I am forwarding this as some of you may be interested in this sorry
saga.
From:
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 2:13 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Destruction of Ibis and Cormorant nesting sites at
Yowani Golf Course
Dear Shane
Thank you for your response. There may still be some positive action
you can take. My husband David played golf today at Yowani and the
remaining trees on the island still hadn’t been touched. In the meantime
about 50 ibis have returned and many have started making or repairing their
nests in the still standing trees. And with the large pile of available
nesting sticks (formerly trees) they thinks it’s Christmas. So it would be
terrific if some action could be taken now, so that only half the breeding birds
are displaced this year. The contractors were working on removing pine
trees today but may be back to the island very shortly.
For your information COG’s president Chris Davey has received the following
response from Murray Evans in the ACT Government on the history of the
decision. David has assured me that the dam has a history of algae
long before the birds arrived – a more likely source would be the high
concentration of fertiliser typically used on most golf courses.
Thanks again for your interest in this matter.
Kathy
Original Message -----
Sent: Monday,
July 18, 2011 1:48 PM
Subject: RE:
[canberrabirds] Destruction of Ibis and Cormorant nesting sites at Yowani Golf
Course
Hi Chris,
The reason the trees are being removed is
due to water quality issues in that particular dam on Yowani
GC.
The Environmental Protection Authority
(EPA) (ACT Government) has found that at certain times of the year, the water
entering Sullivans Creek from this dam does not meet environmental water quality
standards due to blue-green algae blooms. The blooms are related to the high
nutrient level in the dam, which is mostly from Ibis droppings during breeding
season and to a lesser extent from fertiliser. The EPA has told Yowani that they
must do something about the excess nutrient levels in that particular dam and
the algal blooms. The main way to reduce the high nutrient levels is to have no
or few Ibis using the island. Hence permission was given to remove Ibis habitat
from the island, outside of breeding season.
Hope this helps to answer your
question.
Regards,
Murray
From:
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:48 AM
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Destruction of Ibis and Cormorant nesting sites at
Yowani Golf Course
Dear
Kathy
I
was very disappointed to hear this information. I will be contacting the
Yowani Golf Club asking on what basis they took this decision, and also whether
there is any chance to prevent further removal of trees. Thanks for
drawing it to my attention, and I will be back in touch to let you know what
response I receive.
Regards
Shane
--------------------------------------------
Shane
Rattenbury MLA
Speaker,
ACT Legislative Assembly
ACT
Greens Spokesperson for Climate Change, Environment and Water, Energy, Attorney
General, Police and Emergency Services, and Tourism, Sport and
Recreation
T:
(02) 6205 0005
E: m("parliament.act.gov.au","rattenbury");">
www.facebook.com/shanerattenburymla
From: Kathy
Cook [
Sent: Saturday, 16 July 2011
7:12 PM
To: canberra birds
Cc: RATTENBURY;
Subject: Destruction of Ibis and
Cormorant nesting sites at Yowani Golf Course
Very distressing to
hear today that Yowani Golf Club has destroyed about half the nesting trees on
an island between the 16th and 17th fairways, used by mainly Australian White
Ibis as well as Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants. More than 200
nests have been counted on the island in recent years. COG members will be
aware that this is one of the very few nesting sites for white ibis in the
ACT. Who knows where the birds will go when they return to start nesting
in the next couple of months. It is understood that the remaining trees
will be chain-sawed in the next few days. I am unaware what planning
permission was given for this, but even if it has been agreed by the relevant
authorities it seems a sad indictment on our society’s values.
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