Overview

KINRM Strategy

Committee

Current events and activities:

• Orange Bellied Parrot Blitz, Saturday 14 April, meet at Currie PO 6.15am to participate. Contact Shelley Davison 0438 036 899. BBQ at the boathouse 2pm to share our experiences and for further planning.Salads provided, BYO food to cook and drinks.
• Currie Wharf Bush Restoration a highly successful weeding day in conjunction with Clean Up Australia Day was held Sunday 4th March 2012.
  Further project information
• Fertiliser Management Project - a workshop was held 8 March 2012. Dr Cameron Gourley, Agricultural Scientific Researcher, DPI Vic, presented infomation from "Accounting for Nutrients on Australian Dairy Farms"; and Dr Richard Rawnsley, Research Fellow, TIAR, discussed nutrients on farm; Dr Bill Cotching, Soil Researcher, TIAR, presented information from the King Island Nutrient Management Project.
  Further project information
• Thank you to Eva Finzel for 10 years on KINRM group committee
  Eva Finzel is resigning from the committee and position of Secretary of King Island Natural Resource Management Group. Eva has been on the committee for 10 years and served as Secretary for most of that time. When Eva joined the group she was naive in the science of ecology and natural history but applied herself to learning the science and the social implications and political framework of managing natural resources. The group thanks her for her dedication and contribution. Eva undertook many tasks well outside the normal secretary role. Both Eva and Martin Finzel were on the working group of the King Island Flora Book, a field guide intended to help people become more familiar with the native plants of King Island. Eva edited From Gentle Giants to Green Pastures, a history of environmental change on King Island. Eva worked particularly hard during times when the group had no Facilitator or Project Officers, helping to keep the group together and writing applications and reports for funding grants. Eva has also been a member of the Cradle Coast NRM Committee for a number of years. She will continue on that committee as a community representative.
  More information available on 64621825


• The King Island Biodiversity Management Plan is complete. It will be available from this website by 20 April. The plan had a great deal of community input. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) has completed the assessment of the Draft KI Biodiversity Management Plan, with State department and public comments included. The final document awaits presentation to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities for adoption as the national Recovery Plans for two species listed under the EPBC Act, specifically the King Island Brown Thornbill and the King Island Scrubtit . The King Island Biodiversity Management Plan informed the KINRM Strategy 2010-2020 with many actions taken directly from the KIBMP.


• Regional NRM coordination
  KINRM continues to liaise with Cradle Coast NRM, DPIPWE, TIAR and other State and Australian Government agencies. KINRM raises awareness of and provides assistance to Regional, State and Australian wide project activities on King Island.


• Caring for our Country funding from Cradle Coast NRM will contribute to Implementation of KINRM strategy 2011- June 2013
  This project has various aspects all of which include community events, workshops, working bees and consultations.
  · Coastal User’s Guide- to be developed in conjunction with the KI District High School. The main focus of the guide will be “How to have fun on the coast with minimum impacts”.
  · Design layout and production of weed management guides - A Calendar will be developed for the year 2012 or 2013 with weed ID, control methods, follow up, prevention, hygiene, timing and extent of KI weeds.
  · Soil testing and analysis on 2 beef farms, an extension of the Sustainable Farm Nutrient Project


• Coastal vegetation grazing exclosure trials, continues and extends some of the monitoring of the Alternatives to 1080 Program at four priority coastal sites. Managed by the KI Field Naturalists Club with partial funding from Cradle Coast NRM, a vegetation survey and photo-point monitoring program will be implemented over a period of up to 10 years, of 12 exclosures and control plots.


• Currie Wharf Bush Restoration Project
  - KINRM received Caring for our Country funding from Cradle Coast NRM to coordinate improving this site to make it more accessible and user friendly, involving all stakeholders of the area.
  Community groups and organisations participating are KI Council, KI Ports, KI Tourism, Historical Society, Cultural Centre, The Men’s Shed, Lions Club, Field Naturalists, Garden Club,Phoenix,KI District High School, Ballarat/Clarendon College, Owen Smith family, and interested community volunteers.
  The area is a great example of King Island coastal bushland, including peaceful gullies and lookout spots. However, it is currently being overrun by weeds, and most of it is very difficult to access, thus very few people get to enjoy it to its full potential. This site of approximately 19 ha is located directly adjacent to the Main Street of Currie and contains some recreation tracks, seats and lookouts already established by King Island Council, making it an ideal site to access for community awareness activities in the future, as well as tourist walks. There is also quite a bit of history, which could increase the attraction.
  This project has been ticking along with a good success rate of our first lot of plantings, and several field days involving the community.
  Stage 1: next to the track from the wharf to the Boathouse: Ground cover plantings and naturally germinated native plants have done very well and are stabilising most of this section. Weed control has been maintained, including poisoning of boxthorn root regrowth, this will continue as required. KI Ports will be approached soon to gain permission to remove the boxthorn above this site.
  Both KI Council and KI Ports have agreed to contribute another day's work for this project in 2011/2012. We will be asking for an equivalent contribution in 2012-13
  Stage 2 Entrance to Little Beach: Extension of steps completed, a few plants are doing very well and weed control has been maintained at intervals.
  Stage 3 perimeter of Les Ross Park. Council and Hennessy removed as much boxthorn as could be accessed in this section. Boxthorn within the bush will have to be hand removed or sprayed. Plants here are thriving, and the site will be filled up with native pants in the next few months. A picnic setting will be installed here soon, and also between the Lighthouse and Museum (Made by The Men's Shed). The storyboard was also installed by KI Council who have been particularly supportive of this project.
  Participants in the project have agreed the next line of boxthorn above stage 1, and the section between the Cultural Centre and Lions Club be the next stages of restoration.
  Ballarat/Clarendon continue to be involved in the project, and will further incorporate this into their curriculum, such as updating past groups who have worked on the project.
  The project continues to be very well supported and highly praised by the community.
  Weeding and planting field days will continue to be held every 3 months.
• Weeds projects
  Thistles in Lavinia State Reserve: we have mapped and controlled thistles that have invaded the Nook Swamps around the Cord track area. This problem highlights the issue of thistle control not being done on private properties or on roadsides. This is a highly invasive weed threatening our highly valuable native areas and should be treated as a more serious weed.
  Cradle Coast NRM WoNS project: We have been contracted to do on-ground works for this project on King Island over the next 2 years. It includes Bridal creeper and Boneseed in Currie bush areas; Serrated Tussock known sites, and surveying adjacent areas; and Blackberry mapping for a contractor who will come over to do control in April 2012;
  In addition we have several private jobs for locals who are contributing to weed control.
• Coastal and Community Engagement Projects
  Life on the Coast, Coastal community engagement on King Island, Tasmanian Landcare Association Grant, ($10 302 + GST)
  A big banner of welcome to the shorebirds was displayed in Spring 2011 at the Currie Newsagency. Thanks to the Hydro team from Aurora who put the banner up.
  Rehabilitation of lower reaches of Porky Creek, Tasmanian Landcare Association Grant, ($14,339 + GST)
  There has been a variation to the project meaning that the fencing at the southern side of the creek won't be erected any more. The reason was that there was too much African Boxthorn, and its removal was too expensive which made the construction of the fence impossible within this project. The funds were transferred to the northern side and we are now working with the King Island Dairy. Some Boxthorn will be removed and Blue periwinkle will be controlled. A field day will also be held with local school students, Ballarat students and some locals to do some revegetation in the northern sites.
  
• Biodiversity and Water Monitoring on King Island. Cradle Coast NRM Devolved Grant ($18,400 + GST)
  This project is virtually complete except for data management. Data collected includes water monitoring of selected waterways, comparison vegetation data from 2010 to 2011 on wallaby exclosures, a small study involving protecting the endangered orchid Pterostylis cucullata (leafy greenhood) from wallaby browsing and recording differences with unprotected sites. Unfortunately no Orange-bellied parrots were recorded in July 2011, although not really expected at this time of year.
  


• Alternatives to 1080 Program
  Research papers generated from the state-wide program are available on DPIPWE's website.
  The state government committed $400,000 to deliver follow up work. No assistance has been offered to King Island from this fund for any on-ground activity.
  TFGA and DPIPWE conducted a workshop on the island to organise an on-going response to the issue.
  A working group of KINRM was formed to work on a coordinated program of activities by landholders, under the leadership of Jim Cooper. At present the fencing and shooting programs are uncoordinated and there appears to be a constant increase in wallaby population growth.
  
• Life on the Coast offered a series of community and school days to promote weed management, shorebird awareness and living in our coastal areas, including joining the visiting Vic Waders to count and tag Ruddy turnstones. A big banner of ‘Welcome to the Shorebirds’ was made, which will be displayed to remind the community to take care not to disturb the breeding and feeding of shorebirds.
  Funded by Tasmanian Landcare Association


• European Wasps have been baited on King Island over past Summers. Nests finish in autumn with new queens going off to hibernate over winter. They will then form new nests in Spring. The community is asked to watch out for and report any wasp activity including hibernating queens in wood piles, freight, and warm spots.
  Further Information on European Wasps (includes photos identifying the friendly native flower wasp and the European Wasp)


• Climate Change Impacts on Farming workshop was held, funded by Tasmanian Climate Change Office. KINRMG will actively pursue further work on issues around climate change through its normal planning processes, and seeking funding options for projects that build on this first workshop.


• Waterwatch
  Aims:
  To collect sound scientific data on the quality of King Island's key waterways;
  To inform & train the King Island community in "caring for waterways";
  To establish and maintain an island wide community-based water quality program
  Monitoring of Waterways continues to be completed by volunteers.


• Interim Cat Project-continuing in conjunction with KI Game Bird Association and other volunteers


• Fire Recovery Project
  - underway


• Orange Bellied Parrot Project
  Population monitoring and habitat restoration work is currently being completed by volunteers.

King Island Natural Resource Management Group and its projects are an initiative of the King Island community, supported by the King Island Council and the Federal Government's Caring for Our Country program.
Other contributors include Crown Consulting, King Island Ports Corporation, King Island Dairy/Lion, Elders, King Island Regional Development Organisation, and King Island Courier.

And, of course, thanks to all the volunteers, landholders and in-kind contributors!!

website last up-dated 13 April 2012