DRAFT Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy

SECTION 1
I n t r o d u c t i o n
1.1 Purpose of this draft strategy
This draft Tuart conservation and management strategy has been developed by the Minister
for the Environment’s Tuart Response Group to encourage your feedback on the future
conservation and management of tuart woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain in Western
Australia. In this strategy the Response Group makes suggestions about the vision,
outcomes, aims, targets and strategies for conserving and managing tuart woodlands and
asks for your comments on these proposals.
This draft ‘tuart strategy’ will lead to the development of the Government’s final Tuart
Conservation and Management Strategy and Action Plan. The final ‘tuart strategy’ will differ
from this draft ‘tuart strategy’ because it will reflect the responses received from public
consultation and will designate actions, responsible and support organisations, budget
implications and timeframes for meeting the agreed targets and outcomes.
1.2 Contributory processes
The development of this strategy has been informed by the following contributory processes:
• the workshop ‘Tuart – the tree and the community in which it lives, and the published
workshop proceedings Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) and Tuart Communities
(Wildflower Society 2002);
• development and wide distribution of the brochure Saving Our Tuart’s that aimed to
increase community awareness about the need to conserve and protect remaining tuart
woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain;
• preparation and wide distribution of the status report for Tuart Conservation and
Protection that aimed to promote a more informed community debate on: (i) the values of
tuart woodlands, (ii) reserve and off-reserve conservation and protection issues, and (iii)
future directions the Government might take in conserving and managing remnant tuart
woodlands;
• publication of Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) LANDSCOPE
articles Cherish the Tuart and The Tenuous Tuart in the autumn and winter 2003
magazine editions;
• submissions received at the seven community and stakeholder workshops between
Lancelin and Busselton to seek views and comments on tuart conservation and
management issues and approaches;
• establishing a sound scientific basis for future tuart conservation and management. This
included: (i) developing the Tuart Vegetation System Health Model for targeting research
and testing research findings, (ii) developing remote sensing techniques using LandSat
TM for monitoring tuart decline at Yalgorup, (iii) convening the Tuart Science Workshop to
canvas views on proposed research directions and priorities, and (iv) collaboration on the
award of an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant for research into tuart
health;
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