Source: NSW CRA/RFA Steering Commitee

24 Hour Watch On Forest Wildlife

2 April 1997

A wildlife survey of unprecedented detail is underway in the south east forests.

Around the clock, teams of volunteers, scientists and technical staff from both State Forests of NSW and National Parks and Wildlife Service are combining their knowledge and expertise to develop a systematic picture of the region’s native fauna.

The scientific survey is critical to the joint State-Commonwealth comprehensive regional assessments (CRAs) which will determine which areas will form part of a national reserve system of forests and which will be available for economically sustainable timber production and other forest uses.

The survey is looking at all terrestrial vertebrates (animals with backbones that live on land) which include not only large ground and tree marsupials but also bats, frogs, snakes, lizards, skinks and birds.

"With this comprehensive survey we are learning in greater detail what’s out there, where it lives, and in what numbers," Rex Bowen, Director of the NSW Resource and Conservation Assessment Council (RACAC), said. RACAC is the NSW Government body overseeing in cooperation with the Commonwealth’s Forests Taskforce the comprehensive regional assessments.

"This is vital information for the successful future management of these areas."

Nic Gellie, NPWS Manager of the CRAs in Queanbeyan, said the teams conducting the surveys are made up of NPWS and State Forests of NSW fauna experts, independent scientists and volunteers from all parts of the community.

Volunteers include local timber workers and farmers.

"Its very much a case of everyone working together to get the most scientifically rigorous and detailed result," Mr Gellie said.

"To get a thorough understanding, we are conducting two types of survey at the same time. Our general survey looks at distribution of species as it relates to broad environmental features, including rainfall, altitude, vegetation type, and geology. The second type of survey targets species which are thought to be rare, or are hard to find, or both. These species, such as the Smoky Mouse, Regent Honeyeater and Southern Brown Bandicoot, can require special effort to locate.

"Methods will depend entirely on the type of animal we are trying to locate. For example, when surveying for owls we may play for a set period pre-recorded owl calls on a megaphone in the forest and wait for them to respond. For ground mammals, we may use hairtubes to catch the hairs of the animals investigating the smell of bait."

Dr Jim Shields, Wildlife Manager of State Forests of NSW’s Southern Region, coordinates two teams of five people surveying forests north and south of Merimbula.

"The monitoring is going on around the clock. So the help of local volunteers who contribute their intimate knowledge of an area is invaluable," Dr Shields said.

"Already our survey teams have come up with new findings of threatened species.

These include a giant burrowing frog - which is as big as the palm of a man’s hand and is covered in bright yellow spots - in the Yambulla State forest near the Victorian border."

"And in the Mt Imlay National Park we’ve come across a little known species - the large footed mouse-eared bat - which is a bat that catches fish."

RACAC’s Rex Bowen confirmed that no previous survey in the region has been so ambitious in scope and thorough in detail.

"The research and methodology has been open to the scrutiny of the scientific community as well as to stakeholders," Mr Bowen said.

"The survey will fill in many gaps in existing data and will allow a full species assessment for national parks and State forests in the south east.

"The fact that people from all sectors of the community are contributing their experience and expertise makes the survey all the more worthwhile. The CRAs are all about broad stakeholder involvement and it is gratifying to see it happening at the level of raw data collection," he said.

To date the surveys have been conducted in State forests and national parks. Private landholders interested in fauna surveys on their land would be helping the survey to arrive at the most accurate picture possible. Mr Bowen said ground surveys for the CRAs would only occur with the full and voluntary agreement of owners.

Of particular interest are bush remnants within or on the edge of the Bega and Candello valley. For further information contact the NPWS Fauna Coordinator at Merimbula on 064 954 130.

More volunteers are also welcome for the surveys. They should contact their local National Parks and Wildlife Service or State Forests office to register interest.

Contact: Gillian Higginson

RACAC Secretariat 02 9228 3166

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