The importance of our Mount Lofty Ranges Woodland Bird Monitoring Program has been highlighted in a recent issue of Decision Point magazine. “The Mount Lofty Ranges is like a canary in a coal mine for Australia’s woodland landscapes—what happens here is an early warning for Australia’s other landscapes,” says Professor Hugh Possingham from the University of Queensland, who instigated the monitoring program 12 years ago.

Monitoring data is collected annually by a team of expert and volunteer ornithologists currently funded by the Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board and co-ordinated by the Nature Conservation Society of South Australia.

Download the  MLR woodland birds booklet 4.1 Mb

More than $14 million has been allocated by the South Australian Government to fund new and continuing Natural Resource Management projects to help deliver key environmental objectives.

SA Environment and Conservation Minister, Paul Caica, says the funding will help the NRM boards and state NRM agencies address the priorities identified in their regional and state NRM plans.

Mr Caica says these include conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, using natural resources within ecologically sustainable limits, involving the community in natural resources management, and managing biological threats such as pest animals and plants. He says NRM boards and state NRM agencies are working with local government, industry groups, environmental organisations, community groups and landholders to deliver these outcomes.

The Society recently reviewed the Development (Regulated Trees) Amendment Act which was passed in late 2009, although the associated regulations are yet to go through Parliament. Changes to the Act include re-classifying the defi nition of a significant and regulated tree, effectively making it easier to remove large trees. At present all trees with a trunk circumference of 2 metres, measured at 1metre above the natural ground level, are protected as signifi cant. Under the proposed changes, signifi cant trees must have a trunk circumference of at least 3 meters. Twenty two species, including Box Elder, Silver Maple, White Poplar and Weeping Willow, won’t be considered signifi cant or regulated regardless of size, while only a handful of species will be protected if they are within 10m of an existing dwelling or pool.

We will keep the membership updated on the ongoing status of the regulations.

The Society has provided feedback to the Native Vegetation Council Secretariat regarding the development of a framework for native vegetation clearance for safety on public roads. As it currently stands the framework could allow for the clearance of a substantial amount of native vegetation on the State’s road network, in many cases without the requirement for a Signifi cant Environmental Benefi t offset.

We are concerned that the draft framework which has been developed to provide guidance on native vegetation clearance has not been based on a sound and objective evaluation of the risks for biodiversity and the risks and benefi ts for road safety. The decisions have been made and guidelines developed without any modelling or investigation to evaluate their potential impact on the extent and quality of native vegetation on road sides.