ABOUT THE FITZ-STIRLING AREA

Clearing of the land between the Stirling Range and Fitzgerald River National Parks (Fitz-Stirling area) only started after the Second World War. Some has even been cleared in the past decade, though tighter Government regulations are now in place. Fortunately, the clearing has not been as extensive and all consuming as in other parts of WA. Large areas of bush have been left, some in the Corackerup and Peniup Nature Reserves, and some on land originally allocated to farmers.

Because it has been so recently cleared, this part of Gondwana Link will be easier to restore than other areas provided we move fast. Some of the farmed areas are so recently cleared they still retain the ability to regrow if tractors and stock are removed. Damaging environmental weeds which choke regenerating bush, such as South African lovegrass, are still localised and can be controlled. And, most importantly, the large areas of remaining bush have only been separated from each other relatively recently, so should contain the full complement of species they had before clearing commenced.

Many areas that have been cleared are proving unprofitable, or too fragile to farm, so we hope it will be possible to secure and restore a link between the two national parks without causing significant disruption of the farming community. In fact, some of the new industries we are investing in are aimed at strengthening both the local community and the local economy.

ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

Property purchase
To date the Gondwana Link groups Bush Heritage Australia and Greening Australia have purchased 6 properties totalling over 7,000 ha. These properties have outstanding conservation values and are often situated adjacent to reserves and national parks thus strengthen existing bush linkages. These properties have large patches of bush and cleared areas are being revegetated. These revegetation-restoration programs are some of the largest ever undertaken in Australia and have employed purpose built or modified machinery and innovative techniques to match the scale of the work.

Chereninup Creek Reserve, purchased by Bush Heritage Australia in 2002, was the first Gondwana Link property acquisition. Chereninup is an 877 ha property of exceptional conservation value originally marked for clearing. It is the most diverse of all the Bush Heritage reserves. Chereninup included 60 ha of land cleared for cropping in the late 1980s. This was replanted during 2003, through a joint project with Greening Australia, in what is thought to be the largest single biodiversity revegetation project seen in Australia to that date. A total of 50,000 seedlings and 50kg of seed from over 50 species of naturally occurring native plants were used. Volunteers planted 10,000 of the seedlings on National Tree Day in July 2003. Click here for more information on Chereninup Creek Reserve.
 

Nowanup. The property known as Nowanup was  purchased by Greening Australia in 2006. Nowanup totals 754 ha including 400 ha of particularly diverse and biologically rich bushland and 354 ha of cleared land previously used for grazing sheep and cropping. The bushland is now protected by a conservation covenant. The cleared land is being restored in a number of ways. Most will be revegetated for biodiverse bush while the balance will be used to trial endemic plants for commercial use - sandalwood, melaleuca broombush (for brush fencing) and bush poles.

Monjebup Creek Reserve. Bush Heritage Australia purchased an additional reserve (Monjebup Creek Reserve) in the region in 2007.  Monjebup is over 1100 hectares and forms nearly 10kms of linked vegetation, including breakaway country, creeks in deep valleys, a number of rare species, and wide variety of soil and vegetation communities. This reserve lies between two existing nature reserves and plays a very important role in creating an ecological linkage between the Stirling Range and Fitzgerald River National Parks.

Yarrabee Wesfarmers Reserve was jointly purchased by Greening Australia and Bush Heritage Australia early in 2006. Yarrabee is a 923 ha property that adjoins the Stirling Range National Park and was purchased as our best option for making an ecological connection to the Park. The property has 323 ha of bushland which ranges from tall marri/jarrah woodland to low mallee heath. It contains the largest area of proteaceous rich vegetation remaining in the Stirling to Fitzgerald link. During the winters of 2006 and 2007 the 600 ha of cleared land was planted and direct seeded with around 120 species of naturally occurring native plants. This restoration work was funded through the Natural Heritage Trust with the support of the South Coast Natural Resource Management Group.

Peniup Creek Reserve. The most recent property purchase is in the more western part of the Stirlings to Fitzgerald section of Gondwana Link. In April 2007 Greening Australia purchased a 2406 ha farm not far from Jerramungup. The property is around one third bush which varies from moort thickets, stands of sheoak, yate woodland to mallee heath. Two creeks converge on the property and there are pools all year round. Regeneration of cleared land will substantially increase the areas of upland yate woodland and significantly reduce pressure on the creek system.

Monjebup North Reserve was purchased by Bush Heritage Australia in 2010. This property is ideally placed linking the existing Monjebup Reserve to the large nature reserve, Corackerup Reserve, to the north. Monjebup North is a 1,100 ha property which is largely bushland with 400 ha of agricultural land which Bush Heritage plans to revegetate over a three year period. Seed picking and planning have already begun for the restoration program.

Private conservation buyers have purchased other properties which are managed for conservation. For example Gondwana Link supporters Eddy and Donna Wajon have purchased a large bushland block on the Corackerup Creek now known as Chingarrup Sanctuary. Much of this property had been cleared in the past, but is now regenerating rapidly. Eddy and Donna have worked with the Reconnections project to replant native species on 48 ha of Chingarrup. Eddy, Donna and their friends also control weeds, had nesting hollows erected for white-tailed black cockatoos and have Gondwana Link monitoring sites on their property.

Conservation planning
A conservation plan has been developed for the Fitz-Stirling region. Key people with knowledge of the area's fauna, flora, hydrology, geology and general ecology have documented what they perceive to be the steps required to protect, enhance and restore the Fitz-Stirling natural ecosystems. This plan was then circulated for wider input and discussion. The Fitz-Stirling Functional Landscape Plan guides work undertaken in the area by Gondwana Link groups and any other group or individual who wishes to be involved. The plan will be regularly updated as new knowledge becomes available. For more information on the plan see the Fitz-Stirling Functional Landscape Plan overview (1.3 Mb).

The Fitz-Stirling Functional Landscape Plan has 6 conservation targets on which we focus our protection and restoration efforts. They are listed below - follow the links to pdfs (280kb) for details.

• creek systems

• proteaceous rich communities

• Tammar and black-gloved wallabies

• Mallet and moort woodlands

• Flat-topped Yate (or swamp yate) woodlands

• Freshwater systems

Restoration work
Restoring natural ecosystems after they have been damaged and fragmented is challenging. Our aim is to provide  nature with the best headstart possible to repair itself. We undertake revegetation using a suite of native species endemic to a property, preferably local provenance, and create a mosaic of ecosystems that mimic those originally present (the original vegetation is determined by looking at remnant vegetation and also soil types, landscape position and other factors). Species mixes incorporate the main structural species (the dominant tall vegetation) as well as species from the different strata in the bush - ie the grasses and sedges from the lowest levels, then the bushes then lower trees that grow below the main structural species.

Revegetation of former agricultural land has been undertaken on three of the Gondwana Link properties, 60 ha at Chereninup, 600 ha at Yarrabee and 450 ha at Peniup Creek. The 2008 planting season saw Justin Jonson, Greening Australia's Restoration Manager, undertake a  250 ha restoration program on Peniup. For information on this program see Justin's article in Applied Environmental Decision Analysis 'Decision Point' newsletter. Specific detail on the vegetation communities re-established on Peniup can be found in the Peniup Restoration Plan 2008. Large scale revegetation has also been undertaken on a range of privately owned properties. Some of this revegetation work has been undertaken through the Reconnections project.

Reconnections is a partnership between Greening Australia WA and Shell Development Australia which undertakes large-scale revegetation. Plantings undertaken by the Reconnections project have a range of outcomes, including both pure biodiversity and mixed biodiversity plantings with potentially commercial native species which will have a range of benefits including nature conservation and carbon storage. Since 2003 the Reconnections project has planted 680 ha for diversity and 91 ha for ecologically supportive commercial production.

Managing existing bushland
South Coast Natural Resource Management (SCNRM) Southern Incentives programs as well as Reconnections have helped a number of farmers fence and revegetate areas, particularly waterways and wetlands. SCNRM have also assisted landholders to put protective covenants over their bushland.

Living with the Land - Guidelines for the Fitz-Stirling, compiled by Angela Sanders as part of the Lotterywest funded Knowledge Connection project, are guidelines that assist land managers to plan and implement actions that will contribute to the restoration and improved health of the Fitz-Stirling landscape. These are practical suggestions that all landholders can implement to manage their properties in an ecologically supportive manner.
 

Commercial opportunities based on native plants
Work is also underway to develop investment opportunities involving native plant based industries. Much of the initial work has focussed on sandalwood. Two sandalwood plantations have been established, 50 ha on Yarrabee and 200 ha on Peniup. These plantations have been established through a partnership between Greening Australia and Spicatum Resources Australia (SRA). The Reconnections project has also established sandalwood plantings on Nowanup and private properties. Through Reconnections there is also a trial plantation of mallets for pole production and broombush for brush fencing.
 

Working with the Noongar people
Noongar Elders, respected leaders of the Indigenous group from this area, have been involved in discussions on planning the restoration and other uses of Gondwana Link properties. It is wonderful to be working together to 'heal the country'.

SCNRM, in partnership with the South West Catchment Council, hosts the Restoring Connections project. This project aims to strengthen participation by Noongar people across a range of NRM activities and to facilitate people of diverse backgrounds being part of country that, through an increased understanding of the relationship between culture and environment, accelerates and improves the work of NRM and restoration. The project grew out of ongoing discussion between the regions, Noongar representatives and Gondwana Link partners.

Through Restoring Connections and work with the University of Western Australia cultural mapping has been undertaken on several of the Gondwana Link properties and other areas in the Fitz-Stirling region and Gondwana Link. These surveys identify Noongar artefacts and significant cultural locations. This cultural mapping has been undertaken by Noongar people together with archaeologists and anthropologists and has been an excellent opportunity for the knowledge of the Elders to be passed to younger Noongar generations.

Gondwana Link's Caring for Country project, under the leadership of Greening Australia's Eugene Eades, also facilitates Noongar involvement in the Fitz-Stirling. All the Elders of the region have supported the building of the Meeting Place on Nowanup - a place for story telling, exchanging knowledge and celebration. The Meeting Place has been visited by Noongar dancers and gatherings, national and international Gondwana Link supporters, school groups and neighbours.

Eugene Eades (Greening Australia) and Natasha Moore (SCNRM) have been running education programs for school children at Nowanup. These programs have a biodiversity and cultural focus. School children return home at the end of a busy day of activities including learning Noongar dances and songs, handling Noongar tools and artefacts, hearing stories of traditional life, making damper, fauna trapping and learning about the plants and animals of the area.