Sellers Road Errinundra Plateau East Gippsland

Transcription

1 Sellers Road Errinundra Plateau East Gippsland OTY OWL DETECTION REPORT Report on Sooty Owl (Tyto tenebricosa) detection within VicForests scheduled logging coupe Abstract VicForests scheduled logging coupe was investigated to determine the presence/absence of Large Forest Owls including Sooty Owls. As such, planning and operational compliance with the regulatory framework governing logging operations within Victorian State Forest concerning the application of the Intended Management Actions detailed within each of the relevant Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998) Action Statements for each of the Owl species, the Management Guideline for Owls detailed in the relevant Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area, and the precautionary principle as expressed within the relevant Code of Practice for Timber Production, was assessed. This investigation detected the Sooty Owl from within coupe The methodology employed, the results of the investigation and the reports conclusions and recommendations are detailed below. Relevant Legislation Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998) Action Statement #117 Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa, Department of Sustainability and Environment, The State of Victoria, East Melbourne, 2003 Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area (Chapter 3, Biodiversity Conservation), Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, East Melbourne, 1995 Code of Practice for Timber Production (Section 2.2.2), Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2007 Status of Site Logging is scheduled on VicForests current Timber Release Plan within coupe Surveyors Owen Hanson Andrew Lincoln Author Andrew Lincoln Fauna and Flora Research Collective Inc. Date of Investigation Date of report 16/09/2014 1/11

2 Location details Within VicForests scheduled logging coupe along Robert Camp Creek on the Errinundra Plateau, East Gippsland. Figure A. Detail from: "Approved Timber Release Plan Map Change Map; July 2014 (with all approved amendments applied) Bendoc", VicForests, 16 July 2014 * Investigation location within blue box. 2/11

3 Method 1 (Active Search/Call Playback method used) [15 September 2014] Active Search/Call Playback [] Survey technique: Hand-held megaphone and MP3 audio player with prerecorded Forest Owl calls. Audio recording using hand-held audio recorder [Model: Sony IC Recorder ICD-UX200F] Photograph/Video recording using digital camera. [Model: Nikon Coolpix L110] Global Positioning System (GPS) for recording location of species detection records. Location: : Active Search/Recording Location ; 55 H (GDA//UTM) SR-Listen-02: Incidental aural encounter ; 55 H (GDA//UTM) See Results Figure 2. & SR-Listen-02 (Sooty Owl detection) for further details. Note: times detailed in this section are approximate. Method used: 1. Surveyors were present on the 15th September 2014, at 18:05, at within the Bendoc district and within VicForests scheduled logging coupe Audio recording using hand-held audio recorder commenced at this time during which Australian Owlet Nightjar's and Yellow-bellied Gliders and Southern Boobook Owls were observed aurally. This audio recording continued until approximately 19: Forest Owl call play back recordings were played from 19: Powerful Owl prerecorded calls were played for 2 minutes followed by a period of 2 minutes silence, listening and active searching for the presence of owls with a hand-held spotlight. This process was repeated for the Powerful Owl species twice shortly after. 5. Masked Owl prerecorded calls were played intermittently for ~6 minutes interspersed by periods of silence. 6. Sooty Owl territorial call was heard in response to the Masked Owl call-play back from approximately 220 and 200m from. 7. ~3 minutes later a Sooty Owl prerecorded call was played and Sooty Owl territorial call was heard in response at approximately 230 and ~200m, and 170 and 150m from. 8. At approximately 19:27 the above process was repeated and the Sooty Owl was heard calling from 220 and 150m from. 9. Shortly after Sooty Owl trilling was heard closer to the surveyors until a Sooty Owl individual was perched in the branches of a Eucalyptus trees nearby to the surveyors. 10. At ~19:40 visual observation of the Sooty Owl was obtained using the hand-held spotlight at a direction of approximately 180 and ~15m. 11. Shortly after stills photographs were captured of the Sooty Owl individual at this location. 12. Shortly after the Sooty Owl individual flew to a different location at approximately 230 and ~30m from the survey location. 13. Additional photographs were obtained of the Sooty Owl from this location. 14. The Active Search/Call Playback survey was concluded shortly after. 15. Approximately half an hour later than the events detailed above the surveyors additionally aurally observed a Sooty Owl territorial call from SR-Listen-02: 55 H (GDA//UTM) at approximately 220 and ~200m. 16. Details of the Sooty Owl audio and photgraphic recordings obtained are further detailed in this reports Results sections below. 3/11

4 Results(1-3) Figures 1(a-b)., Table 1. and Figure This investigation detected the Sooty Owl within VicForests scheduled logging coupe Results Figure 1(a) shows a detail of a photograph captured of the Sooty Owl individual observed within this investigation. 3. Figure 1(b) created in Song Scope 4.1.3A 1 is a screen capture of one of the active searchhand held recording audio detections of the Sooty Owl. This image shows the spectrographic visualisation of the call. That is, the recorded frequency of the Sooty Owl vocalisation presented over time. Results Table 1. Sellers Road Summary of Large Forest Owl detections (below) summarises the active search survey and Sooty Owl detection obtained within this investigation and shows details of the detection date, location, time, species, type, direction and distance and additional notes. Results Figure 2. (below) displays the recording locations for the Active Search sessions as well as the relevant VicForests scheduled logging coupe extents, nearby Forest Management Zoning, and other basic features. 1 See: 4/11

5 Results 1 - Figures 1(a-b). Figure 1(a). Sooty Owl; Active search; Digital Photograph (detail); 15 September 2014; 55 H Figure 1(b). Sooty Owl (territorial call); Active search; Hand-held Recording; 15 September 2014; 55 H /11

6 Results 2 - Table 1. Table 1. Sellers Road Summary of Large Forest Owl detection Legend Locations Species Surveyed/Encountered ID GDA 94 / UTM Common Name Taxonomic Name 55 H Powerful Owl Ninox strenua SR-Listen H Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae Southern Boobook Owl Ninox novaeseelandiae Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis Australian Owlet Nightjar Aegotheles cristatus Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps Sooty Owl; Detection locations #1 and #2 Date Location Time Species 18:05 18:17 18:37 YBG 18:37 AOJ 18:40 AOJ 18:41 AOJ 18:45 SBB 18:47 YBG 18:57 YBG 19:02 19:03 YBG 19:06 19:07 SGG 19:08 19:13 19:25 19:28 19:29 19:30 19:37 19:37 ~19:40 ~19:48 SR-Listen-02 20:33 Detection Type Direction Distance PRESENT/LISTENING LISTENING/~RECORDING START m m m 70m m m m PO call playback/listen (2mins) m PO call playback/listen (1mins) 200m 90 PO call playback/listen (1mins) MO call playback/listen (~6mins) m call playback/listen 200m m call playback/listen m Visual m Visual m m Abbreviation PO MO SBB YBG AOJ SGG Notes AOJ continues to call SBB continues to call x2 & continues to call SBB continues to call 6/11

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8 Discussion/Conclusion/Recommendations (legislation considered) This section considers the management activities listed in the the following documents including the excerpts reproduced below: OTY OWL Compiled from: Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998) Action Statement #117 Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa, Department of Sustainability and Environment, The State of Victoria, East Melbourne, 2003, p. 4-5 Intended Management Actions Protection in State Forest 3. Sooty Owl Management Areas (MAs): Where clear-fell or seed-tree systems are used, each MA will comprise 500ha of forest to be managed as a Special Protection Zone (SPZ). For MAs based on specific records (rather than habitat-modelling), the SPZs will fall within a 3.5km radius (approximately ha) of the record. The 500ha will be bounded by recognisable features, preferably natural, such as ridgelines; sub-catchments or groups of sub-catchments will be ideal. The 500ha will maximise habitats known to be used by the Sooty Owl, such as forest in headwaters; old-growth forest in gullies; forest with a diversity of preferred EVCs; forest of the preferred growth stages, such as Mixed Senescent-Mature, otherwise Mature or Mixed Senescent-Mature-Regrowth; forest with large and/or dead hollow-bearing trees; forest with abundant Silver Wattle, Tree-ferns and Blanketleaf; and forest in deep gullies. The MAs should avoid extensive areas of forest known to be less suitable, forest <28 m tall, treeless areas, regrowth forest or any of the dry EVCs., p.5 5 "All confirmed nesting and roosting sites utilised recently and frequently (based on reliable observation or physical evidence such as pellets or wash) located outside MAs will be protected by a 3ha SPZ around the site and a m radius (or equivalent linear area) SMZ buffers around identified localities, unless they are already protected. In these cases, habitat for foraging is provided in areas excluded from timber harvesting by general prescription including wildlife corridors, steep areas and unmerchantable areas and areas protected for other management purposes., p.5 OTY OWLS From: Code of Practice for Timber Production (Section 2.2.2), Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2007, pp. 22, Conservation of Biodiversity... Mandatory Actions To facilitate the protection of biodiversity values, the following matters must be addressed when developing and reviewing plans and must be adhered to during operations: application of the precautionary principle to the conservation of biodiversity values, consistent with monitoring and research to improve understanding of the effects of forest management on forest ecology and conservation values... providing appropriate undisturbed buffer areas around significant habitats;... modifying coupe size and dispersal in the landscape, and rotation periods, as appropriate. [See also the Code of Practice for Timber Production's definition of the precautionary principle contained within its Glossary and reproduced above within this reports Method section.] 8/11

9 OTY OWL Compiled from: Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area (Chapter 3, Biodiversity Conservation), Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, East Melbourne, 1995, p.30 CONSERVATION GUIDELINE Birds Sooty Owls. Good-quality habitat to support at least 100 pairs of each species will be maintained in the FMA. The target of 100 pairs will be apportioned to Geographic Representation Units, according to the amount of suitable habitat in each unit (see Appendix J). Conservation reserves and State forest will both contribute to conservation of owl habitat. Areas that count towards meeting the target include: known owl localities in conservation reserves; parts of the SPZ and SMZ designed around known owl localities in State forest; and a conservative estimate of the extent of habitat in conservation reserves, or in larger parts of the SPZ and SMZ (based on other features such as old-growth forest). Good quality habitat for a pair of each species is defined as follows (the home ranges of different species can overlap): Sooty Owl habitat - approximately 500 ha of forest dominated by old trees and generally comprising Lowland, Damp and Riparian Forest, and Warm Temperate Rainforest. Where the SPZ or SMZ is based on a known owl locality the 500 ha is to be located within a 1000 ha area that includes the detection site. All known nesting sites will be protected as for diurnal raptors. Once sufficient habitat for 100 pairs is being managed for owl conservation, new owl records may be used to adjust the zoning scheme (see Chapter 8). Diurnal raptors, All known nest sites will be included in Special Management Sites with a 250-m radius around the site. Timber harvesting, road construction and fuel-reduction burning will be avoided in this area during the breeding season. At other times harvesting and road construction will be permitted to within 100m of nest trees. Visitors will be discouraged and sites will not be publiscised., p.31 9/11

10 Discussion/Conclusion/Recommendations (summary/analysis) Sooty Owl Detection, the Precautionary Principle and Roost/Nest Sites 1. The Sooty Owl is listed as 'threatened' under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998). 2. In Osborne J, [2010] VSC 335, Judgement in Environment East Gippsland Inc v s VicForests, Supreme Court of Victoria found that the precautionary principle required surveys to be undertaken prior to logging (and prior to the recommencement of logging) for these other forest dependent species similarly threatened like the Sooty Owl: the Giant Burrowing Frog, Large Brown Tree Frog and Spot-tailed Quoll: [777] In summary, logging at Brown Mountain should be restrained because: (a) SMZ and retained habitat protection has not been provided in accordance with the relevant FFGAS following the detections of the Long-footed Potoroo in coupes 15, 19 and 26; (b) the precautionary principle requires surveys to be undertaken to ascertain the presence or otherwise of the Giant Burrowing Frog and the Large Brown Tree Frog within the Brown Mountain coupes in circumstances where they are threatened species, their presence is probable and adequate surveys have not been carried out; (c) the precautionary principle requires the completion of the current review of management area reserves created under the East Gippsland FMP in respect of the habitat of the Powerful Owl and the Sooty Owl in circumstances where the current management areas comprise in part modeled habitat in which neither owl species has been detected; (d) the precautionary principle requires surveys to be undertaken to ascertain the presence or absence of the Spot-tailed Quoll within the Brown Mountain coupes in circumstances where it is threatened with extinction, the coupes comprise optimal habitat, adequate surveys have not been carried out, and the system of reserves providing protected habitat for the Spot-tailed Quoll is currently under review. If the Spot-tailed Quoll is detected, the precautionary principle requires this review to be completed; (e) the provisions of the FMP have not been complied with and require the creation of a reserve of approximately 100 hectares consequent upon the detection of exceptional levels of Greater Gliders and Yellow-bellied Gliders within the coupes.2 [Emphasised portions added and relied upon for analysis and recommendations] 3. A Sooty Owl individual was aurally and visually recorded within VicForests scheduled logging coupe in the Bendoc forest of East Gippsland. 4. The location of the Sooty Owl detections are further detailed in this reports Method and Results sections and as shown on the Map (Figure 2.) on the preceding pages. 5. A Sooty Owl individuals was detected within this survey as present within VicForests scheduled logging coupe approximately one hour after dark on the 16 September This Sooty Owl detection raises the possibility that this species may be using the forest within or adjacent to the area scheduled to be logged by VicForests for their roosting or nesting purposes. 7. Under each of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998) Action Statement #117 for the 2 Osborne J, [2010] VSC 335, Judgement in Environment East Gippsland Inc v s VicForests, Supreme Court of Victoria, Melbourne, 11 August 2010, Paragraph /11

11 Sooty Owl, and/or the Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area (Chapter 3, Biodiversity Conservation), Sooty Owl Roost and Nest sites must be managed by: (a) a 100m and/or 3ha Special Protection Zone around the site. (b) a m Special Management Zone around the site. 8. VicForests must not log coupe without enacting (as a minimum) the measures required by the relevant sections of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998) Action Statement #117 for the Sooty Owl, and the Forest Management Plan for the East Gippsland Forest Management Area (Chapter 3, Biodiversity Conservation) as summarised within this report's Method (Analysis/Recommendations) sections. 9. In addition, VicForests must not log coupe without causing appropriate presence/absence surveys undertaken by appropriately qualified surveyors for Powerful and Sooty Owl roost and/or nest sites within the area of these coupes, and all forest areas within 300m from the coupe's boundaries, to be completed. 10. If any additional Sooty Owl roost and/or nest sites are discovered, logging must not proceed within coupe without enacting the management actions detailed above. 11. If the following has not occured: the completion of the current review of management area reserves created under the East Gippsland FMP in respect of the habitat of... the Sooty Owl in circumstances where the current management areas comprise in part modeled habitat in which [the Sooty Owl has not] been detected (or alternatively, where the current reserves for the Owls established under the FMP have been significantly damaged through disturbances such as the major wildfire of 2014), then the precautionary principle requires that VicForests must not log coupe until such review has been completed. 11/11