the c&wm news annual general meeting wednesday 18th december · the significance of that is...
TRANSCRIPT
THE C&WM NEWS
Annual General Meeting Wednesday 18th December 7.00 pm at GAZA Sports & Community Club
Corner of Main North East Rd and Wellington St Klemzig
C&WM Activity Report Summary
Port Pirie PMP: 25/08/19 Activity Coordinator: Alan Zubrinich Members: 3 Animals taken: 45 feral pigeons Aroona Sanctuary: 06-08/09/19 Activity Coordinator: Rowe / Goodfellow Members: 7 Animals taken: 227 feral goats Brookfield CP: 06-13/09/19 Activity Coordinator: Ali Wilkie Members: 10 Animals taken: 5 feral goats Buckaringa: 13-15/09/19 Activity Coordinator: Mark Purdie Members: 4 Animals taken: 39 feral goats IFRNP - Quoll Protection Program: 27-29/09/19 Activity Coordinator: Peter Rowe Members: 3 Animals taken: 1 feral cat, 1 fox Bimbowrie: 12-17/10/19 Activity Coordinator: Phil Johns Members: 7 Animals taken: 415 feral goats, 1 feral pig Boolcoomatta: 13-19/10/19 Activity Coordinator: Phil Johns Members: 5 Animals taken: 90 feral goats IFRNP - Quoll Protection Program: 25-28/10/19 Activity Coordinator: Peter Rowe Members: 3 Animals taken: Nil taken
Gawler Ranges NP: 26/10-01/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Rick Fisher Members: 6 Animals taken: 51 feral goats, 6 rabbits Yankaninna: 26/10-02/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Dennis Donovan Members: 3 Animals taken: 37 feral goats, 1 feral cat, 1 rabbit Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges NP: 03-09/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Trevor Goodfellow Members: 10 Animals taken: 131 feral goats Mt Brown CP: 09-15/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Alan Zubrinich Members: 5 Animals taken: 8 feral goats Dutchmans Stern CP: 09-15/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Nick Nunn Members: 6 Animals taken: 26 feral goats Southern Mallee (Karte, Peebinga & Ngarkat CPs): 21-25/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Bob Pettitt Members: 7 Animals taken: 2 feral goats, 3 foxes Karte CP – Malleefowl Survey: 23/11/19 Activity Coordinator: Scott Jennings Members: 7 Annual malleefowl survey – 3 active mounds
VET DAY - FIREARMS FAMILIARIZATION
Recently , Thursday October 17 th saw the seventh occasion that we of C&WM put on a day of familiarization of firearms for the graduating class of veterinary students from Roseworthy. 25 of our members attended for the day, giving up a day of work, bringing with them many of their own firearms for use on the day, and many of them having travelled a long way to be with us--- e.g. from Naracoorte and Port Augusta. Many of our members have been participants in all or most of the six previous Monarto Vet Days, and I thank them for their commitment over that time. This year it was good to see some new faces there, and I
hope that they all found the day interesting and worthwhile. The group of students this year were, as in previous years, a lovely group of individuals, and if they are representative of the younger generation , then Australia is going to be in good hands as they grow to be our leaders. It was a good day, covering the calibres and actions likely to found on an Australian farm. We also covered the appropriate points of aim on an animal, and also showed the degree of destruction caused by the various calibres and ammunition. The significance of that is that the young vet may, no probably will, one day, find him/herself in a situation where he/she is required to euthanase a large animal, but does not want to use drugs to do so, because of later disposal problems for the owner. The sort of thing that can happen is that a vehicle accident may leave a bull with a broken leg on the road. The animal is angry and mobile, there is no way of restraining it to administer intravenous euthanasia solution, “GreenDreams”, and if it were possible, what would the owner do with 1000kg of poisoned meat. The vet does not have the practice firearm with him/her , so has to call upon a local farmer to make use of one of the firearms that the farmer has in his safe. In that case, having a knowledge of suitable firearm/calibre/ammunition will give the vet the facility to do the job effectively and humanely.
The day is put on each year , so if any members not currently involved would like to be involved, please contact Andy Doube at [email protected] , and I will put you on the group mailing list. Andy D.
A TALE OF BOOTS
At the recent VGRNP Goat Cull, I had a total failure of my AKU boots – see photos, and had to resort to my faithful but inappropriate RMWs. I had bought the “as new” looking boots from one of our members as they were a good buy @ $80 (about $320 new).
On return to Adelaide I went to the Scout Outdoor Centre (SOC), who sell the AKU brand. The SOC people did not help out because they felt that: (a)- the boots were “second hand” and I could not show where or when the boots were purchased – on this, my comment is that, change of ownership does not affect the condition or manufacture quality of the boots. This brings us to their point (b) below: (b) – The age and storage of the boots is not known. This is valid, and may be of interest to many of us. SOC and some experts do confirm that boot failure (sole separation) can occur due to deterioration of sole bonding/adhesion due to aging, and/or, high temperature, or even lack of use. This should be noted by all of us, as these factors are not stated on your newly purchased boots or their packaging! I wrote to the importers (Cc to SOC), with no reply. SOC did reply and re-affirm their original comments.
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I have now taken the boots to “Ideal boot repairs” at 174 Hutt Street who have undertaken to do their best to re-sole the boots for $140 (much less than new price).
PS to TALE OF BOOTS Yes, the AKU boots have been repaired by Ideal Shoe Repairs with new Vibram soles which have been glued AND sewn on to the leather uppers (see photo) – all for $140. The boots have been “test walked” on Cleland fire tracks, and both comfort and grip are all OK. The repairer’s comments were - that the AKU boots are not the only brand to have the sole failure due to the loss
of adhesion of the polystyrene type foam boot base to the moulded (rubber?) sole.
Kaz Herbst
CWM Calendar January-March 2020 full calendar online at https://www.conservation-wildlife.asn.au/
JAN 2020
17-20 Kangaroo Management - Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP Shane F 0438 344 362
FEB
1-7 Gawler Ranges NP—feral goats Rick F [email protected]
4 CWM Council meeting (19:00 at CWA) Council secretary@conservation-wildlife
.asn.au
8 Field Operative Accreditation Course (theory) Gil H [email protected]
sn.au
TBA SSAA State Council meeting (10.30 at CWA) Council secretary@conservation-wildlife
.asn.au
12 Monarto Range Day (mid-week; 10:00–15:00) Council
Chris C
secretary@conservation-wildlife
.asn.au
15-21 Brookfield CP—feral goats Ali W [email protected]
17-20 Kangaroo Management - Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP Shane F 0438 344 362
17–23 Ikara–Flinders Ranges NP—Goat Cull Gil H [email protected]
22-28 Sth Flinders (Telowie, Nelshaby, Napperby)-feral goats Shane F 0438 344 362
MAR
1-2 Kangaroo Management - Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP Shane F 0438 344 362
3 CWM Council meeting (19:00 at CWA) Council secretary@conservation-wildlife
.asn.au
8 NESSCI Range Day Tony N
Steve I
8123 1705
0412 584 711
11 CWM General Meeting (19:00 at Gaza Community
Club, Klemzig)
Council secretary@conservation-wildlife
.asn.au
20-23 Kangaroo Management - Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP Shane F 0438 344 362
27-29 Quoll Protection Program, IFRNP—spotlighting; feral
cats
Peter R [email protected]
0457 580 802
28/3–3
/4
Dutchman Stern CP—feral goats
Mt Brown—feral goats
Kaz H
Alan Z
0429 408 810
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PLC19 CONFERENCE REPORT
The PLC (Private Land Conference) conferences are an annual national event held by the Australian Land Conservation
Alliance (ALCA), which is an association of Australian groups with an interest in the conservation of nature on private
lands.
In 2019, it was held in Adelaide and organised principally by Nature Foundation SA and held at the National Wine Centre
from 8th to 10th of October 2019.
The attendance was a complete capacity “sellout” consisting of not only Australia wide organisations such as Australian
Wildlife Conservancy, Bush Heritage Australia, but many commonwealth and state government, as well as specialist
support organisations that can be identified from the programme, which is available on request.
The presentation subjects were quite diverse (listed in the programme) and in limited time. Unfortunately no notes
were provided, and I could only listen OR write notes, so I shall do my best to recall the most salient points as follows:
- Volunteering – worth $298B+ to Australia’s GDP – hence government's' funding of support type organisations (e.g.
www.volunteeringsa-nt.org.au ), which can be a source of information, specialist advice, reference material, etc.
- Volunteers – selection, motivation, training – make it fun/easy/flexible – promote benefits - motivate.
- ALCA – claims membership of 3000+ landholders & 600 staff - membership “flexible” and cost dependent on
turnover and status. Worth considering – check: www.alca.org.au . Overall, we are not alone in conservation.
- Nature – Basis of life, in extinction – Australia leads the world! World wise: 8.1M animal and plant species lost, with
further 1M at risk. Pollinator loss of $570B per year (mainly bees).
- Pests – CISS (Centre for Invasive Species Solutions) – new technologies: facial recognition, genetics, “Hoggone”
(sodium nitrite) and “Hoghopper” dispenser, RHDV1-K5 for rabbits, refer to Feral Scan – Pestsmart.
- Dingoes – place in environment still under research.
- Landholder Income – aside from tourism related activities, which range from large enterprises such as Wilpena,
Arkaba, Arkaroola, etc., to B&Bs or camp facilities, one may be able to grow/gather a native or other acceptable
“crop”, such as quandongs or sandalwood. An apparently major option lies in offsets and carbon credits required
by mining, exploration and polluting industries. There appears to be quite a range of bodies related to the
“facilitation” of the latter: DEW – Credit Exchange, Australian Carbon Market, BCT Offsets Program, …. , also, those
who are accredited (e.g. www.greencollar.com.au ) to value your environment/natural capital in form of
ecosystems, and possibly negotiate the credits with interested parties.
- Social Media – some caution was advised in social media exposure – be open and honest, follow up and do not be
surprised by vitriol.
In summary – we are not alone, there are many other groups, including “Farmers for Climate Action” who are, and have
been active for many years. Processes have been developed, such as “Accounting for Nature”, with international (1992)
measurement systems existing.
The overall recommendation was to start with spiritual motivation from “time in the bush” – sharing this in empathy
with others – and DOING something positive.
My apologies for the brevity, but it was fast and furious going.
Kaz Herbst
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The pic (Kym McKenney) of the effect of the drought on the inland shows how tough conditions are in the parts of the state above the Goyder line. Reg Sprigg, the exploration geologist and his wife Griselda established the Arkaroola mountain sanctuary in the far north Flinders Ranges, in the 1970’s. The text below is from "Dune is a four letter word "(Wakefield press) Griselda’s recount of her and Reg’s pioneering in the arid heart of this wide brown land. “Every time we put up a new building, Reg made sure that there was a way to trap any rooftop run-off when it rained. If it rained. By 1970 our three-year tenure had seen virtually none. He built a farm of rainwater storage tanks, eventually totalling 700 megalitres, but they remained empty. During our first two years at Arkaroola we had a mere two inches of rain. Granted, we had a hard-rock underground reservoir along Copper Creek, but there was no firm evidence that it held enough reserves to sustain the village through more of the long, parching drought. The city folk did not seem to understand why we exhorted
them to conserve water. Some visitors even complained, but it would have been a tragic irony if our wildlife sanctuary and conservation project ended up depleting the area of precious ground water. I was genuinely worried. The last of the sheep had been withdrawn from Arkaroola's boundaries and it had now been officially gazetted as a Historical Preserve under South Australia's Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act. If it did not rain soon, we would be the relics and Arkaroola
sanctuary would be yet another dream dried up and blown away by the pitiless climate. By the summer of 1970-71 most of the waterholes were dry. Very soon we would need to impose drastic water rationing, and perhaps even limit the number of visitors - which would have a serious impact on our overdraft. Christmas came and went. It was dreadfully hot.
Far away in the cities, people were consumed by politics, the Vietnam War and the vast social changes that were up-ending the decades of prosperity and stability that many of us had thought the nation was built on. Up at Arkaroola we sometimes felt very small and forgotten. Reg bullocked along, building, building, building. But even he was desperate for rain. Late that summer a monsoonal depression-the remnant of a rain gorged cyclonic low that had hit the tropical north-bellied heavily into our territory for a tantalising visit. All afternoon the clouds thickened and the humidity built until the sky turned black; we waited forever, dripping with sweat. By early evening all we had enjoyed were a few fat drops that plopped in the dust and evaporated at our feet… And then it happened. At first a tattoo-drumming on the roof, but within seconds a sustained roar… “There’ll be a flood” predicted Reg. “Dad”, said Doug, “the grader’s down by the creek!” Doug took off like a jack rabbit. There was a roaring upstream along Wywhyana Creek. The ground was vibrating. There was a flash flood coming. Doug climbed aboard the grader and frantically worked the starter. The roaring came closer. There was a sudden puff of exhaust smoke and a flurry of elbows as my boy flung the wheel- and with rocks and dirt flying everywhere - revved the bucking creature up the creek bank to safety with less than a minute to spare. The wall of water hit with terrifying ferocity. Boulders roared, jostled and banged. Entire trees were twisted and smashed. Branches whirled away downstream, crashing together with rocks in the chaos of muddy water. We stood and watched in silent awe. “Will it fill Lake Frome?” Marg (Griselda's daughter) asked at last. "Some of it should get there,'' Reg chuckled.”But I tell you what. Our rocks are getting a pretty good drink. Arkaroola’s not looking back.
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Hare, standing for better view. Pic taken through a screen door on my property, enlarged about 12 times at 60 odd yards, animal moving, hence ordinary quality - Trevor Goodfellow
Mount Brown, September 2019. Pic - Alan Zubrinich
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