Dryandra Woodland - Department of Environment and Conservation ...

PRINCIPAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTIONS
1. POLICIES AND GOALS
Policies
This Plan is based on CALM policies current at the time of publication. These policies are developed
from legislation, principally the CALM Act (1984) and associated regulations. Policies are published
and distributed throughout CALM as policy statements. They are available to the public on request.
The Plan is also consistent with NPNCA policies.
Goals
The Plan outlines the goals, objectives, and strategies for the management of Dryandra for the next
ten years. Based on the recognition that nature conservation is the highest priority, the following
management goals for Dryandra are proposed:
• Conserve biological, physical, cultural and landscape values.
• Facilitate public enjoyment of Dryandra in a manner compatible with the conservation goal.
• Manage commercial uses in a manner that minimises the impact on other values.
Management Context
Dryandra is situated between the 500 mm. and 600 mm isohyets, receiving significantly less rainfall
than the Darling Range to the west. The structure and composition of the vegetation reflects this:
forests of Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) have been replaced by woodlands with a more open canopy,
typically comprising Wandoo (E. wandoo) and Powderbark Wandoo (E. accedens). In recognising
this fundamental difference, management principles within this Plan are more closely aligned to those
of other woodland communities within the wheatbelt than the Darling Range forests.
Land clearing in the wheatbelt has reduced the area of native bushland to isolated remnants. In the
Dryandra area, clearing has been comparatively recent, mainly occurring in the last forty years (see
Map 2). As late as 1962, Dryandra was connected to the main forest belt of the Darling Range, and
other large areas of native bush existed to the east. With the continued clearing of private property,
the blocks of Dryandra have eventually become separated from these other areas and each other. The
impacts associated with habitat fragmentation are still likely to be affecting the biota of Dryandra.
For example, Saunders (1989), predicts further losses of bird species from wheatbelt reserves,
depending on the extent of removal of native vegetation and the length of time since clearing
occurred.
Despite Dryandra's overall large size in comparison with other reserves of the central western
wheatbelt, it is subject to similar problems to those of other fragmented areas of native vegetation.
These include:
• susceptibility to hydrological changes;
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