Murchison 1 (MUR1 – East Murchison subregion) - Department of ...

Murchison 1CommunityUpland small bluebush (Maireana spp.) speciesshrublands of the north-east Goldfields (Pringle etal. 1994 - site type 23)Granite hill mixed shrublands of the north-eastGoldfields Survey by Pringle et al. 1994 - site type25.Stony ironstone mulga (Acacia aneura) shrublandsof the north-east Goldfields Survey by Pringle et al.1994 - site type 28)RecoveryActions 1vii, vRecovery DescriptionsFeral animal control. Fencing.i, ii, iii, vii, v Habitat retention and protection through reserves, on private land or on otherstate lands. Feral animal control. Fencing.i, ii, iii, vii, v Habitat retention and protection through reserves, on private land or on otherstate lands. Feral animal control. Fencing.Depot Springs stygofauna community i, ii, iii, xi, xiii Habitat retention and protection through reserves, on private land or on otherstate lands. Reinstatement of hydrology. Capacity building with industry andlandholders.1Appendix B, key hExisting ecosystem recovery plansThere are no specific recovery plans for ecosystems at riskin MUR1, however the Goldfields Regional ManagementPlan is applicable in a general sense.Subregion priority for off reserve conservationThe priority for off park conservation in MUR1 is (ii)(see Appendix C, rank 6), indicating that a significant offpark effort needed, however resource constraints andlimited community capacity exist.Conservation actions as an integral partof NRMExisting NRM actionsThreat Abatement Planning as Part of NRM: e.g.Vegetation management plans, pest management.Industry Codes of Practice: Particularly in relation tomining and exploration activities.Environmental Management Systems andEcologically Sustainable Product Marketing.Feasible opportunities for NRMLegislation: Including duty of care for leasehold andother lands.Institutional Reform: e.g. Rural reconstruction,industry reconstruction, new tenure and managementarrangements.Other Planning Opportunities: Including localgovernment planning and National Action Plan for WaterQuality and Salinity.Environmental Management Systems andEcologically Sustainable Product Marketing: Somepastoral areas already attempting to identify andimplement ecologically sustainable practices through theEMU process developed by AgWA. Needs a greater levelof support to be successful.Impediments or constraints to opportunitiesA number of impediments exist including the LandAdministration Act and operations of the Pastoral LandBoard. Conservation Through Reserves is limitedthrough mining leases and tenements. There is a need toincrease awareness of conservation values througheducation of various industries (mining, pastoral) and thepublic in general. Limited financial resources are also amajor constraint.Subregions where specific NRM actions are apriority to pursueThe NRM priority for MUR1 is (i) (see Appendix C,rank 7), indicating that there are major constraints toimplement effective NRM actions to achieve biodiversityoutcomes. Much of MUR 1 is severely degraded throughpast agricultural practices (primarily sheep grazing) andferal herbivores. Under the pastoral lands act leases arestill required to maintain certain stock levels that do notnecessarily fit with conservation values. Pastoral Industryreform is essential to achieve desired conservationoutcomesData gapsGaps in data needed for the identification ofbiodiversity values and management responsesVegetation and Regional Ecosystem Mapping:Regional survey of flora and vertebrate fauna has beenpublished, but is based on very sparse sampling(Goldfields Regional Surveys conducted 1984 to 1995including Burbidge et al (1995), Dell et al (1992), Dellet al (1998), Hall et al (1994), How et al (1992) andMcKenzie and Hall (1992)). Regional ecosystemmapping has been produced at the broad scale,1:1000000 for Beard’s vegetation, and 1:500000 forLandsystems by the Western Australian Dept. Agriculture(Payne et al. 1998, Pringle et al. 1994).Systematic Fauna Survey: Data is confined tovertebrates and is sparse, quadrats only positioned onwidespread surface-types, and only 3 – 4 quadrats persurface-type, few quadrats have been sampled on morethan three occasions.A Biodiversity Audit of Western Australia’s 53 Biogeographical Subregions in 2002 477