Actually, there is a much better article by Ian Lunt, which I don't
think anyone has mentioned on The Conversation - http://theconversation.edu.au/can-livestock-grazing-benefit-biodiversity-10789
- "Can livestock grazing benefit biodiversity". It points to the
need for nuanced management - a concept that rarely appears in the
popular press ...
Regards, Laurie.
On 23/11/2012, at 7:22 PM, Alan Gillanders wrote:
Laurie,
To quote Simon, a local, "However it is true that management
decisions made in the last 5 years or so
have led to excessive grass growth with a subsequent reduction in
biodiversity.
"High quality native grasslands are now extremely rare here, i.e.
less than
half of one percent. Most of the areas purchased are modified
grasslands,
which have been ploughed historically, have largely lost their
chenopods and
sub shrubs, and support varying amounts of weedy grasses
particularly in
wetter years."
We stuff up the environment and our conservation efforts are not the
best they could be so it is all the fault of the conservation effort
rather than the practises that led to the need for a recovery plan!
Such simplistic nonsense might grab the attention and admiration of
Barnaby Joyce supporters but that does not make it true.
Regards,
Alan
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Laurie Knight" <>
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 5:25 AM
To: "Birding Aus" <>
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Weekly Times front page- "Plains Blunderer"
Well it does beg the question as to how the Plains Wanderers coped
before the arrival of first Aborigines and then Europeans ...
What is the macropod grazing pressure like in the protected areas?
Laurie.
On 19/11/2012, at 9:21 PM, Jeremy O'Wheel wrote:
Very interesting. I'd bet money that the problem is poor fire
regimes,
which grazing is a poor alternative.
Jeremy
On Nov 19, 2012 7:17 PM, "Simon Starr" <>
wrote:
Hi all,
In this week's Weekly Times, Wed 14th, the front page reads "Plains
Blunderer- Lock-it-and-leave policy debunked as sheep graze a
national park
to save the Plains Wanderer "
The article opens the lid on the fact that since the acquisition
of more
than 11,000 ha of farmland in Northern Victoria by federal and
state
governments as well as by private environmental groups over the
last 20
years, to protect native grasslands and the associated threatened
species,
the reduction in grazing, and lack of response to the recent
wetter years,
have led to a situation where the Plains Wanderer has virtually
been
completely eliminated from the now protected areas. In my
opinion the dense
grass growth has also crowded out many wildflowers.
The population in Victoria has crashed, and remaining birds seem
largely
confined to regularly grazed private grasslands, some of those
being
landholders who did not want to sell their native grasslands.
The grassland reserves are certainly now protected from being
ploughed/cropped, but when it comes to managing grasslands there
are
different ideas on how to do it !
It appears that there is now a realization amongst the powers
that be, that
these birds, and other threatened species have been badly
affected due to
poor management on the reserves.
There are many good people working to improve the situation
which gives me
great hope that in the future the dire situation for the Plains
Wanderer
will be reversed. However it will require suitable funding to
make it work,
and in the current climate it is a worry that adequate funds
will not be
allocated to managing what is now a very large area of the
northern plains.
The Weekly Times article will certainly reinforce some attitudes
in rural
areas, that "greenies" do not know how to manage the land.
Having lived and
worked on the land, I think that both sides of the argument have
something
to learn from the other.
Grassland conservation in the Riverina is still a relatively new
exercise,
so these experiences will no doubt help the process into the
future.
Regards,
Simon Starr,
PS the article does not seem to be available online, but the
paper should
still be available tomorrow/Tuesday.
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