LANDSCOPE Winter 2022 - PREVIEW by WA Naturally

WA’S PARKS, WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION MAGAZINE

Volume 37 Number 4 Winter 2022 $7.95

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Contributing

Foreword Alex Gore is a DBCA media officer and an award-winning print journalist. He is a former ABC TV News producer of programs including Midday, NSW 7pm News and The World. In 2010, he helped launch the ABC News Channel and has led rolling on-air coverage of bushfires, floods and earthquakes. He has also written about conservation and commemoration for the ‘world’s biggest gardener’ —the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Conor Doherty is a media officer with DBCA’s Public Information and Corporate Affairs Branch and a regular contributor to LANDSCOPE’s In Review section. She has worked with several government departments across Western Australia and the Northern Territory. She is a keen hiker, nature lover, reader, writer and lover of premium coffee.

Dr Alexander (Sandy) Scott is a naturalist and field guide and serves as a guest lecturer on Coral Expedition vessels. He has been visiting the Kimberley by sea annually for more than 20 years and has particular interests in the coastal geology and landforms, biology and ecology, and aspects of the local history. He has written two books— Kimberley Coast and Australia’s Kimberley Coast that covers a broader range of topics including geological formations, landscapes, biodiversity and human history.

nsuring the conservation of Western Australia’s ancient land and seascapes is a significant ongoing task and, as a State Government department, we are privileged to be part of managing our conservation estate in partnership with Traditional Owners and on behalf of Western Australians. Every day we learn from each other and actively seek opportunities to work collaboratively with Traditional Owners, the community, volunteers, the private sector and other government agencies. Contemporary science and management practices continue to be carefully balanced and we are committed to building on our experiences and understanding of traditional and ecological knowledge (see ‘Ngaparrtji ngaparrtji: Two-way science education in the northern Goldfields’ on page 22). Traditional Owners have for thousands of years been caring for Country in order to sustain their quality of life and maintain their cultural connections with the environment. The way we conduct our business and interact with each other defines who we are as an organisation and gives purpose to what we do, so we can all work together to enrich people’s lives through the sustainable management of Western Australia’s unique native species, ecosystems, lands and waters and the attractions in our care (see ‘Bush Telegraph’ on page 6 to read about the release of our new Strategic Directions 2022–25). Mark Webb PSM, Director General Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

ON THE COVER Front cover Sturt’s desert pea (Swainsona formosa), Matuwa. Back cover Wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax). Photos – Simon Cherriman

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Contents Volume 37 Number 4 Winter 2022

Features 8

Parks for People: Dryandra Woodland National Park Exploring the home of WA’s faunal emblem, the numbat

12 From towers to the skies: 50 years of the aerial spotter fleet Dedicated pilots contribute to WA’s bushfire efforts 19 Adventure out: Finding joy in nature Outdoor learning at Piney Lakes 22 Ngaparrtji ngaparrtji: Two-way science education in the northern Goldfields Blending Indigenous and western science in Matuwa

Editor Lauren Cabrera. Editorial assistance Jenna Oliver. Scientific/technical advice Margaret Byrne, Ruth Harvey, Lesley Gibson, John Huisman. Special thanks to Andrew and Merilyn Burbidge. Design and production coordinator Tiffany Taylor. Design Katie Bryden, Natalie Curtis, Sonja Rose, Karen Shaddock, Lynne Whittle, Gooitzen van der Meer. Illustration Gooitzen van der Meer. Cartography Promaco Geodraft. Prepress and printing Advance Press, Western Australia. All material copyright. No part of the contents of the publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publishers. Maps should be used as a guide only and not for navigational purposes. ISSN 0815-4465 Please do not send unsolicited material, but feel free to contact the editors by email (landscope@dbca.wa.gov.au).

28 Game on: Explore and score on WA’s trails Earn points while enjoying the outdoors

Published by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 17 Dick Perry Avenue, Kensington, Western Australia.

39 Women and plants The surprising aspects of women’s connection to nature

Subscription information

46 Kimberley coastal highlights Celebrating the visual splendour of WA’s north-west

For more information contact us:

© State of Western Australia, June 2022. Annual subscriptions to LANDSCOPE are available for $33* (four issues plus free postage within Australia). *Overseas subscriptions add $22. On the web shop.dbca.wa.gov.au By email landscope@dbca.wa.gov.au By phone (08) 9219 9000

Regulars 3

From the desk of Mark Webb PSM A foreword from the Director General, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Bush telegraph Short stories from around the State, reader’s pic and a guest word.

In review A collection of books and applications.

Discovered Euacasta acutaflava.

Kaleidoscope Connecting kids with nature.

Nature’s pin-up Granite sun orchid (Thelymitra petrophila).

By free post Reply Paid 25, Locked Bag 29, Bentley DC, Western Australia 6983 To purchase LANDSCOPE online, visit shop.dbca.wa.gov.au/landscope @waparkswildlife LANDSCOPE is printed on recycled paper which contains 55 per cent recycled fibre and is made from pulp, which is derived from well-managed forests, controlled and recycled sources.

This page Porosus Creek, Prince Frederick Harbour.

Photo – Graeme Snow/Alamy

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Bush telegraph by Jenna Oliver

READER’S PIC Mini Palms Trail, Purnululu National Park Photo and words by Dom Lim “I went into Purnululu National Park excited to see the classic Bungle Bungles I wasn’t expecting were the tall palm trees growing sideways out of the cliffs! I spotted this tree while on a morning hike through Mini Palms Trail. My whole experience through Purnululu was filled with unique sightings, amazing walk trails and great photography opportunities.” Have you got a fantastic nature photograph you would like to see published in LANDSCOPE? Send it, along with a 100-word description of the species or how and where you took the shot, to landscope@dbca.wa.gov.au.

DBCA’s Strategic Directions released

Murujuga hoping for World Heritage status In partnership with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC), the Australian government and other stakeholders, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has been busy preparing a World Heritage nomination for Murujuga. Murujuga, meaning ‘hip bone sticking out’, is the traditional name for the Dampier Archipelago including the Burrup Peninsula, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. This ancient land and sea Country is rich in cultural, spiritual, and archaeological values. It has been home to Traditional Owners and Custodians since the beginning of time, with evidence that people have occupied Murujuga for at least 24,000 years. Murujuga has one of the densest concentrations of rock art, or petroglyphs—an estimated one to two million—known anywhere in the world. Archaeological records also include camp sites, quarries, shell middens and stone arrangements. The cultural heritage values of Murujuga are already recognised through its 2007 National Heritage Listing. In 2018, MAC and the WA State Government announced that World Heritage listing would be pursued and, in 2020, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape was added to Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List, fulfilling the first required step in the World Heritage nomination process. If successful, Murujuga will be the first site in Western Australia to be added to the World Heritage list for its Aboriginal cultural values, and only the second in Australia. World Heritage listing is the highest global recognition of the significance of a place. For Murujuga, this will mean international understanding of the cultural and spiritual significance of Country. The addition of a place to the World Heritage List brings a commitment at local, State and national levels to protect and manage these areas for present and future generations. Above Rock art at Murujuga National Park. Photo – DBCA

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The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has recently released its Strategic Directions 2022–25. The document provides focused strategies for aligning and planning work over the next three years and captures the insights, passion and professionalism of hundreds of staff who participated in workshops. The Strategic Directions 2022–25 outlines four key pillars that reflect DBCA’s purpose: to inspire, to conserve, to discover, and to protect. It also reinforces the commitment to the department’s values, business conduct and interactions with Traditional Owners, visitors and other partners. See dbca.wa.gov.au

Strategic Dir ections 202 2-25

Bush telegraph

Guest column John Lawson Numbat Task Force

New boardwalk for Lake Goegrup The new and improved boardwalk at Lake Goegrup near Mandurah is now open to the public. The 292-metre-long boardwalk was designed to meet mobility and accessibility needs and includes three viewing nodes with benches and interpretive panels describing the area’s environmental and Aboriginal cultural values. The boardwalk has been designed to protect and enhance the sensitive environment at the Lake Goegrup Nature Reserve, including habitat for the samphire plant community that supports more than 20,000 migratory and resident shorebirds each year. A remotely operated, pole-mounted camera will be installed at the northern end of the boardwalk to assist with dolphin monitoring as part of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ Dolphin Watch program in the Mandurah area. Above New boardwalk at Lake Goegrup Nature Reserve. Photo – DBCA

Wiilman Bilya Walk Trail Work is nearing completion on the 81-kilometre Wiilman Bilya Walk Trail, which circles Wellington Dam in the heart of beautiful Wellington National Park and showcases the surrounding jarrah, marri and yarri forests. With four purpose-built campsites along the trail spaced between 15 and 20 kilometres apart, the walk can be done as a full five-night loop (this includes a night at the Bibbulmun Track’s Yabberup campsite) or a shorter two-night jaunt. The Wiilman Bilya loop is easily accessible from Collie, as well as from the Wellington Dam carpark and Potters Gorge Campground, and connects to the Bibbulmun Track by a spur trail close to the Yabberup campsite. One of the jewels in the crown of this new trail is the spectacular 94-metre Kaneang Wiilman swing bridge, which provides excellent views over the Collie River. The bridge’s concrete footings feature a mural by local artist Natalie Veal, depicting local plants and animals and a geometric pattern that represents the natural and cultural connections that exist in this ancient landscape. The trail is named after Traditional Owners, the Wiilman people, and the Noongar word for river, bilya. The Wiilman people have a strong connection and responsibility to care for this area. This walk trail is the latest addition to the Wambenger trails network, a $10 million Royalties for Regions project of the McGowan Government aimed at making Collie a nationally significant trail town. The Willman Bilya Walk Trail is expected to be completed in mid-2022.

t was a long time coming, but the jewel of south-west Australia’s bushland finally became a national park. For me, the announcement of Dryandra Woodland National Park was a great day as I was blessed to live and work in Dryandra woodland for more than eighteen years. My partner Lisa and I secured the job of managing the Lions Dryandra Woodland Village in 2003 and it was a sad day when on retiring in February we had to leave behind what had become our home in the bush. Looking back to 2003, species such as numbat and woylie were in great numbers but within three years, we sadly witnessed the decline of all the woodlands critical range fauna. The prime suspect for the decline was the feral cat. The Biodiversity and Conservation Science Division at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions eventually got proof of the suspicion. Feral cats had indeed dramatically increased and were the cause of the crash; in fact, 66 per cent of the woylie study group were predated by cats. Research scientists worked around the clock and a target specific cat bait evolved—Eradicat®. It has been used in Dryandra for more than three years and we have witnessed all species begin to recover. Once again visitors can come to the woodland and observe numbats, woylie, mardos and many more of the area’s wonderful fauna. Although science plays the major part in monitoring and protecting the fauna and flora of our reserves, we should never forget the importance of local community support and the many hours that volunteers devote, assisting the department and also providing valuable feedback. Groups such as Project Numbat, Boyagin Brigade, and the group that I am involved with, Numbat Task Force, spend countless hours observing and documenting fauna populations and their health status. There are plenty of projects across the State and volunteers play such an important role in conservation. While funding is limited, if you have a passion for wildlife, you don’t have to do much, just a little bit here and there can make a big difference. The reward is in being able to help, and see real results for your labour when a species thrives.

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Parks for people by Alex Gore

Dryandra Woodland National Park Just a two-hour drive from Perth is an area of magnificent remnant vegetation in a fragmented agricultural landscape —home to Western Australia’s faunal emblem, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Long recognised as a biodiversity hotspot, Dryandra Woodland has now been given extra environmental protection with national park status.

ryandra Woodland, 30 kilometres north of Narrogin and 180 kilometres south-east of Perth, is Western Australia’s newest national park. Dryandra is a special place for its Traditional Owners, the Wiilman people. The area is home to special cultural places and appointed Elders have generational ties to the land. Dryandra Woodland National Park (a formal park naming process is under way) is the first national park to be declared in the western Wheatbelt region of WA. It is hoped the conversion of 15,000 hectares of state forest to national park, including the creation of two class A nature reserves, will

Above Numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Photo – David Bettini

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help ensure the future protection of native animals living in one of the last remnants of original woodland in the region. The Wiilman people believe it will continue to be an exceptional place for all people— both young and old. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has been working towards the creation of the national park for some time by engaging with Traditional Owners, adding facilities and improving existing infrastructure and sites to deliver a high quality visitor experience. Visitors can immerse themselves in nature while enjoying facilities including two campgrounds, the Lions Dryandra Woodland Village (managed by Lions International), day-use areas, a walk trail network and a drive trail.

WILDLIFE WONDERS As well as conservation, one of the main purposes of the new national park is to encourage nature-based tourism. With more than 25 mammal, 100 bird and 50 reptile species, there is plenty of wildlife for visitors to encounter while exploring Dryandra. The woodland of wandoo, kwongan heath and mallee as well as sheoak thickets and plantations of brown mallet are not just home to the numbat. Other threatened and remarkable fauna live among the trees (see ‘Animals you may encounter in Dryandra Woodland’ on page 10). Dryandra is a key stronghold for some of Australia’s threatened wildlife including numbats, woylies, western brush wallabies and chuditch as well as quenda.

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