NEW REPORT: Weedy Pasture Plants for Salinity Control: Sowing the Seeds of Destruction

The Invasive Species Council has released a report (http://www.invasives.org.au/page.php?nameIdentifier=weedypastureplantsforsalinitycontrol) detailing the environmental risks posed by invasive pasture plants being used for salinity control in southern Australia.

It also warns that one of those invasive pasture plants, Tall Wheat Grass (Lophopyrum ponticum), could become one of Victoria’s worst weeds and has the potential to invade more than half the state.”

ANPC: Book reviewer wanted

CSIRO has recently published the second edition of the book Planting Wetlands and Dams: A Practical Guide to Wetland Design, Construction and Propagation, by Nick Romanowski (see http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/20/pid/6162.htm).

If you are an ANPC member and would like to write a review of this book for publication in Australasian Plant Conservation (APC), please contact the APC editor Rosemary Purdie at Rosemary.Purdie@environment.gov.au . The person who writes the reviews gets to keep the review copy.

CONSULTATION: Review of Australia's Native Vegetation Framework

Review of the Native Vegetation Framework -Public consultation period closes March 31st:

In February a public consultation draft was released of ‘Australia’s Native Vegetation Framework’, by the Commonwealth-States’ Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council (NRMMC).

The Framework is intended to be the national policy for achieving a reversal in the long-term decline of Australia’s native vegetation, and
an improvement in the condition of existing native vegetation.

Submissions close 5pm (AEDT) on 31 March 2010.
The consultation draft, submission templates, and FAQ sheets are at
www.environment.gov.au/land/vegetation/review/index.html, or use Free Call 1800 803 772 or email ciu@environment.gov.au.

NEW REPORT: NSW Regional Forest Agreement released

An independent report into the implementation of three New South Wales Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) has been released by the State and Federal Governments.

The report stems from a five-yearly review of the RFAs which were signed between 1999 and 2001. The RFAs provide for the conservation of areas, for ecological sustainable forest management, and “20-year certainty” for forest industries and forest dependent communities.

The independent report made public by the two governments outlines 18 specific recommendations for consideration by the governments – a formal response will be issued in the coming months.

The Independent Assessor’s ‘Final Report on Progress with Implementation of NSW Regional Forest Agreements’ is at http://www.daff.gov.au/rfa/publications/annual-reports/nsw

ANPC: Call for articles for Australasian Plant Conservation 19 (1) Theme: Regrowth: a positive force for plant conservation

We are seeking articles for the June-August 2010 issue of Australasian Plant Conservation (APC), the bulletin of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC). This issue will be on the theme: Regrowth: a positive force for plant conservation.


It is intended that issue 19(1) will include articles about the legacy of Australia’s clearing history on regrowth today, the legal status of regrowth around the country, the ecological processes at play in regrowth, and practical advice for management. We are looking for articles about regrowth, covering for example its ecological values, threatened plant species, fauna colonization, fire management, weed management, invasive native species, transition from forestry to reserve, carbon sequestration, water quality and soil benefits, genetic founder effects, incentive programs, and community education and involvement. These are just a few of the ways in which regrowth is relevant to plant conservation and warrants focused attention. Articles on regrowth issues in South East Asia or the Pacific islands are encouraged. Articles not on this theme are also welcome.


Deadline for submissions for 19 (1) issue is 28 May 2010. Please email submissions to Dr Tom Celebrezze at tom.celebrezze@environment.nsw.gov.au. If you are intending to submit and article, please also let Tom know by 14 May. Download the author guidelines from the ANPC website: http://www.anbg.gov.au/anpc/pdffiles/APCGuideContrib.pdf

VICTORIA: New conservation policy directions

The Victorian Government has released a White Paper on policy directions for land and biodiversity called ‘Securing our natural future’. The White paper, together with a summary and a series of fact sheets, is at http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/ (then select ‘Conservation and Environment’).

The White Paper is intended to be a long-term, strategic framework to secure the health of Victoria’s land, water and biodiversity in the face of ongoing pressures and a changing climate over the next fifty years. It has a strong emphasis on landscape connectivity, and proposes a major reorganisation of NRM structures including the current CMAs.

A critique of the White paper from Victoria Naturally Alliance (a peak non-government conservation body) is at http://www.victorianaturally.org.au/

Parallel with the Land & Biodiversity White Paper, the Victorian Government is also renewing the State’s Biodiversity Strategy. An outline of the process, and a review of the expired 1997 Strategy, are also at http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/ (then select ‘Conservation and Environment’). Regional consultation workshops have been completed and a draft of the new five-year Biodiversity Strategy is to be released for public comment ‘in 2010’.

EPBC ACT: Call for comment on nomination of Coolibah - Black Box woodlands in NSW & Qld

The Commonwealth has issued a call for public comment on a proposal to list the ‘Coolibah - Black Box Woodlands of the Darling Riverine Plains and Brigalow Belt South Bioregions Ecological Community’ as a Threatened Ecological Community under the EPBC Act. The nomination, and a preliminary assessment draft (including outcomes of a technical workshop) are at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations-comment.html

The Commonwealth’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee welcomes the views of experts, stakeholders and the general public on the nomination and the preliminary assessment document, to further inform its assessment process. The public comment period closes on 30 April 2010.

FREE BACK COPIES OF APC: Join ANPC in February 2010

Join the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) in February 2010 and receive 2 FREE back copies of Australasian Plant Conservation (APC). Becoming a member of ANPC will ensure that you keep in touch with the latest developments in plant conservation in Australia.

Member benefits include:

-Subscription to the ANPCs quarterly bulletin Australasian Plant Conservation

-Discounts for ANPC workshops, conferences and forums

-Discounted subscription to Ecological Management and Restoration (EMR)

If you would like to become a member download a membership form

Hurry - limited back copies of APC are available. Please mention ANPC News and your 2 free back copies in your membership form.

NEW REPORT: Riverina Bioregions 'River Red Gum Forests' Report

The NSW Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in December published its final assessment report and recommendations on the future of red gum and woodland forests in the Riverina bioregion (covering large parts of southern NSW and northern Victoria).

Recommendations from the NRC include:
Significant water reforms
Active interventions to manage forests
Trans-border national parks with coordinated adaptive management
New funding models for forests
Engagement with local communities
Maintaining human and social capital

Three parts of the report are downloadable from http://www.nrc.nsw.gov.au/:

ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS: Australia's Environment: Issues and Trends, Jan 2010 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

This 106 page publication (Special Edition: Climate Change) presents a broad selection of environmental statistics and information which illustrate topical environmental issues. The subject matter will vary in each issue, as new environmental issues emerge or more current data sources become available. While ABS data forms a core component of the statistical information, data from other government agencies, international organisations, industry, and individual researchers is also included. Value is added to these widely sourced datasets by bringing them together and analysing their import for selected environmental issues.

Each issue of the publication will explore some of the relationships that exist between our use of the natural environment in Australia for socioeconomic benefit and the impacts that some of these activities have on our ecology and stocks of natural resources. The publication aims to meet the information needs of a general readership. The publication can be downloaded from: www.abs.gov.au

BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: NSW Parliamentary Report on Biodiversity and Climate Change

The NSW Parliament’s Standing Committee on Natural Resource Management (Climate Change) in December released a report entitled ‘Return of the ark - The adequacy of management strategies to address the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.’ Thirty recommendations are made.

Chapters cover:
Impacts of climate change on biodiversity
Protection of biodiversity
Principles for biodiversity management
Maximising agency capacity to manage biodiversity
Managing biodiversity on public land (including the reserve system, travelling stock reserves, native forestry, and invasive species management
Managing biodiversity on private land (including conservation incentive schemes, and land-use planning).

The NSW Government's response to the Report is due on 3 June 2010. The Report (390kB, 135 pp.) can be downloaded at: www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/V3ListReports

ANPC: Call for articles for Australasian Plant Conservation Vol. 18 (4) Theme: Wetlands and Plant Conservation

We are seeking articles for the March–May 2010 issue of Australasian Plant Conservation (APC), the bulletin of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC). The March–May 2010 issue will be on the theme Wetlands and Plant Conservation.

If you or your organization is involved in wetlands work that includes some aspect of conserving native vegetation or plant species, why not write an article for the issue? Relevant wetland activities could include (but are not confined to) planning, on-ground works (including rehabilitation or restoration), landscaping, conservation of threatened plant species or threatened ecological communities, maintaining ecosystem processes, plant-animal interactions etc. Wetlands can include those that are ephemeral, permanent wetlands, and (re)constructed wetlands. We are particularly interested in hearing about challenges you may have faced and/or overcome, outcomes achieved, adaptive management and lessons that may help others wanting to do similar work. Articles not on the wetlands theme are also very welcome.

Deadline for submissions for the March–May 2010 issue is 26 February 2010. Download the author guidelines from the ANPC website: http://www.anbg.gov.au/anpc/pdffiles/APCGuideContrib.pdf.