Cell Descriptions - South East Natural Resources Management Board

SE13 – Kingston SE
and preliminary discussions have been held involving DENR and SEWCDB staff (Slater and
Farrington 2010).
Conservation Analysis (GIS)
106.54, the sum of conservation means, is low for this region.
Priority based on numbers of threatened plant species is high and although moderate totals are
seen for species richness, numbers of threatened bird species, numbers of threatened reptile
species and viewscape, no other conservation layer totals stand out.
Nevertheless, within the cell the pattern of high and low conservation totals is complex, with the
small wetlands within and behind the low sand dune ridges showing high totals adjacent to very
low totals: the high value areas being due to reptile and focal species habitat: Swamp Skink and
Southern Bell Frog. Wetlands at Hog Lake and SE towards the Cape Jaffa marina show high
values; wetlands of the Butchers Gap CP show medium high values. The northern end of Maria
Swamp wetland has been included as an extension of the boundary because of its coast adapted
plant species; it shares many high conservation values with a number of inter-dunal wetlands in
the west and south of the cell, including threatened fauna habitat, notably the Southern Bell Frog
and the Swamp Skink. These areas stand out because of their high conservation value totals.
The dunes and sand ridges within 600m of the shore, from Wyomi Beach for some 12km to the
SE show medium to medium high values; further inland the dunes have been cleared and give
low conservation totals.
Threat Analysis (GIS)
73.60 is the second largest total of threat summary means within the SE region.
Several variables contribute to the large threat total: off road vehicle damage, development
zoning, land ownership, viewshed, viewscape, existing development, land use, vegetation block
degradation, the distribution of significant weeds, as well as numbers of rabbits. ORV tracks are
found widely across the cell and the concentration along the dunes and sand ridges of northern
parts of Butchers Gap CP is notable. Development zoning gives the potential for loss of
significant reptile habitat on the eastern edge of the marina development. While zoning preserves
the coastal strip, most conservation values are in the landward edge of the coastal zone, in the
small wetlands zoned for primary industry. Butchers Gap CP and areas north within the cell are
threatened by SE Petroleum Production licenses.
All parts of the cell give high threat totals: no areas of low threat total are found on the combined
map, only Butchers Gap CP shows a substantial area of medium to high threat.
Adaptation to Climate Change: Threats for cell SE13
(see also discussion of scenario in Section 4.11
NOTE: the advice below is indicative of likely change and the direction of change, with
implications for ecosystems. Dates, amounts and probabilities cannot be accurately calculated at
this time. Thus advice on flood levels, for example, should not be used in engineering or
development planning.
Climate change
element/ scenario
Combined climate
changes and sea
level rise
Impacts and implications Protect and manage Address landscape
(for this cell) habitat threats issues: fire,
connectivity,
refuges, hydrology
This cell presents a complex
pattern of habitats sensitive
to change.
Create a baseline for
shoreline, dune and lake
change by establishing a
Limestone Coast and Coorong Coastal Action Plan 429