DRAFT ACT NATIVE GRASSLAND - Amazon S3
DRAFT ACT NATIVE GRASSLANDCONSERVATION STRATEGY ANDACTION PLANSMARCH 2017
Australian Capital Territory, Canberra 2017This work is copyright. Apart from any use aspermitted under the Copyright Act 1968, nopart may be reproduced by any process withoutwritten permission from:Director-General,Environment, Planning and SustainableDevelopment Directorate, ACT Government,GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601.Telephone: 02 6207 1923Visit the EPSDD WebsitePrivacyBefore making a submission to this draftstrategy and action plans, please review theEnvironment, Planning and SustainableDevelopment Directorate’s privacy policy andannex website.Any personal information received in thecourse of your submission will be used only forthe purposes of this community engagementprocess. Names of organisations may beincluded in any subsequent consultationreport, but all individuals will be de-identifiedunless prior approval is gained.AccessibilityThe ACT Government is committed to making itsinformation, services, events and venues asaccessible as possible.If you have difficulty reading a standard printeddocument and would like to receive thispublication in an alternative format, such aslarge print, please phone Access Canberra on13 22 81 or email the Environment and PlanningDirectorate atepd communications@act.gov.auIf English is not your first language and yourequire a translating and interpreting service,please phone 13 14 50.If you are deaf, or have a speech or hearingimpairment, and need the teletypewriterservice, please phone 13 36 77 and ask forAccess Canberra on 13 22 81.For speak and listen users, please phone1300 555 727 and ask for Access Canberra on13 22 81.For more information on these services visit theRelay Service website.
CONTENTSPART A CONSERVATION STRATEGY1. INTRODUCTION1.1OVERVIEW1.2STRUCTURE OF THE STRATEGY1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGY1.4SCOPE OF THE STRATEGY1.5RELEVANT POLICY AND LEGISLATION1.6ACTION PLANS24455682. STRATEGY: PROTECT NATIVE GRASSLAND AND COMPONENT SPECIES2.1OVERVIEW2.2PROTECTION GOAL2.3KEY PRINCIPLES2.4CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE CATEGORIES2.5CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE CATEGORY 1 SITES2.6CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE CATEGORY 2 SITES2.7CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE CATEGORY 3 SITES2.8LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL COOPERATION1012131313141516163. STRATEGY: REDUCE THREATS TO NATIVE GRASSLAND BIODIVERSITY3.1OVERVIEW3.2THREAT MANAGEMENT GOAL3.3KEY PRINCIPLES3.4MANAGE WEEDS3.5MANAGE INTRODUCED PEST ANIMALS3.6ECOLOGICALLY INAPPROPRIATE DISTURBANCE REGIMES3.7MANAGE GRAZING BY KANGAROOS3.8MANAGE IMPACTS OF URBANISATION3.9MANAGE THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE202222222324262627284. STRATEGY: MANAGE NATIVE GRASSLAND AND COMPONENT SPECIES FOR CONSERVATION4.1OVERVIEW4.2MANAGEMENT GOAL4.3KEY PRINCIPLES4.4APPLY BEST PRACTICE WITHIN AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK4.5MANAGE GRASS BIOMASS AND STRUCTURE4.6IMPLEMENT ECOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE DISTURBANCE REGIMES4.7MANAGE FIRE RISK4.8MANAGE HABITATS THAT INCLUDE EXOTIC GRASSES4.9IMPLEMENT MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD POPULATIONS4.10LOCAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION30323333333438414143435. STRATEGY: ENHANCE RESILIENCE, ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION AND HABITAT CONNECTIVITY5.1OVERVIEW5.2ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION AND CONNECTIVITY GOAL5.3KEY PRINCIPLES46484848Draft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plansi
5.45.55.6IMPROVE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTABILITY UNDER A CHANGING CLIMATEENHANCE ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONENHANCE HABITAT CONNECTIVITY4950526. STRATEGY: MONITORING AND RESEARCH6.1OVERVIEW6.2MONITOR GRASSLAND COMMUNITY CONDITION6.3COLLECT BASELINE INFORMATION6.4ADDRESS KNOWLEDGE GAPS IN GRASSLAND CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH56585860617. STRATEGY: ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY7.1OVERVIEW7.2KEY PRINCIPLES7.3ENGENDER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT THROUGH AWARENESS RAISING AND VOLUNTEERING7.4ENHANCE AND PROMOTE USE OF CITIZEN SCIENCE7.5BUILD INDIGENOUS ENGAGEMENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES7.6SUPPORT APPROPRIATE RECREATIONAL AND TOURISM USE OF NATURAL AREAS646666666768698. BACKGROUND8.1WHAT ARE NATIVE GRASSLANDS?8.2A BRIEF HISTORY OF NATIVE GRASSLANDS IN THE ACT AND SURROUNDING REGION8.3CURRENT NATIVE GRASSLAND DISTRIBUTION IN THE ACT8.4THREATENED AND UNCOMMON GRASSLAND SPECIES IN THE ACT8.5GRASSLAND CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES IN THE ACT SINCE 20058.6EVIDENCE BASE FOR THE ACT NATIVE GRASSLAND STRATEGY8.7CLIMATE CHANGE: POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON NATIVE GRASSLANDS8.8KANGAROO GRAZING OF NATIVE GRASSLANDS8.9DESCRIPTIONS OF GRASSLAND ASSOCIATIONS707278798282919293949. REFERENCESii101Draft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans
CONTENTSPART B ACTION PLANSNATURAL TEMPERATE GRASSLAND ENDANGERED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY113 !EUERLEN’S GENTI!N145BUTTON WRINKLEWORT153GINNINDERRA PEPPERCRESS169GOLDEN SUN MOTH181GRASSLAND EARLESS DRAGON203PERUNGA GRASSHOPPER223STRIPED LEGLESS LIZARD235Draft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plansiii
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“Healthy native grasslandssupporting a diverse flora andfauna for now and the future”Native grasslands of the Territory include a rich assemblage of flora and fauna species thatcombine into a unique ecosystem. These grasslands are a priority for protection andmanagement as they contribute to our natural biodiversity, our history and heritage, andlocal amenity and community. They also provide opportunities to enhance culturalengagement, education and scientific research.Since European settlement our native grasslandsand grassy woodlands have come underincreasing pressure from human settlement,urbanisation and a changing climate. Due tothese changes, only 2% to 10% of the lowerelevation grasslands in south-eastern Australiaremain in high ecological condition, sevengrassland species, and one species that occurs inboth grasslands and woodlands, are listed asendangered or vulnerable in the ACT. Otherplants and animals that occur in grasslands areare also under threat. Temperate grasslands areconsidered one of the most threatenedAustralian ecosystems.The Native Grassland Conservation Strategyaims to build on the successful protection andmanagement of grasslands achieved since theoriginal 2005 Lowland Grassland ConservationStrategy (ACT Government 2005). In the yearsbetween the previous strategy and this revisedstrategy, a number of the native grasslands inthe ACT have been protected and a large bodyof grassland research, monitoring andconservation planning has accumulated.Building on these significant achievements, thisrevised strategy provides a Territory-wideapproach within a regional context to theconservation and management of nativevigrasslands. It extends to all grasslandecosystems by expanding the scope to includemontane and rocky native grasslands. It alsoshifts the focus from strongly protection-based(recognising the previous success in achievingthis) to best-practice conservation managementand enhancing the condition of nativegrasslands in light of a changing climate.Native grasslands are a unique ecosystem thatwarrants care and attention. By workingtogether we can conserve these areas for nowand the future.The ACT Government acknowledges theNgunnawal people as the Traditional Custodiansof the land and waters in the ACT and respectstheir continuing culture and unique contributionthey make to the life of our region.The Ngunnawal people actively managed thelandscape over tens of thousands of years andtoday retain their spiritual and culturalconnection to Country.Draft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans
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1. INTRODUCTION2Draft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans
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1.1OVERVIEWThe ACT Native Grassland Strategy provides guidance on the conservation of nativegrasslands and component species in the ACT consistent with the ACT Nature ConservationStrategy 2013–23 (ACT Government 2013a). Relatively large areas of native grassland in theACT are now protected within reserves, so the current emphasis of grassland conservation ison management and enhancement of grassland ecosystems. This includes conserving nativegrassland species and communities by managing threats, maintaining and improvingecological connectivity, ecosystem function and grassland biodiversity, undertakingmonitoring and research programs, partnering with the community to support grasslandconservation and enhancing the resilience of grasslands to disturbance and climate change.1.2STRUCTURE OF THESTRATEGYThis document is divided into seven mainstrategies with key principles and managementguidelines and is structured as follows:Chapter 1:This introduction chapter outlines the objectivesand scope of the strategy, legislation and policyapplying to nature conservation and the linksbetween the strategy and associated actionplans.Chapter 4:This chapter includes the strategy for managingnative grassland and component species forconservation. It considers adaptivemanagement principles for managing herbagebiomass, disturbance regimes and exotic grassas habitat, including species-specific grassstructure and herbage biomass managementguidelines and how these principles should beimplemented at the local scale.Chapter 5:This chapter includes the strategy for protectingnative grassland and component species,related protection goals and guidelines, anddescribes Conservation Significance Categoriesfor grassland sites.This chapter includes the strategy for enhancingecosystem resilience and function, andimproving habitat connectivity, in the context ofcurrent and future environmental pressuressuch as climate change. A framework of optionsand guidelines for enhancement or restorationis provided for grasslands of varying ecologicalcondition.Chapter 3:Chapter 6:This chapter includes the strategy for reducingthreats to native grassland biodiversity. Itexamines the primary threats to biodiversitywithin local grassland systems including weedinfestation, pest vertebrate animals, overgrazingby kangaroos, urbanization and a changingclimate, and provides guidelines for managingand minimising the potential impacts of thesethreats.This chapter includes the strategy formonitoring, research and baseline datacollection for native grasslands and componentspecies, and provides an overview of therecently developed Conservation EffectivenessMonitoring Program.Chapter 2:4Chapter 7:This chapter includes the strategy for engagingthe community in local native grasslandconservation by increasing awareness,supporting and promoting citizen science andDraft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans
engaging with local indigenous communities ontraditional ecological knowledge.Chapter 8:This chapter provides background informationon native grasslands relevant to theirconservation, including the history of landuse, their distribution and componentspecies. This chapter also outlines theconservation measures carried out in the lastdecade, the evidence base drawn on for thestrategy and potential climate change effectson grasslands.1.3OBJECTIVES OF THESTRATEGYThis ACT Native Grassland Conservation Strategyprovides the strategic context for theprotection, management and restoration ofnative grasslands in the ACT. Specifically, theobjectives of the strategy are to: Provide conservation managementguidelines for the protection andenhancement of native grasslands alignedwith the strategies outlined in the ACTNature Conservation Strategy (ACTGovernment 2013a). Provide monitoring and research objectivesfor the nine native grassland associationsfound in the ACT. Provide strategic context for action plans forthreatened grassland flora and fauna, andthe Natural Temperate Grassland ecologicalcommunity. Describe the remaining areas of nativegrassland in the ACT, including a broadeningof the scope since the previous strategy, toinclude native grasslands across the fullelevation range of the ACT, and degradedgrasslands that may provide habitat orconnectivity for grassland flora and fauna. Describe the floristic associations found innative grassland areas in the ACT based oncurrent classification methods. Provide strategies to increase engagement ofthe community in native grassland activitiesand projects.This strategy is also intended to be a referencedocument on native grassland for ACT andAustralian Government agencies withresponsibilities for nature conservation,planning and land management, and forcommunity and other stakeholders with aninterest in native grassland conservation.1.4SCOPE OF THESTRATEGYThe strategy considers all native grasslandecosystems of the ACT across the full elevationrange from lowland Natural TemperateGrassland to the grasslands of the montane andsubalpine zones, regardless of tenure and landuse. It considers the ecological value andmanagement of degraded native grassland,Ecological burn at Jerrabomberra West Nature ReserveDraft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans5
including grassland dominated by invasiveweeds, some of which provides habitat forthreatened grassland fauna.Derived (or ‘secondary’) grasslands are includedin the ACT Lowland Woodland ConservationStrategy (ACT Government 2004) as they arederived from cleared woodland.This document supersedes the previous ACTLowland Grassland Conservation Strategy (ACTGovernment 2005), and presents updatedmaterial relevant to ACT grasslands and theirconservation. This document also includes theaction plan for aeuerlen’s Gentian, which wasnot included in the previous strategy andinstead was a separate document.Unlike the previous strategy, this revisedstrategy covers all grasslands in the ACT,including rocky grasslands and grasslands thatoccur above 625 metres above sea level.In contrast to the previous strategy, action plansfor the ecological community and associatedspecies, which are declared as threatened underthe Nature Conservation Act 2014 (ACT) (Viewthe Act (PDF, 952Kb)), are included as stand alone documents to aid identification of specificactions and progress.1.5RELEVANT POLICY ANDLEGISLATION1.5.1 International and national contextManagement of threatened species andecological communities is guided byinternational, national and Territoryagreements, policy and laws.The United Nations Convention on BiologicalDiversity is an international legal instrument forthe conservation and sustainable use ofbiological diversity. Australia ratified theConvention in 1993 and, in line with theConvention, prepared the National Strategy forthe onservation of !ustralia’s iologicalDiversity (1996). This strategy was reviewed andreplaced by !ustralia’s iodiversityConservation Strategy 2010–2030 and theStrategy for !ustralia’s National Reserve System2009–2030, which provide frameworks forprotecting biological diversity and maintainingecological processes and systems.6The International Union for the Conservation ofNature (IUCN) establishes criteria for assessingthe conservation status of species. Assessmentof species in the ACT by the ScientificCommittee (a statutory committee under theNature Conservation Act 2014) is generallyconsistent with the IUCN criteria andconservation categories.The Commonwealth Environment Protectionand Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC!ct) provides for the protection of ‘matters ofnational environmental significance’ (MNES) andincludes criteria for environmental impactassessment. A number of threatened grasslandflora and fauna and the Natural TemperateGrassland ecological community are listed asMNES.1.5.2 ACT legislationThe Nature Conservation Act 2014 (NC Act)provides for the protection and management ofnative plants and animals in the ACT and theidentification and management of threatenedspecies and ecological communities. The NC Actrequires a nature conservation strategy beprepared and implemented. The NC Act outlinesthe processes for developing action plans forlisted species and ecological communities andalso creates key statutory positions: theConservator of Flora and Fauna, ConservationOfficers and the Parks and Conservation Service.Under the NC Act, updates to action plans forthreatened species and ecological communitiesmust explicitly consider the implications ofclimate change.The Planning and Development Act 2007 hasprovisions for sustainable development andincludes requirements for environmental impactassessment for any proposal that may have asignificant adverse impact on a threatenedspecies or ecological community. See Section1.5.4 on Environmental Offsets.The Heritage Act 2004 establishes a system forthe recognition, registration and conservation ofnatural and cultural heritage places and valuesin the ACT. The ACT Heritage Register is used toidentify heritage sites that might be impacted byproposed activities or development works. TheHeritage Act 2004 also provides for thepreparation of conservation management plansand heritage guidelines for the protection ofsites of heritage significance. While some placesand objects in ACT grasslands are included onDraft Native Grassland Conservation Strategy and Action Plans
the ACT Heritage Register, many more(particularly Aboriginal artefacts) are likely to beunidentified.The Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005 lists pestplants and animals and provides fordevelopment of pest animal and pest plantmanagement plans.The Emergencies Act 2004 requires thedevelopment of a Strategic BushfireManagement Plan which guides themanagement of fire risk in the ACT.The Human Rights Act 2004 outlines theobligations on public authorities to act andmake decisions compatibly with human rights,including the cultural rights of Aboriginals andTorres Straight Islanders.For more information on ACT legislation, viewthe Human Rights Act 2004 (PDF, 150Kb).1.5.3 ACT policy on nature conservationand climate adaptationThe ACT Nature Conservation Strategy 2013–23establishes a policy framework for conservationof biodiversity across all tenures in the ACT. Thestrategy emphasises more resilient landscapesby restoring priority landscapes and enhancingconnectivity to enable species and ecosystemsto better adapt to climate change. The ACTBiosecurity Strategy 2015–25 further addresseshow to manage key threats (weeds, pestanimals, disease) across both conservation andproduction landscapes.The ACT Climate Change Adaptation Strategy(ACT Government 2016) aims to guide collectiveefforts in adapting to climate change.The Climate Change Adaptation Strategyidentifies ‘natural resources and ecosystems’ asone of five priority sectors. The strategyidentifies two priority actions: Support landscape scale conservation byidentifying, protecting and strengthening:potential climate wildlife refuges(biodiversity refugia) and adaptive capacityof ecosystems in our bioregion. Care for land and water through educationabout climate change impacts andadaptation actions, control of pest animalsand weeds that may become more criticalunder climate change, and monitor impactson ecosystems.The ACT participates in regional and nationalinitiatives such as CSIRO AdaptNRM (Visit theAdaptNRM website) to inform best practicemanagement and enhance collaboration inhelping biodiversity adapt to climate change.1.5.4 ACT policy on environmentaloffsetsEnvironmental offsets are part ofCommonwealth and ACT environmentalapprovals processes and aim to conserve‘matters of national environmental significance’(MNES) and ‘! T protected matters’ throughconservation actions to compensate forsignificant adverse environmental impacts. Theprimary objectives of the ACT EnvironmentalOffsets Policy (ACT Government 2015a) are toensure: Impacts on areas of high conservation valueor irreplaceable assets are avoided ormitigated. Environmental offsets are to beconsidered only after feasible andappropriate avoidance and mitigationmeasures have been undertaken. Impacts from the loss of ecologicalcommunities and habitat are offset bycommensurate gains in extent o
2.5 conservation significance category 1 sites 14 2.6 conservation significance category 2 sites 15 2.7 conservation significance category 3 sites 16 2.8 local, regional and national cooperation 16. 3. strategy: reduce threats to native grassland biodiversity 20. 3.1 overview 22 3.2 threa
Evolution and origin of the Central Grassland of North America: climate, fire, and mammalian grazers1 . In this review, I summarize the results of more than fifty years of research studies of grassland ecosystems with a focus on the Central Grassland of North America. While these studies were conducted in a highly fragmented landscape,
A Grassland Food Chain A food chain tells who eats what. It shows how living things need each other. Let’s find out what’s for dinner in the grassland! In one grassland food chain, big bluestem grass comes first. A prairie dog chomps on this plant. But the little animal is also food. Soon, a black-footed ferret eats it up.
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Ulster Archaeological Society at the Divis and Black Mountain site. 5 Illustration 1: Divis Mountain viewed from the south west 1.2 Aims In order to enhance the archaeological record of this site, the aims of this survey were to produce an accurate plan drawing of the monument and carry out a photographic survey. This information was compiled into a report and submitted to the Environment and .
