Mallee Emu-wren in trouble again. Nowingi

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6 responses to “Mallee Emu-wren in trouble again. Nowingi”

1. 

   July 27, 2010

   Simon Mustoe

   Andrew,

   It was a result of the original (Nowingi) planning application and hearings that the species was elevated to endangered. Jeff Davies first put me onto this (he was the main protagonist, who had the risks to these birds fuirst publicised) and I got commissioned by Mildura Council to act as an independent witness in the planning hearing. Whilst I researched the topic, I decided to put evidence to the IUCN and successfully got it from Vulnerable to Endangered. Subsequently, I submitted it to the Australian Commonwealth and it was decided they too would make it “endangered”.

   At the time I wrote to Minister Garrett for the relisting, I included a covering letter to say that the listing process was slower than the rate at which it was declining and that it was likely to be “critical” before it was listed as Endangered. It has recently been elevated to critical in SA. I don’t know what the current situation is like in Victoria but Rohan Clarke would probably have a view. If it wasn’t for the fact that it is found in some widely scattered geographic areas, it would already be listed as critical. IUCN and EPBC listing is sadly not very appropriate for biodiversity management.

   As for the EPBC Act, it makes little or no difference whether it’s endangered or vulnerable. The policy thresholds hardly vary. The decisions also come down to questions of absolute rarity, rather than ‘threat’. This is because jo blow doesn’t really understand the subtle population requirements of birds like Mallee Emu-wren. During the Nowingi hearings, the planning panel was unconvinced that the bird was under any threat at all (contrary to the IUCN and BirdLife International view) and the panel report recommended rejection of the application – but NOT as a result of any ecological questions. If you read the panel report, you would see that they more or less rejected all my arguments about why this species is dependent on Hattah-Nowingi as a last stronghold.

   Plus, when a State government says something will happen, the Commonwealth are unlikely to interfere to the extent that one species will make a difference. Until it really is listed ‘critical’ it won’t be considered a priority because our biodiversity policy exists only to address final extinction, not to address declines in species.

   I’ll be watching this one closely. But as Jeff pointed out, I wouldn’t make any assumptions yet.

   …on another note, I thought the government had finally pledged to have this location added to the adjacent National Park?

   Regards,

   Simon.

   _______

   Mustoe S and Clarke R (2004). Mallee Emu-wren; Management Burning and Toxic Waste Dump Spark Concerns for a Listed Threatened Species. National Environmental Law Review, 3:54-58.

   Mustoe S (2006). Assessment of the Conservation Status of Mallee Emu-wren Stipiturus Mallee AJ Campbell, 1908 Family Maluridae. AES Applied Ecology Solutions Pty Ltd.

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2. 

   July 27, 2010

   Andrew Hobbs

   OK Guys,

   Instead of handwringing, now is the time to start considering the situation. I have only driven through the area a few times, and know rather little about the area or its history. However the Mallee Emu-Wren is listed under the EPBC Act as an endangered species. Therefore any development which is likely to impinge upon its survival is subject to regulation under the act and this can include land clearing. Any developer who intends carrying out such work is required to make an application to DEWHA for consideration as a controlled action. Even if they don’t, anyone else can do so if they feel that such development is likely to affect an EPBC listed species. Notifying the appropriate State Government department or private company of the requirements should help to ensure they comply with Commonwealth law.

   It is a complete process, independent of State Governments, in which the public can make submissions. DEWHA and its predecessor, rarely turn/turned down applications completely though that is changing. More likely they may require other mitigating actions. In this case, given the large areas of land already cleared in the vicinity I would say there is a reasonable chance of a reasonable result for Mallee Emu-Wren. But someone does have to get down and do it. Perhaps Birds Australia are already involved. I don’t know.

   Cheers

   Andrew Hobbs Perth, Western Australia.

   Jeff Davies wrote: href=”mailto:birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au href=”mailto:birding-aus@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus@vicnet.net.au href=”mailto:birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au href=”mailto:birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au href=”mailto:birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au

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3. 

   July 27, 2010

   Peter Ewin

   This has already made the local media here in Mildura. However, the consensus appears to be that Mr Brumby’s intentions are good but his suggestion is poor. Given that the solar power stations will be privately run (with government funding of course) it is unlikely that the cheapest option will be the clearing of vegetation when there are already plenty of cleared paddocks around that possibly would be cheaper. This is different to the toxic waste dump which was a government problem and so they looked at the cheapest option for purchase of land (I hope that the government wouldn’t offer this as an incentive). There is already one setup planned in the vicinity of Nowingi but is in cleared country. I hope this will be the case, but once again it is something worth watching as the benefits of solar energy are completely negated if you are required to clear vegetation (and its carbon trapping potential) to create the site particularly in such a highly cleared area already. Cheers, Peter

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4. 

   July 27, 2010

   “Jeff Davies”

   G’day Chris, I very much doubt if they would embed an expensive solar array within a flammable environment. Cheers Jeff.

   —–Original Message—– href=”mailto:birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Chris Sanderson Sent: Tuesday, 27 July 2010 3:01 PM Cc: birding-aus@vicnet.net.au

   Hi Ady,

   Thanks for bringing this to our attention, it was certainly the first I had heard of it! The article is very light on details – are any birding-aussies out there familiar with details about this project? I suppose it is possible the impact would be low, if the panels aren’t situated in mallee. The toxic waste dump was bad among other reasons because any leaks would have gone straight into the water table under the Mallee Emu-wren stronghold.

   So more information would be great, but certainly if there are negative impacts on Mallee Emu-wrens then I’ll be the first to get behind a campaign to stop the development.

   Regards, Chris

   On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Adrian Boyle wrote:

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5. 

   July 27, 2010

   “Jeff Davies”

   This is very disturbing, it confirms that the wildlife values of that block played no part in the government’s decision to abandon the toxic waste dump project, but I guess there are no surprises in that. May be substantially harder to save it this time around.

   Cheers Jeff.

   —–Original Message—– href=”mailto:birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Adrian Boyle Sent: Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:31 AM href=”mailto:birding-aus@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus@vicnet.net.au

   Hi all

   Just found some disturbing news on the internet talking about destroying critical Mallee Emu-wren habitat for solar development.

   As most of you know this species is already in a huge amount of trouble due to fire and habitat loss.

   This development now looks to be planned in one of this species strongholds.

   A link to the news story is below.

   http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/26/2963815.htm?site=news

   I hope this doesnt get up and running.

   Sorry Adrian

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6. 

   July 27, 2010

   Chris Sanderson

   Hi Ady,

   Thanks for bringing this to our attention, it was certainly the first I had heard of it! The article is very light on details – are any birding-aussies out there familiar with details about this project? I suppose it is possible the impact would be low, if the panels aren’t situated in mallee. The toxic waste dump was bad among other reasons because any leaks would have gone straight into the water table under the Mallee Emu-wren stronghold.

   So more information would be great, but certainly if there are negative impacts on Mallee Emu-wrens then I’ll be the first to get behind a campaign to stop the development.

   Regards, Chris

   On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Adrian Boyle wrote:

   href=”mailto:birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au ===============================

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