For anyone else who had trouble getting the link to the night parrot story
Rare parrot threatens to halt mining
By: Paige Taylor
AN enigmatic species of parrot -- last seen mummified on a Queensland
roadside in 1990 -- has surfaced at the centre of a dispute in the iron
ore-rich Pilbara region.
Ecologists working for miner Andrew Forrest claim a ``very convincing''
sighting of three critically endangered night parrots in marshes at Mulga
Downs, the pastoral station owned by Australia's richest woman -- and Mr
Forrest's mining competitor -- Gina Rinehart.
Seen only twice last century, the parrot was presumed extinct for many
years.
Ms Rinehart had been negotiating for the land on Mulga Downs to be protected
for conservation when the pastoral lease comes up for renewal in 2015.
But Mr Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group has a mining tenement on the same
piece of land and is determined to press ahead with multi-million-dollar
development plans -- aiming to export the first shipment of iron ore at the
end of 2007.
FMG operations executive director Graeme Rowley said neither the presence of
the rare birds nor a mysterious complaint to federal Environment Minister
Ian Campbell about the company's activities at Mulga Downs would stop the
massive project.
``We are aware that someone had mischievously put a complaint to the
minister -- none of it is correct,'' he said. ``(The parrot) has only been
sighted once despite a lot of people looking for it but we are treating it
as real.''
The company has written a management plan to ensure the protection of the
night parrot.
A spokeswoman for state Environment Minister Judy Edwards said the
Environmental Protection Authority would soon release its report and
recommendations on FMG's proposal, which would then be released for public
comment.
Ms Rinehart was not available for comment yesterday but state Opposition
environment spokeswoman Katie Hodson-Thomas expressed concern that FMG might
have started activities in the area without the proper environmental
approvals.
Ms Hodson-Thomas said the area was of conservation importance and was
protected under an international agreement with Japan.
``The Labor Government must reveal whether it is investigating a possible
breach of the Environmental Protection Act at Fortescue Marsh in the Pilbara
region,'' Ms Hodson-Thomas said.
She said the commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage was in the
process of making a determination on whether the company had breached
federal legislation.
``WA Environment Minister Judy Edwards must reveal whether she is aware of
the situation and what action she is taking,'' she said. ``The situation is
of grave concern, considering the important conservation values present.''
-----Original Message-----
From: knightl
Sent: Saturday, 22 October 2005 11:30
To: Birding Aus
Subject: Night Parrots in the News
It will be interesting to see if there are any follow-up sightings ...
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/
0,5744,16996493%255E30417,00.html
Brief article to the effect that ecologists working for Andrew Forrest
claim a "very convincing" sighting of three critically endangered night
parrots in marshes at Mulga Downs, in the Pilbara.
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