National Parks Association of the Australian Capital ... 54 No 1 Mar 2017.pdf · page 49 of our Field Guide to the Reptiles & Frogs of the Australian Capital Territory) is one of

Butterfly booklaunched

Club Lakewalk

Mattresses tobales of steel

National Parks Association of the Australian Capital Territory Inc.

Volume 54 Number 1 March 2017

NPA Bulletin Volume 54 number 1 March 2017CONTENTSFrom the Editor’s desk .............................................................2

Kevin McCueFrom the committee

Welcome, members and friends, to 2017..........................3 Rod GriffithsGrassland (Southern Lined) Earless Dragon project ........3 Chris EmeryDevelopments on a new northern national park ...............4 Kevin McCue and Rod GriffithsManaging bushfire risks....................................................4 Christine Goonrey

Symposium notice ....................................................................5

Butterfly book launched............................................................6Sonja Lenz

Book review. Field Guide to the Butterflies of the ACTby Suzi Bond with Steve Holliday and John Stein............7 Rupert Barnett

Not dead yet: rejuvenation of the River Red Gum ...................8population at Spring Station CreekIsobel Crawford

Ongoing research in Namadgi ..................................................9Kevin McCue

Conservation Council events ..................................................10

Articles by contributors may not necessarily reflect association opinion or objectives.

National Parks Australia Council AGM..................................11

Ox-eye Daisy alert...................................................................11

ACT environmental news .......................................................12

NPA outings program, March – June 2017 ......................13–16

NPA ACT Christmas Party 2016.............................................17Photo montage

‘Soft Landing’ for old mattresses at the tip .............................18Esther Gallant

Bushwalks

Club Lake and Kunama Hutte ruins .................................19Brian Slee

Up the Burrungubugge .....................................................20Philip Gatenby

Gubur Dhaura (‘Red Ochre Ground’)...............................21and Gungaderra CreekBrian Slee

Wandering Weeders on the Mountain .....................................22Kevin McCue

PARKWATCH ...........................................................................23Compiled by Hazel Rath

NPA notices.............................................................................26

Meetings and speaker information..........................................27

NPA information and contacts ................................................27

2 NPA BULLETIN − MARCH 2017

In this issue of the Bulletin wecongratulate authors Suzi Bond, SteveHolliday and John Stein and thank theNPA team of Sonja Lenz, Esther Gallant,Adrienne Nicholson and Ed Highley [andmyself!], and designer MarianaRollgejser, for a spectacular book allabout butterflies (pages 6–7). We areelated to see it published, and gratifiedthat it has been well received by thepublic – we’re already thinking about areprint.

While the butterfly book has been avery public activity of NPA ACT, behindthe scenes another huge success is that anorthern ACT national park is a stepcloser (page 4). For this, we say to RodGriffiths and the EnvironmentSubcommittee, well done! Anotherimportant activity, the symposium on firemanagement to be held in July(pages 4–5) and convened by our ownChristine Goonrey, will illuminate theway ahead for community input into, andunderstanding of, bushfire management,and help to take the ACT public along onthe path to fire resilience.

Human greed, intolerance andignorance, or a combination of these,have driven many animal species to

extinction. Once great forests are beingsavaged for woodchips here in Australia(page 11). But again, here in the ACT, wehave a good news story – the successfulbreeding of the Eastern Bettong in asanctuary (see NPA Bulletin, March2016). It and the Bush Stone-curlew, theNorthern Corroboree Frog, New HollandMouse, Magpie Goose, Cape BarrenGoose, Southern Bandicoot, SpottedQuoll, Koala, Rock Wallaby, Green andGolden Bell Frog among others weredriven to extinction by the activities of ourforebears in the ACT over just the past150 years.

Whether any or all of these species canbe bred and successfully reintroduced intothe wild outside a sanctuary isproblematic, but we can help achieve thisgoal by:• ridding the ACT of feral foxes and cats

as a necessary first step• providing safe road crossings, under- or

overpasses to stop the carnage of nativeanimals on our roads

• learning how the environment cycleworks – removing 95 per cent of grassywoodlands surely has importantconsequences for the animal world andultimately for humans

• not burning the bush too frequently.This has serious consequences forinsects and other small critters that livein the leaf litter and recycle soilnutrients to keep the undergrowthalive, prevent erosion, grow orchidsand other native flowers, and the nextgeneration of trees (page 4).

Learning, for instance, all about thelife cycles of the many beautiful speciesof butterfly that waft through ourgardens and open spaces is essential ifwe want to conserve them – we do, don’twe? Our new butterfly book will help.

There is huge value in maintaining asmuch of the natural habitat as we can,forgoing some of the pleasures of4-wheel driving, cycling, fishing andshooting in protected areas, to give otheranimals a chance. The long-term survivalof humans on Earth may depend on theecological values inherent in protectedareas – is the cost of their maintenancetoo high a price to pay?

Kevin McCue

From the Editor’s desk

NPA BULLETIN − MARCH 2017 3

While searching for a suitable Honoursproject/scholarship to fund from arecently received bequest, we wereoffered an interesting option from theUniversity of Canberra. As it does notmeet the requirements of the bequest,your committee has decided to fund thisproject from consolidated revenue.

The Grassland Earless Dragon,Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, (seepage 49 of our Field Guide to theReptiles & Frogs of the AustralianCapital Territory) is one of Australia’smost endangered reptiles. Onceoccurring in temperate grasslands acrosssouth-eastern Australia, T. pinguicollanow exists in only a few small andfragmented populations in the ACT/Queanbeyan area and near Cooma

(NSW). Reasons for its decline are variedbut include habitat clearance andfragmentation, and more subtle causessuch as habitat degradation (throughstock or kangaroo grazing) andagricultural practices. Climate change isalso likely to increase the threats to thisspecies.

In collaboration with the ACTGovernment, the University of Canberrahas collected mark–recapture data frompopulations of the species using back-pattern recognition. In this project, thestudent will survey the lizard in keypopulation localities within the ACT,combine the data with captures fromprevious years, and then use the totaldataset to develop a population dynamicmodel for the species. The goal will be to

predict the futurepopulation trajec-tories for thespecies and thelikelihood of itsextinction.

Project expend-iture would be $10,000:$5,000 for a student scholarship and$5,000 for field work expenses. Theproject supervisor will be ProfessorStephen Sarre. We look forward to theselected student giving us a presentationat a general meeting sometime afterJune 2018, following completion of theproject.

Chris EmeryTreasurer

Grassland (Southern Lined) Earless Dragon project

From the committeeThe NPA Committee is expectinganother active year, which has alreadykicked off with significant developmentsrelating to the proposed new nationalpark (see article on page 4) and anincreased focus on ecotourism by theACT Government. This increased focushas resulted in the issuing of a requestfor proposals for the ‘Provision of Eco-accommodation, Volunteer GuideManagement and Nature Based TourismExperiences’. This proposal seeks:

the ‘holistic management of an“on-reserve” eco style housingportfolio’, as well as the‘development of sensitive,appropriate nature based tourismexperiences that build on existingnatural and cultural values withinthe Territory’.The NPA believes that familiarity

with the bush breeds understanding but,in seeking to achieve this, the primaryresponsibility of our conservationreserves remains the protection of thenatural environment. The NPA willtherefore be closely monitoring progresson ecotourism proposals and will work

to ensure only appropriate projects areimplemented.

The last few months have been busydespite the festive season. In Decemberwe saw the successful launch of the FieldGuide to the Butterflies of the ACT. Thishas proved to be an immensely popularbook and has opened many pairs of eyesto the diversity of the butterfly world inthe ACT. The Publications Subcommitteeis already thinking about the need for areprint!

Work on the new edition of the NPA’sField Guide to the Native Trees of theACT continues and it will be a worthysuccessor to the current edition.

The NPA has had stalls at theenvironmental fair in December and theopen day at Jerrabomberra Wetlands (seephotos on page 10). Both stalls were wellpatronised and have contributed to strongsales of the NPA’s publications.

Following the ACT election, the NPAcongratulated the successful candidatesand offered to take them on a bushwalkas an opportunity to showcase theimportance of the ACT’s reserves. Therehas been a positive response to this offer

and it is expectedthat the variouswalks will takeplace from April.

The Environ-ment Subcommitteeis currently puttingtogether a response to the draftmanagement plan for the Lower CotterCatchment (LCC). The LCC adjoinsNamadgi National Park and, in thefuture, as the natural environmentrecovers from the 2003 bushfires, it islikely that much of the LCC will beincorporated into Namadgi. Theproposed plan of management istherefore of key interest to the NPA.

As always, these are just some of theactivities involving the NPA and yourparticipation, no matter how small, willbe welcomed. Please do not hesitate tocontact any of the committee membersif you would like to offer your support.

Rod Griffiths

Life membership of NPA ACT

The committee is again calling for nominations for Honorary Life Membership. If you know a member who has donesomething very special for our association and is worthy of this recognition, please send a confidential nomination tothe secretary Sonja Lenz by mid-April (signed by yourself and another member who seconds the nomination). Furtherinformation on what to put into the nomination can be found on the NPA website or by contactingKevin McCue on 6251 1291 or email [email protected]

Welcome, members and friends, to 2017


Rod Griffiths wrote the first proposal inNPA ACT’s campaign for a newnorthern national park in the ACT backin April 2009 (published in the NPABulletin, June 2009) and discussed itwith the then Chief Minister JonStanhope in September 2009.

In October 2010, the Office of theCommissioner for Sustainability and theEnvironment (OCSE), in response to adirection from the then Chief Minister,instigated an enquiry into CanberraNature Park, Molonglo River Corridorand Googong Foreshores.

By March 2011, the NPA ACTproposal incorporated the ACT’snationally significant lowland grassywoodlands into a single reserve toconsolidate the management of theseimportant ecosystems (NPA Bulletin,March 2011).

Following the OCSE report, theACT’s Commissioner for Sustainabilityand the Environment, Dr MaxineCooper, commissioned a report in 2011

titled ‘Should Goorooyarroo, MulligansFlat, Mount Majura and Mount Ainsliebecome a National Park or remain asdiscrete Nature Reserves as part ofCanberra Nature Park?’. Followingpublication of its findings, Rod Griffithsas President of NPA ACT wrote on4 June 2011 complimenting OCSE on thereport and not only supported theproposition but suggested adding otherreserves and providing connectivitybetween them. The establishment of anational park would help raisecommunity awareness of the importanceof these ecosystems and provide impetusto achieve greater on- and off-reserveconnectivity.

Just before the 2016 ACT election, theproposal was aired prominently in aConservation Council of the ACT Regionforum attended by electoral nomineesfrom the Liberal, Labor and Greens ACTparties, who were asked whether theysupported such a proposal. The NPA washeartened when the subsequent Labor/Greens parliamentary agreement included

a commitment toinvestigate thefeasibility of thenew national parkproposal. (A copyof the proposal canbe found on theNPA’s website.) In earlyFebruary 2017, Mr Mick Gentleman, theACT’s Minister for the Environmentand Heritage, announced the formationof a reference group to investigate theproposal.

As one of a range of stakeholders,the NPA has been asked to nominate arepresentative to the reference groupwith the first meeting to be held in earlyMarch – watch this space!

Compiled by Kevin McCue onconsultation with Rod Griffiths

Developments on a new northern national park

Managing bushfire risksNPA ACT has a proud history of workingwith the community, government andscientists to understand how we canbetter manage the risks of bushfire. Withsummers like this one just passed, webelieve it is even more important for usall to understand how the risks ofbushfires are being managed and whatthe implications are for our environment.

It is 13 years since the bushfires of2003 devastated parts of our city. In thecurrent bushfire season of 2016–17,heatwaves have flooded through thesouth-eastern states of Australia withtemperatures regularly reaching 35–44ºCand Canberra recording its hottestJanuary ever. A flow of hot air from theCentre sucked the moisture out ofgrasslands and forests, and sent grassfires tearing through communities anddestroying homes around Canberra. Therisk of fire has not diminished; it hasgrown more urgent as climate changebegins to bite.

Consequently, NPA ACT is holding acommunity symposium in July to discussresearch, management strategies andcommunity expectations for firemanagement in the ACT in a changingclimate. The symposium aims to ensurean informed ACT community will beable to contribute positively to ACT

government policy, goal setting andstrategic directions on fire management.

The symposium will explore the legalsetting for bushfire management in theACT; i.e. what has to be done accordingto the current laws. In the face of so manyconflicting ideas and theories about firemanagement, we also want to explore thesocial, economic and personal valueseach of us bring to the debate. We need tounderstand the data and modeling whichwe rely on to estimate the risks involvedin different approaches, and whatresearch is saying about the best ways tomitigate those risks.

We need to see clear links betweencurrent research and fire managementstrategies because the environmental risksif we get our approaches wrong couldinvolve the loss of species, ecosystemsand even existing natural landscaperesilience to fire.

One of the most exciting strategiesemerging in the ACT is learning fromIndigenous fire practices but the questionremains: How do we incorporate thatlearning into fire management practices?Other key issues to be explored at thesymposium include managing thebush–urban interface and the effects ofprescribed burning on public health,water, and flora and fauna.

A key objectiveof the symposiumwill be tostrengthen theresponsibilityshared betweengovernment,researchers and thecommunity for managing fire hazards.We want to build a pathway for thecommunity to interact effectively withthe fire management planning processesover the next few years.

So mark the dates in your calendarand encourage people to attend. Weneed to build community-supported firemanagement strategies that protect life,property and the environment.

Community Symposium – BushfireManagement: Balancing the Risks

Friday–Saturday, 21–22 July 2017Pilgrim HouseNorthbourne AvenueCanberra City ACT 2601

Christine Goonrey(flyer on facing page)

From the committee (continued)



Butterfly book launched

The butterfly bookThe NPA agreed to publish the FieldGuide to the Butterflies of the AustralianCapital Territory in 2014, but seriouseffort on the NPA’s working group’stasks did not begin until 2016 (see alsoNPA Bulletin, December 2016). Anagreement with the lead author wassigned in July of that year, and the text,albeit not yet complete, was delivered tothe group, together with manyphotographs. Numerous meetings andmany hours of concentrated workfollowed, during which the groupmassaged the text into a more consistentformat and removed all unnecessaryduplication of information.

This text and the photos were thenpassed to the designer, MarianaRollgejser. What a revelation it was tosee her design combine the twocomponents of the book – all our worksuddenly had a visual impact!

The 2016–17 butterfly season wasnow well underway and Christmas.wasmoving closer. The authors were busilysurveying for butterflies, updating theirdistribution maps and collecting more

3

4

2

6

5

1

photos. Updates to the book werecoming thick and fast, such thatthe design for some speciesneeded to be modifiedconsiderably to accommodate thenew data. It was rapidly gettingto the deadline for the printer andstill there were better photos andnew information coming in.

The book also urgentlyneeded copyediting. Ed Highleycompleted that task whileindexes were still beingcompleted and existing photosreplaced by even better ones. Myhopes were fading fast that wecould complete the final copy intime for the printer and thepotential Christmas salesbonanza. The date for the launchhad already been publicised:would we make it?

We did and what a relief that was,and it saw this field guide becomingNPA’s fastest-selling book.

My thanks go to the authors, themany photographers, the designer,

Book launch photographs by Chris Emery (CE) andEsther Gallant (EG).

1. Some of the capacity crowd in the Crosbie Morrison Buildingat the ANBG for the book launch on 13 December. (CE)

2. The books arrive! (CE)3. Setting up the sales tables EG)4. MC Christine Goonrey introducing the speaker Genevieve

Jacobs. Author Suzi Bond looks on. (CE)5. Genevieve Jacobs launching the book. (CE)6. Lead author Suzi Bond signing books. (CE)

Esther, Adrienne, Kevin and Ed for allpulling together in what was a stressful,but also exciting, last couple of weeksand days.

Sonja Lenz

6


Book reviewField Guide to theButterflies of the ACTby Suzi Bond, with Steve Holliday

and John SteinNational Parks Association of the

ACT2016 229 pagesRRP $30

Most of us probably started taking noteof butterflies when we made a net tocatch the white ones fluttering over theveggies. I quickly learnt it was muchharder to catch them than the picturebooks suggested, that if I did catch one Iwas supposed to squash it, and even if Idid it made no difference to theirnumbers.

Fast forward a few decades andmost of us had become more aware ofbutterflies and other insects around us,though we probably still had not learntmuch more about them despite the bigincrease in available information.However, getting a name was rarely aseasy as looking up a field guide for, say,birds, mostly because butterflieswouldn’t stand still or if you did get agood look the pictures in the bookswere endless.

Recently too there has been a burstof online sites put up by both public andprivate organisations that present arange of Australia’s insects. However,with an estimated 20,000 species ofbutterflies and moths in Australia andonly half of them described, the chancesremain small, as you scan hundredsmore pictures, that you’ll be exclaiming‘Aha!’

But now we’ve got the ‘butterflybook’ for the ACT. Author Dr SuziBond tells us that of those recognisedspecies (in the order Lepidoptera) inAustralia, just 435 are butterflies, andonly 87 have been reported in the ACT.The book describes all of these and,briefly, a score of commonly-occurringmoths.

It does the job well. There areintroductions to the evolution andanatomy of the group and their lifecycles and habits, and practical topicssuch as suitable plants for your garden.The selection of enough information toallow readers to (mostly) identify aspecies without using formal key ortechnical terms must have been a trickyjuggle for the authors because withoutthat precision more errors inidentification are likely. However, I'veno doubt the book will prove popular, sothat if there are some wrong attributionsit’s because many more are correct.

Each species is given a double page,one descriptive and the other showingphotos – typically male and female, andupper and undersides of the wings, ifthese differ. There is usually also its egg,larva and pupa, and a map of itsoccurrence in the ACT. The photos aremostly excellent, which must have takenan immense and ongoing dedication bythe authors and sources on which theydraw.

The specimens are presented in fivecolour-coded families which, if eachwere easily distinguishable wouldsimplify identification, but I’ll need todo more chasing before I recognisefeatures that separate Swallowtails fromJezebels or learn why a Yellow Jewel isa Blue. But we are lucky to live in theACT – we have to thumb through fewerthan a hundred.

Separating butterflies and moths is adifferent challenge. It seems there are somany species that don’t fit convenientgroupings that it might be better if wetreated those terms as synonymous.

I’ve used the book to ID a number ofphotos (I hope), then gone online formore pictures and information. It’s notalways clear-cut though; my brownalmost matched a described species inshape but not colour, and lacked theembroidered margin. Then I realised theedge was tattered and the wings split,and found the note reminding me thatbutterflies can show their age. With itwas an image of my ‘unlisted’ specimen.

The NPA ACT PublicationsSubcommittee was much involved in thepreparation of the book, as KevinMcCue described in the December 2016issue of the NPA Bulletin; we aregrateful.

A reprint could allow improvementof some photos and, reflecting myobservation above, include the ‘SelectedMoths’ in the indexes. A few words on aspecies’ distributions outside the ACTwould also be of value to many.However, the issue that must beaddressed is the book’s binding – for thepresent print run some force is requiredto hold pages open. That’s nuisanceenough when using it to find images on acomputer but almost impossible in thefield when trying to compare species.

We can also hope there are plans toextend this project to cover the ACT’smoths. It’s unlikely to be a field guide –but maybe an app?

Rupert Barnett

Left. Greenish Grass-dart, Ocybadisteswalkeri. Photo by Esther Gallant.

Right. Mating pair of Cabbage Whites,Pieris rapae (male to the right).

Photo by Rupert Barnett.


Not dead yet: rejuvenation of the River RedGum population at Spring Station Creek

The sole naturally occurring populationof River Red Gum Eucalyptuscamaldulensis in the ACT is 1.5 kmsouth of Tharwa, just past the SpringStation Creek single-lane bridge. Thesingle mature adult tree would appear tohave had many lives, in the way of thisspecies. Its four large trunks appear to bepre-invasion post-fire regeneration, asthey are estimated to be hundreds ofyears old.

Ian Brooker was a eucalypt specialistat the then Forestry and Timber Bureau,and his curiosity was piqued by this largetree. In 1975 he collected floweringmaterial which he initially identified asthe River Red Gum’s close relative,Blakely’s Red Gum (E. blakelyi).Subsequent collections of fruits by Ianand his colleague David Kleinig in 1978and 1980 changed his mind. With theiratypical light yellowish seeds, and budswith their distinctive short-beakedrounded caps, they and the originalmaterial were identified as the typical

form of River Red Gum. Seedlingsgrown from this material displayed theslightly narrower leaves associated withRiver Red Gums.

Clive Hurlstone described why andhow NPA ACT had started caring for thispopulation (NPA Bulletin 45(2), June2008). He described two 2008 workparties and noted that three sapling RiverRed Gums had been identified by IanBrooker. Two are in the south-westerncorner of the exclosure organised byPeter Ormay, and probably erected in theearly 1980s to protect the mature adultand saplings, and to encourage furtherregeneration.

Martin Chalk described two workparties held last spring to cut and dabblackberry (NPA Bulletin 53(4),December 2016) and to shorten thependulous lower dead branches of theadult River Red Gum to reduce itsvulnerability to fire. They had diedduring the Millenium drought andsubsequently been accidentally burned ina summer grass fire from the paddock tothe west. By chance, a passing Namadgiranger had been able to extinguish thefire. Martin also noted the very excitingdiscovery last spring of young River RedGums, some in the south-eastern cornerof the exclosure, and others along theroad verge and in the model aeroplanepaddock to the south.

In this article, I delve further into thefinding of these young plants, among theblackberry and/or long grasses, and theapparently successful transplanting ofthree individuals.

During the September 2016 workparty, Adrienne Nicholson and othersfound eight very small narrow-leavedRiver Red Gum seedlings to 18 cmunder the blackberry mass in the south-eastern corner of the exclosure. Sevenwere marked with stakes.

On the road verge east of the adulttree, four narrow-leaved River Red Gumplants of varying ages were recorded.The oldest is a very unhealthy sapling to4 m, which might have been affected byweedicide. Two of the three youngerones had been repeatedly mown over thelast few years, and had thereforeproduced multiple young stems. Thefourth appeared to be from seedgerminated in 2016. All were markedwith stakes and flagging tape, andBernie Brown, the ranger, has askedmowing and weeding contractors to takecare.

As well, I found 10 seedlings to35 cm high in the adjacent NamadgiSports Flying Club paddock south of theexclosure. Five were transplanted, three

Top left. The base of the grand old River Red Gum showing blackberries sprayed on12 December 2016. Note the rampant blackberry growth over the fence to the right.

Top right. River Red Gum sapling on the roadside.Left. Small seedling in the south-east corner of the exclosure.Above. Transplanted River Red Gum seedling. Photos by John Brickhill.

(continued next page)


• Aboriginal site preservation andrestoration (GBRG involved)

• Planting a million trees in the ACT by2018, many of them in ACT natureparks and reserves as a contribution toglobal climate change minimisation

• Kangaroo and dingo populations.The list does not include ACT

Government projects and data collectionon major interests such as:• feral animal monitoring and control –

pigs, horses, deer, rabbits, foxes andcats

• water quality monitoring (in whichNPA ACT is involved through MartinChalk)

• bushfire management• weed control (NPA ACT and GBRG

have regular work parties to removebroom, willow, briars etc.)

• restoring the bush to something like itspre-European state by removingunneeded fences and feral trees,planting trees and shrubs wherenecessary etc. (NPA ACT and GBRGagain actively involved).

NPA members are involved, as youcan see, in many aspects of parkmanagement but there is scope forgreater involvement, especially in theeDNA sampling and bird-bandingprojects. Do volunteer if you areinterested and available. Contact me on02 6251 1291.

Kevin McCue

Back in May 2006, a symposiumconvened by NPA ACT sought toidentify scientific research beingundertaken in Namadgi National Parkthat would influence park managementdecisions. Many surprises came out ofthat meeting, one being the diversity ofresearch being pursued, and another thatthe research was not strategically drivenbut mostly done opportunistically topursue answers to very focusedquestions aligned with the interests ofthe researchers.

A decade on, I posed the questionagain, this time to the Senior Parks andConservation Ranger at Namadgi, BenStevenson – what research is beingdone? (it can be undertaken only withthe permission of park management).

A list of project descriptions andinstitutions he sent me included some ofthe following:• Ecological integrity for measuring

national park management effective-ness – ANU

• eDNA sampling for detecting presenceof Northern Corroboree Frogs insphagnum bogs – UC

• RHDV for rabbit control – CSIRO• Bird banding – CSIRO• Ongoing native fish research in the

Cotter River – UC• Cotter River hydrology projects –

several• Bluegum Flats natural history – ANU

Ongoing research in Namadgi

So now there is not just one verymature adult River Red Gum and threehealthy saplings to ca 2 m, but twoyounger cohorts as well. In the first weekof February 2017, while watering theyoung plants, John Brickhill and Icounted three surviving transplantedindividuals in the north-western cornerof the exclosure, five naturally occurringones along the exclosure’s southernedge, 24 in the eastern-most flying clubpaddock and three to the west of thisgroup.

Isobel Crawford

All the young plants recorded so farare from south to east of the adult, sowould appear to have germinated fromseed blown by the prevailing winds fromthe north-west. The unusually heavyrains of last winter and spring probablyencouraged the germination of seedwhich, in drier seasons, may not haveresponded.

Bernie Brown and NPA membershave done further weediciding of theblackberry regeneration. Some wateringof the seedlings has also been done.

to the north-western corner and twoalong the southern edge of the exclosure.The northern end of the club’s paddockis not mown as often as the southernend, closer to the clubhouse, and it alsohas less African Lovegrass. But theground layer vegetation there was lessdense than under the mature tree insidethe exclosure, where no regenerationwas recorded. In a discussion with ClemKyle and Ken Lee, the president andsecretary respectively of the flying club,it was agreed that we could mark theseedlings with protective stakes.

Some successful River RedGum seedlings along theMurrumbidgee RiverCorridor.

Photos courtesy of ParksConservation and Lands.

Not dead yet: rejuvenation of the River Red Gum population … (continued)


Conservation Council events

How many books are you buying, Rod? The NPA stallat the Ecoelves market on 2 December 2016.

Photo courtesy of Esther Gallant.

Butterfly, butterfly(For the child inside.)

Butterfly, butterfly, where have you been?In my sleeping bag having a big dream.

Butterfly, butterfly, when will we fly?As soon as my wings are unfolded and dry.

Butterfly, butterfly, what will we do there?We’ll sail like the birds and flutter through the air.

Butterfly, butterfly, what will we see?Some rocks, some dams and a great old tree.

Butterfly, butterfly, how big will they be?Not much more than an ant or a bee.

Butterfly, butterfly, where will I lie?Squeeze in just there behind my green eye.

Butterfly, butterfly, what will we eat?Nectar and pollen, some dew for a treat.

Butterfly, butterfly, you’ve been very kindto open my wings in spirit and mind.

Butterfly, butterfly, I now have seenthose rainbow colours just like a dream.

Butterfly, butterfly, ’tis been a long day,but do come again to fly and to play.

Klaus Hueneke(with apologies to Anon.)

Setting up the NPA display at the JerrabomberraWetlands open day on 5 February 2017.

Photo by Esther Gallant.

the Risks’, a symposium with theNational Parks Association of theACT, Conservation Council, Parks andConservation Service and EmergencyServices Agency.

NPA ACT is a member group of theConservation Council. If you areinterested in participating in any of itsevents, put the dates in your diary andget all the details from its website: http://conservationcouncil.org.au/.

• Tuesday 18 April: Climate ChangeAction: Getting to zero net emissions

• Tuesday 23 May: Overcoming theGrowing Pains: Building a sustainablecompact city

• Tuesday 27 June: Reducing Canberra’sWaste Mountain

And more events:• Saturday 16 March 9.30–16.00 —

‘Being an Effective Voice for theEnvironment’ symposium

• Saturday 3 June 7pm — WorldEnvironment Day Dinner

• Friday 21–Saturday 22 July —‘Bushfire Management – Balancing

The Conservation Council CanberraRegion conducts regular ‘EnvironmentExchanges’ through the year to providein-depth discussions on a range ofenvironmental topics.New venue: the Renewable Energy

Hub, 19–23 Moore Street, Turner(just off Barry Drive) and

new day: Tuesday not Thursday.12–2pm with a light lunchprovided and donations welcome.

Planned topics are:• Tuesday 22 March: Using Nature for

Power: How soon to a 100 per centrenewable energy future?


advocacy and strategies for politicallobbying

• sharing knowledge and experience• coordinating action and ideas on

conservation and protected areamanagement at a national level

• enhanced opportunities to meet withfederal politicians and staff from theCommonwealth Department of theEnvironment and influence policy inrelation to protected area andthreatened species management

• learning how to raise awareness andengage the community in conservationand appreciation of nature, with afocus on national parks throughcommunity education work.

Bimonthly NPAC Executivemeetings (phone hook-ups) and theAGM are opportunities to strengthenrelationships and communicationsbetween various member groups.

This is a summary of a more detailedreport prepared by Nicki de Preu,

NCSSA. Ed.

the six recommendations in The Jewel inthe Crown, NPAC’s policy document.This document will be an important partof NPAC’s election campaign in the leadup to the 2018 federal election andbriefing papers will be produced overthe next 12 months.

Strategic planning discussionscontinued on the Saturday and thefollowing actions were identified aspriorities for the next 12 months:1. Develop a package of strategic

communications on national issues2. Build relationships3. Engage politicians.

In the afternoon the delegates visitedToolangi State Forest near Healesville inthe Yarra Valley Ranges, part of theproposed Great Forest National Park.Our guide was Bernie Mace who hasbeen involved with a long campaign toprotect the tall forests in this area. Thefield trip was a good opportunity forinformal discussions with other NPACmembers.

The NPAC AGM was held on theSunday and the agenda includeddiscussion of the President andTreasurer’s reports, and the election ofoffice bearers for 2017. The NPACExecutive was re-elected withacclamation:President Michelle Prior, NPAQSecretary Graeme Wiffen, NPA

NSWTreasurer Euan Moore, VNPAPublic Officer Kevin McCue, NPA ACTPolicy Officer Sarah May

South Australia will host the 2017NPAC AGM over a weekend in lateOctober or early November 2017.

ConclusionThe member groups have a primaryfocus on the management of protectedareas and informing the community,industry and government onconservation issues.

Benefits to member groups of NPACmembership include:• learning about environmental

Representatives of the National ParksAssociations of the ACT, NSW,Queensland and Victoria, as well as theNature Conservation Society of SouthAustralia (NCSSA), met in the VNPAOffice in Carlton, Melbourne, from18–20 November 2016. NPA ACT wasrepresented by committee membersQuentin Moran and Kevin McCue.

Annual reportsSummaries from each member groupwere circulated in advance, includingthe NPA ACT report written by RodGriffiths. The reports were brieflydiscussed at the beginning of Friday’sdeliberations. Common issues included:• prescribed burning in national parks

and reserves• management of pest animals• tourism and associated infrastructure

development in national parks andreserves.

Three invited presentationsfollowed:• VNPA’s Citizen Science Programs, by

Caitlin Griffith, Manager CommunityEngagement and Learning, ChristineConnelly, Nature Watch Coordinatorand Kade Mills, Reef WatchCoordinator. (http://vnpa.org.au/page/volunteer/citizen-science)

• Greater Alpine National ParksManagement Plan, by Stuart Hughesfrom Parks Victoria.

• Feral Horse Management Planning, byPhil Pegler from Parks Victoria.

These were most interesting andgenerated strong discussion.

Strategic planningThe afternoon session was devoted tostrategic planning for the next 12–18months and development of a work planto guide the NPAC Policy Officer andmember group efforts in relation toNPAC priorities.

Over the past 12 months, Sarah May,the NPAC Policy Officer, has developeddetailed background briefing papers on

NPAC Committee in Wirrawilla Rainforest.Photo by Kevin McCue.

National Parks Australia Council AGM

Ox-eye Daisy alertmore people on the lookout for thisweed the better so it would beappreciated if you could not only keepyour eye out for this one but pass [thisalert] on through your networks. If youdo come across it report sightings tohttp://canberra.naturemapr.org/ orphone: 13 22 81.

See back cover of this Bulletin forinformation on Oxe-eye Daisy

identification. Ed.

1. Roadside near Mount Clearcampground – southern ACT

2. Sutton Road3. Mt Franklin Roadbut we are now seeing it in many moreareas.

This highly invasive weed is able tocolonise intact native vegetation andfarm pastures and so we do not want itestablished in the ACT. Obviously the

Philip Selmes, ParkCare andVolunteer Coordinator, sent out thefollowing email alert.

Within Parks and Conservation Servicewe are becoming increasingly concernedabout the risk posed by a number of‘new’ weeds that we are seeing more of.One of these is Oxe-eye Daisy. Therehave been few incursion sites so farincluding:


ACT environmental newswoodland environment. There arepopulations at most nature parks inthe ACT.Following the declaration of theEastern Grey Kangaroo as acontrolled native species, theConservator for Flora and Fauna ispreparing a controlled nativespecies management plan for theEastern Grey Kangaroo.The Conservator has invited public

comment on the draft plan at http://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1029717/DraftControlledNativeSpeciesManagementPlan.pdf

or search for it onhttp://www.environment.act.gov.au/

Closing date for comments is 24 March2017. Send written comments to:Manager, Environment, Planning andSustainable Development Directorateby email to

[email protected] or post toPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601.

non-native pines as well as used forlivestock grazing. Barrer Hill still retainshigh conservation value with rockygrasslands home to threatened specieslike the Pink-tailed Worm-lizard. Thearea also forms parts of the soon-to-bedeclared Molonglo River Reserve whichwill be a key recreational area for thedeveloping suburbs of Molonglo.

The restoration work to date hasincluded removing the pines andprogressively replacing them with nativeshrubs and trees, including the ClusteredEverlasting daisy, Red-leaf Wattle andYellow Box. Extensive weed removalhas also taken place. A key part of theproject has involved returning habitatstructures to the area such as rocks,salvaged logs, and dead trees whichprovide shelter for wildlife.

The ACT Parks and ConservationService is working with the AustralianNational University on a researchproject at Barrer Hill to inform howmodified areas in the ACT and furtherafield can be restored with verticalhabitat structures, including translocatedtrees and man-made utility poles. Thetrees, or ‘snags’, are those which need tobe removed from urban landscapes forsafety reasons. All snags and poles havebeen enriched with carved hollows withvarying entrance size dimensionstargeting different animal species frommarsupials to bats and artificial bark thatwill hopefully attract a host of creaturesfrom spiders to geckos.

The task of securing the snags in anupright position requires structuralengineers and skilled arborists, as wellas large machinery to lift them intoposition. Each snag was placed into ahole that has a steel layer and concretefooting so it can remain standing safelyfor many decades. The research projectcompares how effective translocatedtrees and utility poles are at attractinglocal wildlife. Specialised camerasrecording real-time wildlife visits havebeen installed. Stay tuned for updatesand images posted to this website.

www.environment.act.gov.au,accessed 26 January 2017

The Eastern Grey Kangaroodeclared a Controlled NativeSpeciesThe Environment, Planning andSustainable Development Directoratehas written to NPA ACT, stating:

The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is animportant – and iconic – part ofCanberra’s grassland and

Hopping to freedomLate last year Tidbinbilla NatureReserve’s Captive Breeding Programdid their sixth annual release ofNorthern Corroboree Frogs intoNamadgi National Park. It was abeautiful sunny day and ten people fromthe Wildlife Team at Tidbinbilla andfrom Conservation Research drove upMount Ginini with 493 frogs loaded intothe car in pal pens full of sphagnummoss. After splitting the frogs upbetween us and putting on a few extrajumpers, we left the track and set offthrough the bush to find the bog ourfrogs would soon call home. There wereyellow and white wildflowers in bloomeverywhere and clear running streamsand we even saw a pair of gang gangsflying overhead. We released the frogsnext to small pools in the bog andwatched them crawl away into the moss,out in the sunshine for the first time intheir lives!

It will take three or four years forthese frogs to mature to breeding age,and only then will we be able to listenfor their mating calls and estimate howmany of them have survived. Thebiggest threat to Corroboree Frogs isChytrid fungus which we know ispresent in the Ginini wetlands. Chytridhas had a devastating impact on thepopulation, leaving the speciesendangered. By doing annual releaseswe’re boosting the numbers ofCorroboree Frogs in the wild whichwe’re hoping will give them time todevelop a natural resistance to thefungus.

At Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve thereare over 1 100 Corroboree frogs incaptivity which form a self-sustainingbreeding population. Their breeding ismanaged to maximise genetic diversityso that if the wild population is wipedout, we have an insurance population tosave the species. The first eggs werecollected from Mount Ginini in 2003and since 2011 we have released 2 300frogs back into the wetlands!

www.environment.act.gov.au,released 10 January 2017accessed 26 January 2017

Barrer Hill restoration projectA restoration project has been takingplace at Barrer Hill in the MolongloValley since 2014. The 50-hectare area,on the northern bank of the MolongloRiver, across from the new suburb ofCoombs, has a long history of humanimpacts. It was formerly planted with

Tasmanian (Launceston, Tas.),

Saturday 13 June 1885page 22.

ZOOLOGICAL—The two Tasma-nian tigers which were brought totown and lodged in the gardenattached to the caretaker's house,Town Park, were shipped onboard the s.s. Mangana Thursdayen route to South Australia. Mr.M'Gowan, the caretaker of theTown Park, telegraphed to theDirector of the Botanical and Zoo-logical Gardens, Adelaide, statingthat he had these two tigers forsale, and stating the terms andasking if he would purchase them.He received an immediate replyaccepting the tigers on the termsnamed, and they were shippedaccordingly. They should reachAdelaide on Monday next, and willdoubtless form a pleasing additionto the zoological collection in thegarden there.

Tasmanian Tiger

Points to notePlease help keep our outings program alive by volunteering to lead outings. New leaders are welcome. The Outings Convener ishappy to suggest locations suitable for a walk if you do not have something in mind. Feel free to send in suggestions for outingswith a suggested date to the Outings Convener by email to [email protected]

All persons joining an outing of the National Parks Association of the ACT do so as volunteers in all respects and as suchaccept responsibility for any injury howsoever incurred and the National Parks Association of the ACT, its office bearers andappointed leaders, are absolved from any liability in respect of injury or damage suffered whilst engaged in any such outing.

In voluntarily participating in these activities conducted by the NPA ACT, participants should be aware that they could beexposed to risks that could lead to injury, illness or death or to loss of or damage to property. These risks could include but are notlimited to slippery and/or uneven surfaces, rocks being dislodged, falling at edges of cliffs or drops or elsewhere, risks associatedwith crossing creeks, hypothermia, heat exhaustion and the risks associated with any of the Special Hazards listed on the Atten-dance Record and Risk Waiver Form provided by the leader at the activity.

To minimise these risks participants should endeavour to ensure that the activity is within their capabilities and that they arecarrying food, water, equipment, clothing and footwear appropriate to the activity. Participants should advise the leader if they aretaking any medication or have any physical or other limitation that might affect their participation in the activity. Participantsshould make every effort to remain with the rest of the party during the activity and accept the instructions of the leader. By sign-ing the Attendance Record and Risk Waiver Form participants agree that they understand these requirements and have consideredthe risks before choosing to sign the form and waiver any claim for damages arising from the activity that they might have againstthe association, the leader or any other participants in tort or contract.

Children under 18 years of age are welcome to come on NPA ACT activities provided they are accompanied by a parent,guardian or close relative. Parents or Guardians will be required to sign a specific Risk Waiver for a Child form.

Leaders to note: please send copies of completed Attendance Record and Risk Waiver Formsto Brian Slee, contact 6281 0719 or [email protected]

4 March Saturday WalkSQUARE ROCK

Map Corin Dam 1:25,000Grading 1 ALeader Steven ForstContact 0428 195 236 or

[email protected] short morning walk, through subalpineforest high in the hills to avoid the heat.Meet at Kambah Village Shops at8.00 am.

Drive 75 km, $30 per car.

Note: Dananbilla Nature ReserveMid-week Work PartiesTwo work parties are in the planningstages and are likely to occur during theperiod of this program. However, detailswere unavailable at the time of itspreparation.

If you are interested, keep an eye onthe online events program or contact ourVolunteer Coordinator, Martin Chalk, on0411 161 056 closer to April.

11 March Saturday Work PartyGUDGENBY BUSH REGENERATION GROUPLeader Michael Goonrey Contact 6231 8395 or 0419 494 142 or

[email protected] at the Namadgi Visitor Centre,Tharwa at 9.15 am. Car pool toGudgenby Valley. Work will includeweeding and maintenance of theGudgenby Track towards HospitalCreek. Tools provided.

NPA outings programM a rc h – J u n e 2 0 1 7

Bushwalk Grading GuideDistance grading (per day) Terrain grading1 up to 10 km A Road, fire-trail or track E Rock scrambling2 10 km to 15 km B Open forest F Exploratory3 15 km to 20 km C Light scrub4 above 20 km D Patches of thick scrub, regrowth

Day walks Carry lunch and snacks, drinks, protective clothing, a first aid kit and any required medication.Pack walks Two or more days. Carry all food and camping requirements. CONTACT LEADER EARLY.Car camps Facilities often limited. Vehicles taken to site can be used for camping. CONTACT LEADER EARLY.Work parties Carry items as for day walks plus work gloves and any tools required. Work party details and location sometimes

change, check NPA website, www.npaact.org.au, for any last minute changes.Other activities include ski trips, canoe trips, nature rambles and environment or field guide studies.Wednesday walks (WW). Medium or somewhat harder walks arranged on a joint NPA, BBC (Brindabella Bushwalking Club)

and CBC (Canberra Bushwalking Club) basis for fit and experienced club walkers. Notification and details areonly emailed to members registered for WW. Only NPA-hosted WW are shown in this program. For WW emailregistration, contact the Outings Convener.

Transport The NPA suggests a passenger contribution to transport costs of 40 cents per kilometre for the distance drivendivided by the number of occupants of the car including the driver, rounded to the nearest dollar. The amountmay be varied at the discretion of the leader. Drive and walk distances shown in the program are approximate forreturn journeys.

NPA ACT members undertaking walks or other activities in this program are advised they should have PRIVATE HEALTHINSURANCE or, at least, AMBULANCE COVER in case of an accident requiring evacuation by ambulance or helicopter.



NPA outings program March – June 2017 (page 2 of 4)

11–13 March Pack WalkCanberra Day Weekend

THE VINES AREAMap CMW BudawangsGrading 2 ALeader Steven Forst Contact 0428 195 236 or

[email protected] walk in to The Vines area in theBudawangs near the base of QuiltysMountain from the Nerriga entrance toMorton National Park. Contact leaderearly as numbers limited.


19 March Sunday WalkYANKEE HAT NORTH

Joint NPA/BBC/CBC activityMap Rendezvous Creek 1:25,000Grading 2 D/FLeader David DContact 0417 222 154 or

[email protected] at the Yankee Hat car park, wewill skirt the southern flanks of themountain before following a tributary ofBogong Creek towards the saddlebetween the north and south peaks. Thewalk will be very scrubby.

Meet at Kambah Village shops at 8.00am. Please contact leader by Thursday 16March if you wish to participate.


22 March Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader Steven ForstContact 0428 195 236 or

[email protected] are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

25 March Saturday Work PartyBLUNDELLS FLAT WEED CONTROL

Leader Martin ChalkContact 6292 3502 This is a new work area for the NPA butcomplements the work we havepreviously undertaken on the slopesabove Blundells Flat. The area hasheritage-listed exotics but the weedsinclude wilding exotics and the usualsuspects – plenty to do. Some toolsprovided but a bush saw and/or loppersand gloves would be handy.

Meet at Cooleman Court (behindMcDonald’s) at 9.00 am.

Drive 45km, $18 per car.

26 March Sunday WalkCENTENARY TRAIL: CAMPBELL TO

WATSONMap Canberra Centenary Trail map 1

or UBD Street DirectoryGrading 3 A/CLeader Brian Slee

Contact 6281 0719 (h) [email protected]

Climb steeply to Mount Ainslie andfollow track north before connecting toCentenary Trail. Continue to MountMajura for lunch. Descend to CentenaryTrail and continue to Federal Highway,North Watson. Car shuffle required.

Depart 9.00 am from Treloar Crescentcar park, Campbell, opposite High School(UBD map 2, location L3).

29 March Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader Barrie R and Terrylea RContact 0437 023 140 (Barrie)Details are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

2 April Sunday WalkPADRAL ROAD TO MOUNT COREE

Map Cotter Dam 1:25,000Grading 2 A/D/ELeader Rod GriffithsContact 0410 875 731Walking the ACT border – Padral Road toMount Coree. Walking on the ACT borderstraight line off Pabral Road. Hiking up toPabral Road from Blundells Flat, then SWthrough the top of Musk Creek towardsMount Coree. This is very rough countrywith strong regrowth and will involvesome scrambling near Mount Coree.Return via roads. Up to 13 km and 600 mclimb. Fit and experienced walkers only.

Meet at Weston Creek (CoolemanCourt) car park 8:00 am.

Drive: 45 km, $18 per car.

8 April Saturday Work PartyGUDGENBY BUSH REGENERATION GROUP

Leader Michael Goonrey Contact 6231 8395 or 0419 494 142 or

[email protected] at the Namadgi Visitor Centre,Tharwa at 9.15 am. Car pool to GudgenbyValley. Weeding and spraying at Amanda’sSlope and around Frank and Jacks Hut.Tools provided.

9 April Sunday WalkBUGTOWN CREEK

Maps Denison, Tantangara 1:25,000Grading 2 A/B/C/FLeader Brian SleeContact 6281 0719 (h) or

[email protected] 7.00 am from Kambah Village.Drive through Adaminaby and 6 km westturn right onto Bugtown Road and park8 km north. Follow Bugtown Creek northto Nungar Plain and tiny Brayshaws Hutfor lunch. Return via Circuits Fire Trail.14 km walk. Afternoon tea Adaminaby.

Contact leader by Saturday morning.Bugtown Road is 4WD and alternative

destination is possible if conditionsunsuitable.


14–16 April Easter Pack WalkSENTRY BOX AND SCABBY RANGE

Maps Rendezvous Creek, Yaouk1:25,000

Grading 2 A/B/DLeader Rod GriffithsContact 0410 875 731

Walking the ACT border – Following theACT Border in the south of Namadgi.Starting from the southern end of the OldBoboyan Road walk on fire trails pastLone Pine and then follow border toSentry Box and along to Scabby Range,exploring towards Mount Kelly. Returnvia Sams Creek Fire Trail. Some thickvegetation expected.

Meet at Kambah shops car park8.00 am.


22–25 April Pack WalkCurrockbilly Mountain – Wirritin

RidgeMaps Brooman, Corang 1:25,000Grading 2 A/FLeader Rupert BarnettContact 6242 5241 or

[email protected]

Currockbilly Mountain is a notable peakin the Budawang Range nearMongarlowe. Just north of it the WirritinRidge splits off – it’s not long and hassome good views but there are alsonarrow rocky sections; happily thepatches of scrub were burnt 3 years agoand remain fairly open. Day 1 we climbCurrockbilly and camp nearby; Day 2follow the ridge to Wirritin Mountain,then down a steep spur to the YadboroRiver; Day 3 climb 500 m to the Wog

Photo by Philip Gatenby.



Wog (Scenic Rim) Track; Day 4 givesextra time to get to the cars if needed.Total distance of the walk is about24 km.

Please contact the leader by 17 Aprilfor details. Limit 5.


23 April Sunday WalkTHE BORDER AND SETTLERS TRACK

Map Yaouk 1:25,000Grading 3 A/BLeader Steven ForstContact 0428 195 236 or

[email protected]

Meet at Kambah Village shops car parkat 8.00 am. A walk following the ACTborder from the Boboyan Road to theScabby Range Nature Reserve andreturning along part of the Settlers Track.Partly on track, with a few off-tracksections to follow the border moreclosely.


26 April Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader MikeContact 0412 179 907Details are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

29 April Saturday Work PartyBRANDY FLAT FIRE TRAILWEED

CONTROLLeader Martin ChalkContact 0411 161 056This will be the first NPA work party inthis area. The location is about 1 kmalong the fire trail from Glendale Depot.All tools provided, but bring gloves.

Meet at Kambah Village at 8:30 am.Drive: 74 km, $30 per car.

30 April Sunday WalkBLACK MOUNTAIN AND THE ARBORETUM

(via Aranda Bushland andDairy Farmers Hill)

Map Canberra Nature ParksGrading 2 A/BLeader EstherContact 0429 356 212 or

[email protected] Aranda Bushland walk to the top of

Black Mountain (200 m climb). Thenenter the National Arboretum through theCork Oak plantation (morning tea) andcontinue on to Dairy Farmers Hill forlunch and great views over southernCanberra. Return to cars by way of theHimalayan Cedars and Frost HollowSnow Gums. Meet on the Aranda side ofBindubi Street under the HV powerline(about 1 km from William Hovell Drive)at 9.00 am.

2 May Tuesday Work PartyGLENBURN PRECINCT KOWEN FOREST

Leader Col McAlisterContact 6288 4171 or

[email protected] in the Glenburn Precinct to benegotiated with the Parks Service. Meet atthe Canberra Railway Station, Kingstonat 9.00 am.


6 May Saturday WalkMOUNT GUDGENBY

Maps Yaouk (mostly), RendezvousCreek 1:25,000

Grading 3 A/D/ELeader Philip GatenbyContact 6254 3094 (h), 0401 415 446 or

[email protected]

From the Yankee Hat car park climb tothe saddle south-east of Mount Gudgenbythen on and upwards crossing rock slabsto the summit. The return route will bevia the mountain’s south-east face.Mostly off-track, patches of thick scruband rock scrambling. Distance of about17 km and a climb of 800 m. Early startneeded.

Contact leader by Thursday 4 May,preferably by email, for start time andtransport arrangements.


7 May Sunday WalkGOOGONG DAM – HELLS HOLE

Map Hoskintown 1:25,000Grading 2 A/ELeader MikeContact 0412 179 907Meet at Canberra Railway Station at8.30 am. A walk from Googong Dampicnic area to Bradleys Creek via

Gormans Trig along fire trails, witharound 250 m climb. Then downBradleys Creek to suitable lunch spot inHells Hole area. Steep climb out ofBradleys Creek back to fire trail.Different fire trail route back.


13 May Saturday Work PartyGUDGENBY BUSH REGENERATION GROUPLeader Michael Goonrey Contact 6231 8395 or 0419 494 142 or

[email protected] at the Namadgi Visitor Centre,Tharwa at 9.15 am. Car pool toGudgenby Valley. Barbed wire fenceremoval in Peppermint Hill area. Toolsprovided.

14 May Sunday WalkMOUNT MCDONALD, URIARRA

Map Cotter Dam 1:25,000Grading 2 A/BLeader Brian SleeContact 6281 0719 (h) or

[email protected] 9.30 am Cooleman Court car park(Liardet Street, just south ofMcDonald's) and drive to BrindabellaRoad car park, just north of CotterReserve. Climb through open forest andon track to Mount McDonald for viewsover Cotter Dam and BrindabellaMountains. Descend west to UriarraSettlement for lunch. Return on lowerlevel trails near dam. 11 km walk, onesteep climb. Afternoon tea Sakeena's,Cooleman Court.


13–21 May Saturday to Sundayinclusive or any day/s in betweenART WEEK AT GUDGENBY COTTAGE

Contacts Hazel Rath 4845 1021 orAdrienne Nicholson 6281 6381

Immerse your creative side in the parkenvironment (paint, draw, write, think,walk, photograph, whatever you wish)with convivial and like-minded company.Overnight stays for 1 or more nightsmust be booked with leaders (maximum6 people each night). Day visitors arealso welcome any day, to participate orjust to enjoy.

NPA outings program March – June 2017 (page 3 of 4)


Photo by Jan Gatenby.

Photo by Adrienne Nicholson.

20–21 May Pack WalkADMIRATION POINT AND SNEDDEN PASS

Map Corang 1:25,000Grading 1 A/C/part FLeader Rupert BarnettContact 6242 5241 or

[email protected] Scenic Rim Track from the WogWog entrance to the Morton NationalPark takes us to a number of popularplaces, but we usually bypass a couple ofspots worth visiting. At Admiration Pointwe’ll camp on an unusual promontorywith buttongrass slopes and hollows, andat the Point admire big views along thehigh escarpment past Mount Owen, andsouth up the Budawang Range. Returningon Sunday we’ll detour to Snedden Pass – it’s an unexpected little ridge down toCockpit Swamp.

Contact the leader by 18 May fordetails. Limit 6.


24 May Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader Philip GatenbyContact 0401 415 446Details are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

27 May Saturday Work PartySTOCKYARD ARBORETUM

Leader Martin ChalkContact 0411 161 056We last visited this site in April 2014.This work party will continue the task ofsearching for and removing pine wildingsand juniper. With luck, it will be no morethan a monitoring and maintenanceexercise. Some tools will be provided butsuggest you bring work gloves, loppers,bush saw. Approximately 60 minute walkto work site. Work party will be subject togood weather.

Meet at Cooleman Court (behindMcDonald’s) at 8.15 am.


28 May Sunday WalkMOUNT PAINTER AND THE PINNACLE

Map Canberra Nature ParksGrading 2 A/BLeader EstherContact 0429 356 212 or

[email protected] off track to Mount Painter (100 mclimb) for views over Lake BurleyGriffin and Molonglo Valley and then onto the Pinnacle for lunch with a view.Return along the south edge of Cook viasome historic sites.

Meet on the Aranda side of BindubiStreet under the HV powerline (about1 km from William Hovell Drive) at9.00 am.


NPA outings program March – June 2017 (page 4 of 4)11 June Sunday Walk

DEVILS PEAKMap Cotter Dam 1:25,000Grading 1 DLeader David DContact [email protected] to Piccadilly Circus in theBrindabellas, then north along Two SticksRoad, parking at the base of Devils Peak.It will be a short but scrubby walk to thesummit. Total climb 150 m, though moreif roads need to be walked.

Please advise leader of intention toparticipate by COB Thursday 8 June.

Drive 120 km, $14 per person.

18 June Sunday WalkBARRER HILL AND ARBORETUM

Map Canberra street mapGrading 1 A/BLeader Brian SleeContact 6281 0719 (h) or

[email protected] 9.30 am at National Rock Gardencar park, Barrenjoey Drive (UBDmap 58, location D7). After checking outgeological display, cross underTuggeranong Parkway into Arboretumand head SW through various plantationsto Boundary Road before climbing Barrer(formerly Misery) Hill for morning tea.Descend to Molonglo River beforereturning to Boundary Road (avoidingfences to the west). Lunch will be in oneof the remote Arboretum plantations.Climb Dairy Farmers Hill and haveafternoon tea in Village Centre beforereturning to car park.

24 June Saturday Work PartyFENCE REMOVAL – GUDGENBY VALLEY

Leader Martin ChalkContact 0411 161 056This will be the first fence removal workparty at Gudgenby this year. InNovember we completed the removal ofabout 900 m of fence that ran to the westof Peppermint Hill. This time we willconcentrate on a similar length that runsto Rendezvous Creek. All tools will beprovided.

Meet at Kambah Village shops at8.00 am.


28 June Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader Barrie RContact 0437 023 140Details are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

31 May Wednesday WalkJoint NPA / BBC / CBC Activity

Leader Steven ForstContact 0428 195 236 or

[email protected] are emailed to those on theWednesday walks email list. Otherwisecontact the leader.

3 June Saturday WalkHIGH HILLS EAST OF GIBRALTAR CREEKMap Tidbinbilla 1:25,000Grading 2 DLeader David DContact [email protected] to the Corin Dam road, near WoodsReserve. Walk off-track down toGibraltar Creek, then up spurs to theunnamed high hills to the east of thecreek. Proceed north-east along the topsfor a few kilometres before droppingback down to the creek and the roadagain. This is rough, rocky, scrubbyterrain. Total climb 700 m.

Please advise leader of intention toparticipate by COB Thursday 1 June.

Drive 90 km, $10 per person.

4 June Sunday WalkMCMAHONS HUT SITE

Map Williamsdale 1:25,000Grading 3 ALeader Margaret PowerContact 0418 645 303 or

[email protected] from Honeysuckle Campground toBooroomba Rocks for morning tea.Anyone not wanting to make the climbup Booroomba Rocks is welcome to jointhe walk and have their morning tea inthe Booromba Rocks car park and waitfor the rest of the group to return.Continue on the Australian Alps WalkingTrack to Bushfold Flats and then to theformer site of McMahons Hut for lunch.In the afternoon proceed via Reads Hut(aka Bushfold Hut) to the fire trail andcontinue to the Apollo Road. Approx18 km walk. Car shuffle involved.

Meet at Kambah Village shops at8. 30 am.


10 June Saturday Work PartyGUDGENBY BUSH REGENERATION GROUPLeader Michael Goonrey Contact 6231 8395 or 0419 494 142 or

[email protected] at the Namadgi Visitor Centre,Tharwa at 9.15 am. Car pool toGudgenby Valley. Rabbit warrenmapping in Gudgenby Valley as directedby local ranger. Tools provided.


The Namadgi Visitor Centre proved to be a good choicefor our annual get-together due to uncertainties aboutthe weather on a hot and windy Sunday 11 December.

NPA ACT Christmas Party 2016

Conversations continued after lunchin a very relaxing atmosphere.

Photos by Esther Gallant.

There was plenty to eat and drink. Esther and her helpers had set up gazebos and tables

and a lovely spread of food and drinks.

Many a conversation about the year almostgone, and that ahead, was had by members.

Rod’s speech highlighted theyear’s achievements and he thanked all members for their continued support.

Eleven NPA adventurers ventured out on2 February to learn how the tip isbecoming less waste-full (sic). Our guideDavydd greeted us with biscuits, andenthusiastically described how theoperation works. He was obviouslyproud of what was being achieved inreducing waste of both material andhuman resources.

The Soft Landing Company is a not-for-profit organisation and originatedfrom Mission Australia. The intention isto clear only 2 per cent above runningexpenses to allow for equipmentmaintenance and replacement. LastNovember, Soft Landing was awardedthe ACT Sustainable CommunitiesCommendation for contributions to theenvironment in Litter Prevention, WasteManagement and Resource Recovery.There are similar facilities in WesternSydney, Wollongong, Newcastle andPerth.

When you approach the building onJohn Cory Circuit, you will likely see tallstacks of mattresses in the yard. In busytimes they can receive up to 1,000mattresses a day! You may drop off yourmattress (any kind) for $23 or have itpicked up for $33. Mattresses are pickedup from about 40 households a day. Theyalso arrive in containers from as far awayas Bega, Cooma and Adaminaby. Lastyear 18,000 mattresses were recycled.That represents about 13,000 cubicmetres less going to landfill.

The mattress recycling operationemploys 10 people, mostly thosepreviously un- or under-employed. Whilethe workforce has a high turnover, this isa good thing: once the employeesbecome accustomed to the daily routineof work and presumably motivated byregular pay, they are able to find higherpaying jobs elsewhere. So success atsalvaging humans!

The main manual labour is cuttingapart the mattresses. Each of the fivecutters is expected to process50 mattresses a day. Apparently mosteventually achieve this with ease whileonly a few struggle to reach the goal.Each work position has pallets ofmattresses colour coded by worker. Eachmattress is placed on a work table andreduced to several piles of materials –these added to growing piles within thework area. Encouragingly, companiessuch as Ikea are now selling mattressesthat are ‘easy’ to disassemble andrecycle.

The mattress components• Springs are mechanically separated

from the wooden base and thencrushed into a small block which issold to BlueScope for $50/tonne (10tonnes/week). The spring baler is animpressive custom machine withenormous hydraulic pistons made tothe company founder’s specifications.

• Wooden bases are burned at ACTRecycling to generate electricity. Theyare also available free to anyone whowill cart them away. You can also pickup casters – otherwise they go tolandfill.

• Fabric is baled in a wool press. It canbe shredded and used in punchingbags but most goes to landfill.

• Foam is sold to Dunlop Rubber for50 cents/kilo and is shredded to makecarpet underlay.

• Latex is also used for underlay buthas no sale value.

• Coir (coconut fibre) is not currentlyrecycled. Some of our groupsuggested and will follow up on theidea that this could be turned intoerosion barriers for use by the variouslandcare groups. Davydd was mostinterested and hopes that Kevin andChris are successful in organising this.

There were many questions andsome interesting discussions resulting inthe tour lasting twice as long aspredicted. No surprise there with ourgroup. We then moved to the Farrershops for coffee and continuingdiscussions.

Esther Gallant


‘Soft Landing’ for old mattresses at the tip

Photos by Esther Gallant.1. Cutting up the mattresses.2. Mattress springs go into a crusher.3. A bale of crushed springs emerges.4. Piles of materials to be baled; bales of

crushed springs; pallets with springsstill to be separated.

5. Sheer power rips the springs from thewooden pallets.

6. Some processes do need safety barriers!

1

2

6 5

4

3

Protected by the range,the reduced wind permittedthe flies to land so wecurtailed their annoyanceand left at 11.30 am. Closeup, it became apparent thatLee’s cornice was too steepto climb so it was happychance that led us toencounter the aforesaidanemones as we contouredsouth at 2,000 metres aroundthe mountain. Alpine Marsh-marigolds (formerly Caltha,now Psychrophila) peepedfrom the water. We nudgedacross steep snowdrifts and down toKunama Creek. Easier terrain took usfarther south to Northcote ski tow ruinswhere we contemplated the works ofhumans, chiefly a bulky internalcombustion engine. Kunama Hutte ruinswere 5 minutes away and that was lunchat 12.40 pm.

It is a well-known story worthrecalling that the short-lived timber skilodge (built 1953) was knocked from itsstone foundations by a Mount Clarkeavalanche during breakfast, 12 July1956. The death therein of 20-year-oldRoslyn Twynam Wesche iscommemorated on a plaque. An eerieplace, the foundations surrounded byrubble, and little visited. Ravens jagged

Date: Sunday, 3 December 2016.Participants: Brian Slee (leader), David

Dedenczuk, Timothy Walsh.Weather: Warm; windy; high cloud,

thin at first, gradually cloudingover.

Anemone buttercups (Ranunculusanemoneus) were thriving in KosciuszkoNational Park after late season snow.This beautiful big white mountaindaisy – its green inner circle surroundedby yellow – is rarely seen in masses. Butwhere Mount Lee’s snow drifts hadmelted and flowed through alpine grass,they were flourishing. Astonishing to seeafter years of scouring creek banks forscarce individuals of an endemic specieseaten almost to extinction before cattlewere excluded from the High Country.

The summit of Lee was ourobjective. We had reached its base fromCharlotte Pass by crossing the Snowyand following Club Lake Creek west toits source. On the way, small shiny-yellow buttercups were prolific with ascattering of other flowers and a fewanemones. Pipits darted across alpinegrass. The creek was under snow for thefinal 200 metres, but not the lake. Timand David put aside their usual habit ofplunging in. Snowboarders campednearby had rock-dodged 180 metresdown precipitous snow cliffs fromCarruthers Peak.

about, the sky turned grey, even the antswent quiet.

Except for a couple of splashycrossings, the way back was relativelyeasy as we contoured around Clarke andfollowed Club Lake Creek to ForemansChimney. After a break we climbed backto the car, arriving 3 pm; 11 km.

Yellow bikes were everywhere inJindabyne, being used to promotesummer cycling in the mountains. Wehad the usual treats at Sundance beforereturning to Calwell, arriving 6.15 pm,having departed there at 6.30 am.

A walk worth repeating for thosepursuing early wildflowers: anemonesand calthas.

Brian Slee


Club Lake and Kunama Hutte ruinsBushwalks

PilgrimsStorm in the night, followed by a cloudy morning. I putmy boots on, walk around the lake, over BlackMountain. But always a sense that there’s someonewalking behind me. A fellow pilgrim? I look backoccasionally. Just the shimmering silver of ScribblyGums, the white cauliflowers of Cassinia. Will we catchup this evening, at the next campsite?

campfire …circle of my longing …smoke swirlsstarlit pilgrimsshare their stories

Gerry Jacobson

Anemones and the water meadow.David measures the snow drift.

Kunama Hutte ruins. Photos by Brian Slee.

outcrops of the Bluff. The camp site wasamong ancient living Snow Gums,perched above a small tarn. Jagungalstood out to the north.

Day 3 we returned to Kidmans Hut intime for lunch, passing initially betweenthe quaintly named hills, Cup and Saucerand Mailbox, en route to re-joinyesterday’s track. We then battled thescrub of the Burrungubugge again,reaching the ruins of Constances andBurrungubugge Huts by 3.45 pm. Herewe spent the third night. Increasingcloud and a few spots of rain hurried ourdinner that night. Day 4 was short andinvolved retracing our steps on theovergrown vehicular track to the IslandBend Fire Trail, then on to the lockedgate. Saw two snakes on the fire trail.

Scrub on the Burrungubugge makesaccessing the High Country from IslandBend quite difficult and we weren’t ableto visit the areas intended. Hopefully theMunyang entrance and track upDisappointment Ridge will be re-opened. In 4 days we saw no other

After lunch we mostly scrub-bashedup the Burrungubugge for about 3 km intwo and a half hours, eventuallyreaching an extensive open area eitherside of the river. At its northern end isthe picturesque Kidmans Hut, awelcome sight and our camp site for thefirst night.

An entry in the hut’s logbook offeredadvice on getting to Mawsons Hut (inthe High Country) from Kidmans.Apparently there was once a bridle trail.Next day, with the help of what we’dread and occasional cairns, we climbedover 400 m and crossed the GreatDividing Range, then forded ValentinesRiver and arrived at Mawsons Hut intime for lunch. Dave had extolled thevirtues (accurately as it turned out) of acamp site where he’d previously stayedon Tarn Bluff on the Great DividingRange, so this became the day’sdestination. Crossing Valentines Riveragain we arrived mid-afternoon in time

to set up and thenexplore some of thenumerous rock

Date: Monday–Thursday, 2–5 January2017.

Participants: Philip Gatenby (leader),Jan Gatenby, Dave Kelly.

Weather: Mostly fine; mild to warm;light winds.

The planned walk was from the GuthegaPower Station to explore the areas ofKosciuszko National Park north and eastof Disappointment Ridge. Luckily Davelooked at the NPWS website and foundout that the bridge over the Snowy Riverbehind the power station was closed, aswas the bridge over Munyang River(which was the case 2 years ago andseems to happen regularly) at the start ofthe Disappointment Ridge Track. Soplans were changed and the leaderdecided that the area proposed forexploration could be accessed from theIsland Bend Fire Trail via theBurrungubugge River. I’d last walked inthis area in 1983.

There’s a locked gate on the IslandBend Fire Trail, about a kilometre fromits crossing of the Snowy Riverdownstream from the Island Bend Dam.We left our car there, walked along thefire trail through displays of mountainbluebells to a bridge over theBurrungubugge. About 100 m beyondthe bridge an overgrown vehicular trackheads north-west up the river to theruins of two huts, Constance andBurrungubugge. We had lunch near theruins. All that remains of Constance Hutis a partly collapsed rock and cementchimney and fireplace, and a few bits oftin and wire. The metal supports of thenearby Burrungubugge Hut are stillthere, together with a few charredwooden supports and a pot-bellied stove.


Bushwalks (continued)


Up the Burrungubugge

Crossing Valentine River. Photos by Philip Gatenby.

Trigger plants, Stylidium.Campsite at Tarn Bluff.


We wended our way through the sidestreets of Franklin, stopping at an eco-modern house with an impressivekangaroo paw garden display. Further upthe hill, it was explained to us thatmowers are rare so weeds mass alongfrontages – prickly lettuce was starring.After 2 hours we were back: 6 km.

Frankies @ Forde was declaredclosed by Google so we stuck to theoriginal plan and had an excellentbreakfast at the district in Crace. Homeby noon. The area lends itself tointeresting short walks. Worth repeatingin winter.

Brian Slee

Station Road, the original tree-lined dirttrack running through the middle ofHarrison to the Station. An extravaganceof open space.

Gungaderra Creek beckoned so wecriss-crossed it as we went along,visiting various ponds surrounded bynative plantings. Ducks skid-landed onthe water. A pair of fluffy coot chicksperched on a submerged trunk. Ibisesdid what they do.

Tantalised by sightings of a crowd at‘Parkandplay’ (Kilmeny Close), wediverted through there on the way back.It is a sleek collection of open-airexercise and play areas, for children andadults, which could entertain for hours.A game of roller hockey was beingplayed on a caged surface.

Date: Sunday, 8 January 2017.Participants: Brian Slee (leader), Brian

Christensen, Julie May, MichaelaPopham, Margaret Power.

Weather: Warm; cool breeze; highcloud becoming overcast.

Having chosen what was forecast to bethe hottest day of summer so far, thiswalk in East Gungahlin was shortenedby deleting the Gungahlin Hill sectionto concentrate on Franklin and Harrison.

We set out at 8.15 am from theDiane Barwick Street entrance to GuburDhaura. The ironstone hill is only31 metres above surrounding Franklinbut offers panoramic views of thenorthern border, and of hills sweepingsouth from it on both sides. MatureApple Boxes frame the view. Ochre wastraded from the site by Aboriginalpeople; the hill was later mined forsmall amounts of ore and road gravel,and is now a public park (see Barrow’sWalking Canberra, 2014, p. 16).

Descending east, we soon reachedFlemington Road, lined as it is withmodern apartments. Canberrans enjoyspeeding along here, condemning allthey see: ‘Slums of the future!’. Wouldthat they took a stroll and surprisedthemselves. We waited for a tram beforecrossing but it was a mirage.

Further east we turned beneath oneof the area’s magnificent eucalypts for aquick geek at historic GungaderraHomestead before continuing to the firstof Gungaderra’s ponds. We retracedslightly to walk a long stretch of Well

Wide view out to Canberra’s northern suburbs. Photo by Julie May.

Endnote:An old map in one of the huts wevisited showed the vehicular trackup the Burrungubugge extendingbeyond the hut ruins. The viewfrom Google Earth suggests thismay still be the case although wedidn’t find it. On a future trip asearch for the old track may beworthwhile.

people, but log book entries at Kidmansand Mawsons Huts indicate the area isvisited regularly. March Flies werevicious and little black ants plentiful.Abundant winter and spring rainfallensured all streams and rivers wereflowing well. Apart from bluebells,quite a few wildflowers were blooming,particularly Prostanthera, Richea,Orites, Herpolirion, Kunzea, Stylidium,buttercups, Billy Buttons, variousdaisies and a number of orchids. Pigdamage was extensive but we saw nopigs. Horse droppings were evidentparticularly on the Burrungubugge.Leaving Kidmans Hut on day 3 we sawfresh horse manure and the probableculprit about 50 minutes later, the onlyferal horse we saw all trip.

Philip Gatenby

Up the Burrungubugge (continued)

Bushwalks (continued)

Gubur Dhaura (‘Red Ochre Ground’) and Gungaderra Creek

Apologies to Barbara Slotemaker deBruine for getting the following twopoems muddled up in the December2016 Bulletin. Ed.

ACRONYMWater everywhereAbundant poolsTeeming creeksEddying alongRestless

FREEGudgenby Cottage.Cosy firesConvivial companyCreative mindsCarve, paint, write, muse, cookRelax!


Wandering Weeders on the Mountain

highly flammable. It doesn’t get sprayedsince that would also kill the ‘good’plants that are struggling to exist underthe Signal Grass, so the Weeders spendmany hours digging it out diligently.

As the name suggests, Mother ofMillions (Bryophyllum sp.) reproducesrapidly, producing hundreds of tinyplantlets which quickly form newcolonies. It is adapted to dry conditionsand can survive long periods of drought.This increases the plant’s potential topersist and spread. Mother of Millions istoxic when ingested by livestock; it isalso poisonous to humans and householdpets. It has to be pulled out, bagged andtaken off the mountain.

Benefits from plantingPlanting is undertaken to lessen erosionin areas totally degraded when theneighbouring suburban developmentwent in, with resulting widespread run-off problems after storms. Naturalregeneration is easier to nurture thantrying to plant in areas where it is

difficult to water in hot,dry times. Plantingalong footpaths isdesigned to create a‘border’ to the forest.The vinePararistolochia prae-venosa has beenreintroduced to the areabecause it attractsBirdwing and BigGreasy butterflies.Others plants are staplediet for the numerousbird species that can be

Over the Christmas break Sonja and Ispent more than a week in or nearBrisbane and visited friends who arevery active in a bushcare group calledWandering Weeders. This group reportsto, and works closely with, BrisbaneCity Council’s ‘Habitat Brisbane’. On atour of the group’s work area on thesouthern, Chapel-Hill side of MountCoot-tha we saw not only theirimpressive weeding exploits but alsoseed collection, plant propagation,planting and erosion control – the sameactivities that NPA ACT and GudgenbyBush Regeneration Group know fromtheir work parties – but the plants, goodand bad, are very different.

The group has been active since2004, although the volunteers startedworking there much earlier under adifferent name, and work parties attract4–10 participants weekly. Thedemographics are similar to those onNPA and GBRG work parties: fewyoungsters, mostly retired participants,but very skilled across a range ofdisciplines.

Weeds on ‘the Mountain’, as it isaffectionately called by the WanderingWeeders, include Signal Grass, CorkyPassion Vine, Asparagus Fern (threedifferent species), Mother of Millions,Abrus, Madeira Vine, Ochna, Oxalis,and Glycine – most are garden escapees,dumped in the bush or spread by birdsthat eat the seeds.

The two worst weedsSignal Grass, introduced by pastoralists(or scientists working for theDepartment of Primary Industries), out-competes native grasses by a hugemultiple and is one of the first plants toshow again after a burning event. Itinhibits insect life, and seems to have noknown insect ‘predator’ and certainlykeeps butterflies away. This grass is also

observed on the Mountain and inconnected bush areas along creeks; manyof the birds are also common in the ACT.

A multi-use mountainThe Mountain is used by a wide range ofwalkers, runners and cyclists, with theusual problems of off-track adventurerscreating multiple new tracks and causingerosion; dogs off-leash chasing reptilesand wallabies; and garbage dumpersintroducing new weeds which the councilseems unable to manage with theminimal staff available.

Prescribed burning is a problem –new undergrowth is destroyed andbutterfly habitat wiped out, as are thepupae, larvae and other grounded insectsthat break down the litter. Burning isusually carried out in winter when themoth/butterfly larvae are in diapause, sothis wreaks havoc on their populations,not to mention the reptiles, and any birdnests. Burning also results in a big influxof weeds.

Wandering Weeders is one of morethan 80 such accredited groups in theBrisbane area. It has access to grants,help with tools and gloves, even watercubes (Tilkey Tanks) and hoses in drytimes; they maintain close links throughwork plans, mapping and reporting. Theyalso participate in citizen scienceprojects, such as helping a recent PhDstudent with work on the adverseinfluence of Signal Grass on MountCoot-tha.

Kevin McCuewith help from the WanderingWeeders on Mount Coot-tha

Large thicket of Signal Grass smothering the native vegetation.

Abrus or Crab’s Eye Creeper on Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane. Photos by Lyn Cole.


Edited extracts from recent issues ofjournals and newsletters, andonline sources.

Will the Darling River survive?The health of the Darling River system isat a tipping point. Can the systemsurvive the next round of negotiationsover how it should be managed? TerryKorn, president of the AustralianFloodplain Association discusses a majorissue of concern which could seriouslyimpact on recovery of water for theenvironment, floodplain graziers,Aboriginal culture and smallcommunities downstream of Bourke.

The Australian government hascommitted almost $15 billion to thelargest rural restructure program inAustralia and expects to effectsignificant changes to watermanagement in the Murray–DarlingBasin without affecting the reliability ofwater supply to the irrigation industry.This is an admirable but unrealaspiration. Few people are aware that theMDB plan has an escape section forgovernments unwilling to implementdecisions which impact on the reliabilityof water supply to the irrigation industry.The interpretation of this section of theBasin Plan by MDBA and States has thepotential to undo not only the gainsbrought about by the plan, but threatensmany environmental gains achieved forthe Basin’s rivers during the last25 years.

The section of the Basin Planinterpreted as doing this is section 6.14.It states that:

Nothing in the Basin Plan requires achange in the reliability of waterallocations of a kind that wouldtrigger Subdivision B of Division 4 ofPart 2 of the (Water) Act.

It is my understanding that theMDBA’s view, and the view of at leastsome of the states, is that this sectionoverrides or turns off any part of theBasin Plan whose requirements, in beingmet, may change the reliability of waterallocations. Of particular concern is theview that section 6.14 can turn off partsof Chapter 10 that deal with waterrequirements of priority environmentalassets and ecosystem functions, planningfor environmental watering and enablingenvironment watering betweenconnected systems. It is also the positionof the MDBA that the Basin Plan can befully implemented based on currentwater sharing and river operationarrangements; i.e. requiring no changesto existing arrangements.

in decision making. The thinking is thatby developing accounts, decision makerscan make more informed land-usedecisions by having a full suite ofinformation. Currently, decisions on landuse are made with only partialinformation – a situation that wouldnever be countenanced in most businessdecisions. The researchers looked at3 elements:• Ecosystem service including water

supply, carbon storage, timberprovision, provisioning for crops andfodder production and culture andrecreation;

• The contribution to GDP by industriesincluding agriculture, water supply,tourism and logging; and

• Metrics relevant to biodiversityincluding populations of arborealmarsupial, the number of threatenedspecies, forest age-class and number oftree hollows.

So what did they find?• In 2014 two ecosystem services –

provisioning of crops and fodder andwater provision – dwarfed otherservices being worth approx. $120 mil-lion and $100 million respectively.Culture and recreation were worthapprox. $45 million, timber provi-sioning (the value of timber minushaulage and harvest costs) $25 millionand carbon sequestration $20 million.

• But when GDP was considered thingsgot really interesting; water andagriculture were again the mostvaluable at $2,319 and $2,477 perhectare respectively. Tourism wasworth $354/ha (a conservative estimatebecause the entire study was used inthe calculation, whereas in realitytourism is likely to be focussed in asmaller area than the total). Timberwas worth just $29/ha. But loggingalso had a major negative impact oncarbon sequestration and carbonstocks; logging reduced sequestrationby 3.13 tonnes of carbon per hectareyear between 1990 and 2015 –equivalent to $37.87 per year at acarbon price of $12.10 per tonne.Furthermore, logging reduced thecarbon stocks of forests by 143 tonnes/ha. At $12.10 per tonne this lost carbonis $1,730/ha or 60 times the value ofthe timber. So the double impact oflogging on carbon sequestration andstorage means that logging costs muchmore than it makes.

Biodiversity; the key findings were;• Since 2000, the number of threatened

species had risen from 28 to 38, with

This means Water Resource Plans(WRPs) which are being revised atpresent, need not include new rules ifthose rules affect reliability of watersupply. Basin States can include rules inWRPs or Water Sharing Plans (WSPs)which may reduce reliability but theseare not required under the Basin Plan.These plans must be approved by theMurray Darling Basin Authority andultimately the Minister. But thelikelihood of such rules being approvedif they were perceived to favour theenvironment rather than the irrigationindustry is highly improbable. Thelegality of the interpretation andapplication of section 6.14 by the MDBAand States must be challenged as it hasthe potential to seriously undermine theoriginal intent of the Basin Plan.

For example, in October 2012 theBarwon Darling Water Sharing Plancommenced with amended rules, butwithout those rules having beenadequately discussed with thecommunity. The new rules permitted useof larger pumps for extraction of lowflows. The mechanism proposed toprotect low flows, Daily ExtractionLimits, was excluded for the WSP. Thesetwo changes combined reduce thecritically important low flows in theDarling system, thus exposingdownstream users to less water, longerdry periods, increased salinity andincreased likelihood of algal blooms. Thelast minute changes to theBarwon–Darling WSP mean there is nowno effective protection of low flows,including environmental water,downstream stock and domestic suppliesand downstream community watersupply. These changes are nowentrenched in a plan that, in MDBA’sview, does not need to be changed tomeet the requirements of the Basin Plan.Community well-being is stronglyinfluenced by the health of the river. Askthe Wilcannia community about this!

Nature NSW, Vol. 60, No. 4(Summer 2016)

Ecosystem accounting; helpingmake an informed decision onthe future of loggingBack in June, scientists and economistsfrom the Australian National Universityproduced a ground-breaking piece ofwork. They published a set ofexperimental ‘ecosystem accounts’ forthe Central Highlands region of Victoria.In essence, ecosystem accounts attemptto put a value on elements of anecosystem that are typically overlooked

PARKWATCH



strategies. In the meantime, core fundingfor park management remains seriouslyunderfunded.

Nature’s Voice, VNPAebulletin, December 2016

Kosciuszko’s water catchmentsLarge numbers of the Wild Horse, a farmescapee, are severely impacting the watercatchment wetlands of the AustralianAlps, including right across KosciuszkoNational Park. In 2014, 35% of the Alpswetlands had been damaged. These highmountain wetlands are the very heart ofthe headwater catchment sources for ourmightiest rivers, the Murray,Murrumbidgee and the Snowy. Numbersof Wild Horses have grown from about2,000 to more than 6,000 in just 11 yearsand they are causing great damage to thecatchments. The NSW Government, inresponse to these threats has launched, inMay 2016, a draft Wild HorseManagement Plan for consultation.

Such a draft plan has beencontentious. A special bond existsbetween many people and horses andmany others like seeing Wild Horses inthe mountains. Many others however arequite shocked and horrified by thenumber of horses present, the piles ofhorse dung and the scale of impacts tothe park’s streams and wetlands.Stepping away from the welfare andpresence of Wild Horses, there is anotherissue of significance that the draft planmust also reconcile. The sustaineddelivery of high quality water fromKosciuszko’s catchment services tomillions of people downstream, all theway to Adelaide. Some 30% of theMurray Darling Basin’s water comesfrom the Australian Alps catchments.This water is of national economicsignificance and benefits town watersupplies, agriculture, irrigation and someindustries. The decisions implemented bythe final Wild Horse plan are,consequently, of national importance.

The draft Wild Horse Plan publicconsultation process run by the NationalParks and Wildlife Service did identifythat many people appreciated thepresence of the Wild Horses inKosciuszko National Park and that theywere of heritage importance. The draftplan has been respectful of these viewsand identified that a remnant or‘attribute’ population of up to 600 WildHorses be present. Because of the WildHorse potential for damage, this shouldbe considered a maximum number forthe interim. A lower number such as 200may actually be needed to achieveprotection of the water catchments.

(concluded on page 25)

The full ‘Falls to Hotham AlpineCrossing’ is a five day walk, with fourovernight stops generally offering eithera tent on the ground (cheapest option), atent with a raised platform or ‘alpinelodging’ – luxury serviced huts withbedding and food by a commercialprovider. Any future casual campingmust take place at least 100 metres fromthe bookable (and expensive) campsites – if any feasible alternative sites areavailable.

Most controversial is the provision ofa series of luxury huts in three sites,including seven near the top ofDiamantina Spur, a steep climb towardsthe summit of Victoria’s largest free-standing mountain, Mt Feathertop. Theluxury cabins would have to be servicedregularly by helicopter. There are severalquite flawed aspects to this proposal.• Parks Victoria’s much vaunted

‘Healthy Parks Healthy People’program is meant to be aboutencouraging the broad community,especially people who can most benefitfrom access to our natural areas, tospend time in our national parks. Thisincludes young people fromdisadvantaged areas, Indigenouscommunities and especially peoplesuffering from depression. The long-term economic benefits to the state ifall sections of the community haveaccess to nature is considered vast, butthere is no program aimed at makingthat happen.

• There are many conflicting claims inthe report including that the lodges willnot be visible from elsewhere in thepark, yet there will be spectacularviews from them.

• There has been no environmentalimpact statement prepared, nor a robustbusiness plan.

• While various options for the walkhave been examined, there has been nocomparison with other good options forregional ecotourism. A far betterproject would be to promote thehundreds of vacant beds at Falls Creekand Mount Hotham alpine resortsduring summer and the great range ofday walks that can be taken from thosevenues.

It appears investment in nationalparks is suffering from policy tunnelvision focussing on poorly conceivedovernight tracks, trails and luxury hutsaimed at untested high-end tourismmarkets to the detriment and exclusionof everyday Victorian bushwalkers.Government agencies seem intent onimplementing old, flawed Coalitionpolicies by stealth, even though the ALPhas a clear policy stance against these

the number of critically endangeredspecies rising from 0 to 5.

• The proportion of forest in older ageclasses had declined and loggingreduced the number of hollow-bearingtrees by 70% (compared to 42% lossfrom fire).

• Populations of arboreal marsupials hadfallen sharply in all forest age classes,but older growth had more species andhigher number of animals.

• Logging on rotations less than 120years will results in no recruitment ofhollow-bearing trees due to the timeneeded for hollows to form.

• The key threatening process to arborealmammals was the loss of hollow-bearing trees and lack of recruitment ofolder trees.

One concern that people have withenvironmental accounts is that they fearnature will be given a price tag, and thatthe price of conserving nature willinevitably be higher than development.In this case the authors didn’t attempt toplace a monetary value on wildlife, yettheir findings on biodiversity are stillstark.

Governments at both state andfederal level are loathe to face up to therealities, economic and environmental ofnative forest logging. Part of this isinertia – it’s easier not to changesomething that’s been occurring for along time. But partly it’s because theeconomic value of forest has only beenmeasured as the value of timber orwoodchips that they can produce. Publicforests belong to everyone, and thegovernment has a duty to make surethey’re managed in the public interest.Having a full suite of information canonly help in this regard.

Nature NSW, Vol. 60, No. 4(Summer 2016)

Not-so-healthy parks forwealthy peopleParks Victoria, in liaison with RegionalDevelopment Victoria, is planning amulti-million dollar revamp of thewalking tracks between the Falls Creekand Mount Hotham alpine resorts, withthe aim of discouraging use by thecurrent self-sufficient bushwalkers, whothey say are low spenders. They areaiming at the ‘high-yield’ luxury market,with the provision of privately built andserviced lodges along the track. At a timewhen park management is seriouslyunderfunded, and many parks haveserious weed and pest managementproblems, the promise that the revampedwalk will exhibit ‘exemplaryenvironmental management’ rings a littlehollow.

PARKWATCH (continued)


The NSW Government should becongratulated. This 2016 draft WildHorse Plan rises above sectoral self-interest, it responds carefully andstrategically to matters raised by thelocal community; the wider community;the national economy and facilitatesprotection of Australian alpine andsubalpine species found nowhere else onEarth. The plan now needs to befinalised, resourced and accompanied bytimely action to restore damage. Mostimportantly, the plan invests in thedelivery of quality water from thecatchments at a time of climate changeand forecast reductions in precipitation.Kosciuszko’s natural water catchmentsare far too precious to lose.

Nature NPA NSW Volume 60 no 4Summer 2016

Fairmont Resort builds cabinwithout consent on the borderof Blue Mountains NPFairmont Resort has bulldozed a roadalong the route of Gladstone Pass andthen built a cabin on land zonedenvironmental protection, withoutapproval from Blue Mountains CityCouncil. The owner, the Schwartz familycompany, believes the development hasbeen unfairly treated. The company hasreceived a $6,000 fine and was orderedto demolish the cabin. These councildirections came after the companyundertook another unapproveddevelopment that received a lesser fine.

The developer is now seekingapproval for the cabin, and if approved,bushwalkers may be subsequently deniedaccess to the Pass. The cabin was built inan environmentally sensitive area, on theboundary of Blue Mountains NationalPark, near an upland swamp and in theheadwaters of a creek. This is not thearea for a cabin requiring a toilet. Thedeveloper also appears to have alreadycleared vegetation for the cabinincluding tree ferns.

Environmental Protection Zones arecoming under increased pressure fromdevelopers, who deny intact bushland itsrights, as if it were cleared, flat land. Weencourage Blue Mountains City Councilto continue its long tradition of standingup for nature.

Colong Bulletin, No. 265(December 2016)

Featured walk: Wave Rock,Idalia National ParkIdalia, one of the Central WestQueensland National Parks in the CooperCreek catchment, is 113 kilometres

into the depot, and when there was time,the information was put into thegeographic information system – the GIS – like ArcMap. Paper maps would getlost and staff would forget to load GPSwaypoints into ArcMap’, he said. ‘You’dbe out in a remote area and seesomething. You might be able to markthe location with a GPS but oftensightings would go unreported. Five to10 years down the track, an infestationforgotten about, could spread for manyhectares’.

What every weed control managerdreamt of was a bit of tech that couldkeep track of all control works over allthe past years and plot them effortlesslyon a map. They waited for thetechnology to arrive. Which it did via acompany called ESRI which producesGIS software – ArcMap, ArcGIS On-lineand Collector app which are now in useusing smart phones.

Imagine you’re a newly recruitedranger. You’re handed the latest smartphone as part of your kit. It is also a GPSand camera, so there’s no impedimentfor using weed mapping software andapps. At a glance you can see all of theweed control work done in your patch.You open the app; walk around the areabeing treated to plot a polygon; fill in thesimple drop-down form (which weed, atwhat density, which control method, whodid the control work and when); thentick to finish.

At this point the information is sittingin your phone. The magic happens whenyou sync your map’s edits and instantlyeveryone else on the system knows whatyou’ve done. And if you’re out of range,it’s not a problem. You can still use yourphone to plot weed control, or to spotweed infestation and the syncing will beavailable when you come back intorange.

There are several benefits in havingthis adaptive management tool – onethat’s easy, fast and means there is nodata entry to do when you get back to thedepot. This system makes it easier tomanage follow-up control which is thebiggest benefit to field staff. And forsomeone like Steve who seeks to securefuture budgets, it’s incredibly useful tohave current, data-filled maps to explainwhat’s been happening and what liesahead.

News of the Alps, November 2016

Compiled by Hazel Rath

south-west of Blackall and accessible indry weather. Established in 1990, thePark covers 144,000 ha and was a formergrazing property. The topographyincludes the Gorman Ranges, theheadwaters of the Bulloo River, densemulga woodland and colourfulescarpments of weathered, residualcoarse sandstone. Seven species ofmacropods are protected in the Park andkoalas have been sighted.

Visiting the Park is recommended inthe cooler months as extreme heat can beexperienced in the summer months. Inwet weather the 4WD park trackbecomes impassable. At ParkHeadquarters there is a comprehensivehistorical photographic display, a sheltershed and toilets. No other facility or fuel,food or mobile phone coverage isavailable, but there is a basic campingarea for tents and trailers. The Old Idaliaand Wave Rock walk from ParkHeadquarters offers an excellent cross-section of features in its 1.2 kilometres.

Wave Rock is a colourful erodedescarpment overhang approx. 100 metreslong and, by scrambling up a short cleftin the rock, the view from the topenables one to appreciate the expanseand topography of the National Park ingreater detail. With the diversity oflandscape, history, vegetation andwildlife in the Central West QueenslandNational Park, Idalia offers a range ofopportunities and activities. Visitors canexplore rugged escarpments withexpansive views, indulge in spectacularphotography and appreciate possiblesightings of rare and endangeredwildlife.

Protected, NPAQ, Issue 11(October–November 2016)

Pocket weed techWhen it comes to managing weeds in theAustralian Alps you could have a dreambudget, an army of dedicated controlstaff, and every method known to parkmanagement at your disposal and youcould still be overwhelmed by anincoming tide of weeds. And that’sbecause one of the toughest parts of thejob is keeping across everything: it’s tooeasy to miss the moment for follow-upcontrol work. Happily this is a goodnews story. It shows that ACT Parks nowhave in hand a simple tool which ismaking all the difference. And SteveTaylor, their Senior Invasive WeedsOfficer, is keen for everyone to knowthat it works.

‘Before 2008, we’d hand draw onto atopographical map where we’d done ourcontrol. Some staff used a GPS whichwas one step better. It was all brought

PARKWATCH (continued)


New members ofthe associationThe NPA ACT welcomes

Bethan David,Jason Cummings,Suzi Bond,Richard Dallwitz

as new members.

We look forward to seeing youat NPA activities.

NPA notices

Cover photographsFront cover

Main photo. Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus (See butterflybook launch page 6). Photo by Esther Gallant.

Insets. Left. Club Lake area of Kosciuszko National Park(see walk report page 19). Photo by Brian Slee.

Centre. Dr Suzi Bond (see butterfly booklaunch page 8). Photo by Chris Emery

Right. Steel wire bales at the mattress recyclingenterprise, Soft Landing (article page 18). Photo by Esther Gallant.

Back cover

Weed Alert poster.

National Parks Association Calendar

Public holidays

General meetings

Committee meetings

Gudgengy Bush Regeneration 1

Glenburn work party 2

March

Mon 13

Thurs 16

Tues 7

Sat 11

AprilFri 14-Mon 17,

Tues 25

May

—

June

Mon 12

Thurs 20

Tues 4

Thurs 18

Tues 2

Sat 8 Sat13

Tues 2

Thurs 15

Tues 6

Sat 10

—

Further details: 1. GBRG. Meet at Namadgi Visitor Centre 9.15 am.2. Friends of Glenburn meet at Canberra Railway Station, Kingston at 9.00 am, or at

the locked gate off the Kings Highway at 9.20 am.

Call for volunteersAt NPA general meetingsvolunteer members set up the halland the supper. We need morevolunteers for 2017 as the rosteris by no means full. Pleasecontact Quentin Moran if you canhelp. [email protected]

Thank you

NPA books available from some bookshops (eg ANBG), or contact the association office.

Community Symposium – Bushfire Management: Balancing the Risks Friday, Saturday, 21–22 July 2017Pilgrim HouseNorthbourne AvenueCanberra City ACT 2601 See notice page 5.

Contributions for theNPA Bulletin

Contributions of articles, letters, poems,drawings and photographs are always welcome. Ifpossible keep contributions to no more than1,000 words. Items accepted for publication will besubject to editing and may also be published on theNPA website. Send all items to the Bulletin Team,email [email protected], or to the NPA ACT postaladdress (see page 27).

Deadline for the June 2017 issue: 30 April 2017.

Correction to the item aboutRosenberg’s Monitors in the December

2016 Bulletin.

Matthew Higgins writes: … you say that Iwas ‘waiting for the adults to return to openup the mound’. I did not say this, becausethis does not happen with this species. Thehatchlings dig their own way out, as theKangaroo Island researchers have found,and as I have now observed on Mt Ainslie.I know that Ross’s* otherwise excellentfield guide says the female returns to openthe mound but this is unfortunately an errorin an otherwise very helpful field guide.

*Ross Bennett is the author of the NPAField Guide to the Reptiles and Frogsof the ACT. Come and hear all aboutthe Rosenberg’s Monitors on MountAinslie at the March general meetingwhen Matthew will give us a fullaccount of his observations! See noticeon page 27. Ed.

This Bulletin was prepared by:Editors, Kevin McCue and Sonja LenzCopyeditor, Ed HighleyPresentation, Adrienne Nicholson.

Art Week at Gudgenby CottageSaturday to Sunday, 13–21 May

Contacts Hazel Rath 4845 1021 or Adrienne Nicholson 6281 6381Immerse yourself in the park environment to paint, draw, write, think, walk,photograph, whatever you wish. Overnight stays for 1 or more nights must bebooked with leaders (maximum 6 people each night). Day visitors are alsowelcome any day, to participate or just to enjoy.


National Parks Association of the ACT IncorporatedInaugurated 1960

Aims and objectives of the Association• Promotion of national parks and of measures for the protection of

fauna and flora, scenery, natural features and cultural heritage in theAustralian Capital Territory and elsewhere, and the reservation ofspecific areas.

• Interest in the provision of appropriate outdoor recreation areas.• Stimulation of interest in, and appreciation and enjoyment of, such

natural phenomena and cultural heritage by organised field outings,meetings or any other means.

• Cooperation with organisations and persons having similar interestsand objectives.

• Promotion of, and education for, conservation, and the planning oflanduse to achieve conservation.

Office bearersPresident vacant

Vice-President Christine Goonrey 6231 8395 (h)[email protected]

Secretary Sonja Lenz 6251 1291 (h)[email protected]

Treasurer Chris Emery 6249 7604 (h)[email protected]

Committee members

Isobel Crawford 6257 1660 (h)[email protected]

Esther Gallant (Minutes Secretary) 6161 4514 (h)[email protected]

Rod Griffiths (Immediate Past President) 6288 6988 (h)[email protected]

George Heinsohn 6278 6655 (h) [email protected]

Kevin McCue 6251 1291 (h)[email protected]

Quentin Moran 6288 9840 (h)[email protected]

ConvenersBulletin Working Group Kevin McCue 6251 1291 (h)

[email protected] Subcommittee Quentin Moran 6288 9840

[email protected] Subcommittee Rod Griffiths 6288 6988 (h)

[email protected]/Burbong Work Col McAlister 6288 4171 (h) Parties [email protected] Subcommittee Steven Forst 0428 195 236

[email protected] and Engagement Vacant SubcommitteePublications Subcommittee Kevin McCue 6251 1291 (h)

[email protected] Party Co-ordinator Martin Chalk 6292 3502 (h)

[email protected]

The NPA ACT office is in Unit 14 / 26 Lena Karmel Lodge, BarryDrive, Acton, together with the Conservation Council. It is staffed byvolunteers on an irregular basis. Callers may leave phone or emailmessages at any time.

Phone: (02) 6229 3201 or 0410 875 731 (if urgent)Website: www.npaact.org.auEmail: [email protected]: GPO Box 544, Canberra ACT 2601Facebook:

www.facebook.com/NationalParksAssociationOfTheActMembership subscription rates (1 July to 30 June)The subscription rate is $22, which includes a digital copy only of our

Bulletin.If you want to receive a printed copy of the Bulletin, the subscriptionrates are:

Household membership $44 Single members $38.50Corporate membership $33 Full-time student/Pensioner $22

Note: All the above subscription categories reduce to $11 if adonation of $100 or more is made.

AdvertisingThe NPA Bulletin accepts advertisements and inserts. Contactthe NPA office for information and rates.

Printed by Instant Colour Press, Belconnen, ACT.

ISSN 0727-8837

General MeetingsThird Thursday of the month, (not December or January)

8.00 pm, Uniting Church hall, 56 Scrivener Street, O’Connor

Thursday 20 AprilA visit to Borneo

Judy and Dave kellyNPA members.

Dave and Judy Kelly visitedMalaysian Sarawak and Sabahon the island of Borneo in May2016 and will share a sampleof what they saw andexperienced: the people, riverrides, seeing pitcher plants,hornbills, orangutans andending with a climb up MountKinabalu. Some of theenvironmental problems, sim-ilar to those in Australia, arealso covered.

Thursday 16 MarchAdventures with Rosie: monitoring

Rosenberg’s monitor on Mount Ainslie2013 – 2016

Matthew HigginsHistorian and outdoor enthusiast.

Rosenberg’s Monitor, a large goanna rarelyseen in the ACT, is listed as a threatenedspecies in NSW, Vic. and SA. Matthew looks atkey activities of these beautiful reptiles,recorded on Mount Ainslie. The project was apartnership between Matthew and ACTGovernment Senior Ecologist Don Fletcher.Rosenbergs lay their eggs in termite moundsand Matthew took what are probably the firstever photographs of egg-laying and hatching inthe Territory, and for a good distance beyond.

Thursday 15 MayThe Galapagos Islands

Adrienne NicholsonNPA member.

Islands are places where evolution occursin isolation, resulting in amazing floraand fauna ecosystems. Last year Adriennespent 16 days on the motor yacht Beaglein the Galapagos Islands (a side trip enroute to Venezuela!).

The geology, flora and fauna of theGalapagos are every bit as interesting asexpected. Knowledgeable park guidesmust accompany all groups visiting theislands; where, and when, groups may gois well-controlled; conservation issueswere often discussed as an integral part ofthis visit.

For information on NPA ACT activities, please visit our website http://www.npaact.org.auand follow us at www.facebook.com/NationalParksAssociationOfTheAct

National Parks Association of the Australian Capital ... 54 No 1 Mar 2017.pdf · page 49 of our Field Guide to the Reptiles & Frogs of the Australian Capital Territory) is one of

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