Re Regent Hoenyeaters and Goonoo.
A couple of thoughts re the coments on Regent Honeyeaters and the recent
horrendous charcoal proposal for the NSW woodlands.
Firstly on the available information it is not just Goonoo being targetted,
it is likely to be ironbark woodlands and forests throughout the
central-west. There is therefore a broader risk to Regent HOneeyaters and
the many other threatened and declining species of the region than simply
Goonoo.
Secondly, shouldn't we be aiming to protect and ultimately improve habitat
where Regent's and other threatened birds once occurred regularly but no
longer do so? So that we can potentially allow the species to exand to at
least parts of their former range? Otherwise we are accepting a situation
of ecological extinction of species like Regents- now largely restricted to
a few spots on the map and extinct through most of their former range.
If we don't we are of course also accepting a situation where the timber
industry and the forestry bureacracy that was partly responsible for the
regional extinctions of Regents, and other species, are allowed to
continue destructive works that prevent the possible return of the species-
because they are already extinct- or virtually so- a nice catch 22!
Surely the Regent Honeyeater Recovery team is aiming to increase the range
of the Regents ultimately and not just keep the birds alive in Capertee,
Chiltern, Barraba and the Taronga Park Zoo? And if it is aiming to do
that isn't it valid for the Regent HE Recovery Team and others to argue
publicly that the woodlands in question should be protected in reserves for
Regent Honeyeaters- which are known to still occasionally use the region??-
as well as the many other species and conservation values at risk.
cheers,
Barry Traill
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