape and the smell of eucalyptus. I have one beautiful border collie at home, along with 11 pet sheep which my mum spoils way too much! I enjoy cooking food (just as much as I love eating it) as long as the carrot is raw and not cooked! I have a history in dancing and as I was growing up I enjoyed jazz, tap, ballet and Irish dancing. Now I ve moved on to tango and any other form of dancing. What s been happening in Baw Baw over the past 12 months Leadbeater possums Nest box checking at Stronach s had 17 out of 36 with LBP material = 47% occupancy A further 34 nest boxes were installed at St Gwinear during May 2018 This is on top of the 18 that are already installed at St Gwinear which had a 100% occupancy rate Peatland Protection Contractors undertook 2 days field work of weed and willow treatment in a section from the Baw Baw Village towards AAWT earlier this month Their feedback = tough country (which we know) and no weeds were found or treated This was part of a 3 year tied funding initiative with West Gippsland CMA and federal funds. We are currently working on getting more funding to continue work on the willows in Baw Baw NP.
Spotted-Tailed Quoll There has been cameras in place after the sighting of the spotted-tailed quoll in the Erica state forest on Anzac day No results have come through yet but I will keep everyone advised when they do.